Unvaccinated folks responsible for COVID surge: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday held “the unvaccinated folks” responsible for the rise in COVID-19 cases in her state, according to CNN. This comes at a time when many GOP leaders are refusing to urge people to get vaccinated.

She told reporters that it was time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks. “It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,” she said.

Alabama, the least vaccinated state in the US, has only 33.9% of residents fully vaccinated, according to CDC. Average daily COVID-19 cases have doubled in Alabama in a week and are four times higher than two weeks ago.

Also Read | US life expectancy takes biggest hit in decades, courtesy COVID-19

She said according to the data, all the new COVID cases reported are those who are unvaccinated. “They are the ones ending up in hospitals and the deaths are certainly occurring with unvaccinated folks.”

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden allotted Alabama billions in federal relief funds from the stimulus package. The state has offered some small incentives to get vaccinated, including offering two laps around the Talladega Superspeedway in May. 

The Republican governor said she has done everything she could to managing the COVID situation. She ended the mask mandate in her state in April, one month before the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people would no longer have to wear masks.

The Delta variant, which was first discovered in India, is now spreading in the US, and experts are recommending vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear masks.

Also Read | Joe Biden made false claims about COVID, child tax-credit: Reports

The governor received both doses of the COVID vaccine in December.

She said wearing was a temporary solution and people should get vaccinated.

The US President has set July 4 target to vaccinate 70% over over 18 vaccinated with at least one shot but currently around 68% of adults have received their first dose. The process to has slowed down in the country. It was more than three million doses a day, but it is now down to about 500,000 a day.

Blaming online misinformation for the resistance to vaccines, the Biden administration is now roping in celebrities to generate awareness.