President Joe Biden praised Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for her remarks regarding COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday. Her statement, which is her most forceful on COVID-19 to date, encouraged Alabamians to get the vaccine and said that “the unvaccinated folks are letting us down” in the fight to control the pandemic.
Biden was speaking at a campaign function Friday for Virginia’s Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is seeking a second term in November, in Arlington, Virginia.
“What we have now is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Biden said at the event. “You notice a lot of our very conservative friends have finally had an altar call. They’ve seen the Lord. Whether it’s on FOX News, or whether it’s the most conservative commentators or governors. Thank God the governor of Alabama, at one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, is now — and I’m genuinely complimenting her,” he began before being interrupted by a disruptive member of the crowd.
“I know it’s gotten a bit politicized, but I hope it’s starting to change,” he said. “It’s not about red states or blue states.”
Ivey’s remarks to media marked a sharp turn in her messaging as Alabama continues to be ranked last in the nation in COVID-19 vaccination rates, with less than 40% of eligible people vaccinated.
“Folks are supposed to have common sense,” she said. “It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down (…) 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.”
Unvaccinated people represent an overwhelming percentage of Alabama’s COVID-19 deaths since April, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Alabama has recorded more than 500 COVID deaths since April 1. Of those, only 20 people were fully vaccinated, meaning slightly over 96% were unvaccinated.