Alabama Governor: 'Start Blaming The Unvaccinated Folks'

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey says we need to start ‘blaming the unvaccinated folks’

As the Delta variant spreads and is causing COVID-19 cases to skyrocket across the country, only one U.S. government is saying what needs to be said, and surprisingly, it’s coming from the Republican governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, who point-blank told reporters, “it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks.”

Alabama has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. Only 39% of the state’s population has received at least one dose of vaccine and their governor Ivey, who herself is vaccinated, is tired of this shit.

“Folks [are] supposed to have common sense,” Ivey told reporters on Thursday, July 22, 2021. “But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”

“These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain,” Ivey added. “I want people to get vaccinated. That’s the cure.”

When asked what can be done about this, Ivey said, “I’ve done all I know how to do. I can encourage you to do something, but I can’t make you take care of yourself.”

But before you start “Yas kweening” Ivey’s comments about vaccines, USA TODAY reports that this is the same governor who lifted her state’s mask mandate a month before the CDC recommended doing so and signed a measure into law barring private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. So, actually no, she didn’t do all she could do and quite literally did the bare minimum.

The most surprising thing about this whole comment is that Ivey is virtually the only U.S. leader showing any amount of exasperation regarding the unvaccinated U.S. population.

Even the usually no-nonsense White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held off from saying anything incendiary about the unvaccinated and said in a press conference on Friday that the U.S. will not mandate vaccines but stated that “we understand [Governor Ivey’s] frustration, and we understand the frustration of leaders out there and public voices who are trying to say the right thing, advocate for the efficacy of the [vaccine], save people in their communities.” However, Psaki added that “I don’t think our role is to place blame, but what we can do is provide accurate information to people who are not yet vaccinated about the risk they are incurring not only among themselves but also the people around them.”

Over in France, they are pushing through legislation that would require citizens to show their vaccine card if they want to go to a cafe, bar, or mall. And it worked. After the announcement, a record number of French citizens signed up to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.

And yet, here in the U.S., it seems our only tactic to convince the unvaccinated to get the COVID-19 vaccine is still just a lot of hand-wringing and gentle pleading. Just. Get. Your. Damn. Vaccine. Already!