Arkansas governor worries Biden's vaccine rule 'hardens resistance'

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) is one of several GOP governors who has frequently advocated for his constituents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But he thinks President Biden may have gone too far with the sweeping new federal requirements he ordered last week.
On the one hand, it seems like Hutchinson is generally wary of the political ramifications of implementing mandates at the national level, telling NBC News' Chuck Todd on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press that previous vaccine requirements have come from the states. But on the other hand, the governor expressed concern that the White House's decision will backfire and increase vaccine hesitancy, which is already fairly significant across the U.S. "It increases the division in terms of vaccination when we should all be together trying to increase the vaccination uptake," he said.
Todd, for his part, wasn't sold on Hutchinson's anti-mandate argument, suggesting that the vaccine gap was already pretty wide and difficult to breach before Biden's announcement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
'Wrench attacks' are targeting wealthy crypto moguls
The Explainer The attacks are named for physical coercion that can be used to gain crypto passwords
-
Is the world losing scientific innovation?
Today's big question New research seems to be less exciting
-
Airplane crash-detection systems could be vulnerable to hackers
Under the Radar 'The idea scares the shit out of me,' one pilot said
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccines
Feature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
Unraveling autism: RFK Jr.'s vow to find a root cause
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
The sneaking rise of whooping cough
Under the Radar The measles outbreak isn't the only one to worry about
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths