‘LETTING US DOWN’

Alabama Guv: ‘It’s Time to Start Blaming the Unvaccinated Folk’ for COVID Surge

“It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,” said Gov. Kay Ivey, whose state has the country’s lowest vaccination rate.

Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has had it. In some of her most frank comments on COVID-19 to date, she said the unvaccinated people in the state were to blame for the recent surge in cases. “It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks,” Ivey told a group of reporters Thursday. “It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.” Ivey, who announced a run for reelection last month, said she couldn’t understand why people weren’t getting the shot, even as the state saw almost 10,000 new cases in the last two weeks. “Almost 100 percent of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks,” she said. “These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain.”

About 33 percent of Alabamans are fully vaccinated, the lowest rate in the country. COVID cases in the state rose by 70 percent in the last week.