Alabama governor says it's 'time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks' for 'letting us down'

As COVID-19 cases rise in the state, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) is blasting those choosing not to get vaccinated for "letting us down."

Ivey pleaded with residents of Alabama to get vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a rise in new cases, noting that "the new cases in COVID are because of unvaccinated folks," who she said are "choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain," per CBS 42. When a reporter, pointing out that Alabama is last in the country in its vaccination rate, asked what it will take to get more people vaccinated, Ivey said, "I don't know, you tell me."

"Folks are supposed to have common sense," she said. "But it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It's the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The reporter followed up to ask Ivey, "But as the leader of the state, don't you think it's your responsibility to try and help get this situation under control?" Ivey said she's "done all I know how to do," adding, "I can encourage you to do something, but I can't make you take care of yourself."

Alabama, according to CBS, has reported over 9,900 cases of COVID-19 over the past two weeks. But The Washington Post reports that in the state, "only 33.9 percent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated."