GOP Governor Says Its Time To Blame The Unvaccinated For Pandemic Surge

A Republican governor in one of the states hit hardest by the delta variant of the coronavirus called out those who’ve refused the vaccine on Thursday. 

“It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks,” said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, per CBS 42 in Birmingham. “It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”

Ivey, who was vaccinated in December, also seemed to throw some shade at Fox News and other right-wing media outlets. 

“Media, I want you to start reporting the facts,” she said. “The new cases of COVID are because of unvaccinated folks. Almost 100 percent of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks.”

Although she didn’t name names, Fox News hosts, such as Tucker Carlson, have attempted to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines. Carlson said the notion that the U.S. was now in a pandemic of the unvaccinated was “simply untrue” and “a lie.” 

Marvin Gentry via Reuters Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R), who was vaccinated in December, threw some shade at Fox News and other right-wing media outlets for providing misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines.

One Alabama ER doc recently shared the haunting tales of dying coronavirus patients who begged for the vaccine that they had previously refused. 

“I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late,” Dr. Brytney Cobia wrote on Facebook.

Alabama has seen a 311% jump in cases over the past two weeks, according to The New York Times, and a 92% increase in hospitalizations. The state’s rate of 23 new cases per 100,000 people was tied for the ninth highest in the nation. Alabama is also tied for the lowest vaccination rate in the U.S.  

Ivey has not exactly helped her case. Last week, she rejected a plan by President Joe Biden in which community-based volunteers would go door to door to encourage COVID-19 vaccination and offer help to those who need it. 

She also signed a bill banning “vaccine passports” in her state. That same law also banned businesses from requiring vaccination or even asking about vaccination status and banned schools, including colleges, from requiring the vaccine despite the fact that Alabama schools currently require multiple shots, with certain exemptions allowed.  

Earlier this week, Ivey rejected a call for wearing masks in schools that was made by the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

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