Yesterday, on a right wing radio show GOP Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin told Virginians they “have to just respect” people who refuse to get vaccinated for any reason – despite the deadly spread of the Delta variant threatening school reopenings.
These comments, reported by the American Independent, follow recent reports that Youngkin is not only funding anti-vaxxer candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates but intends to model his COVID response on the disastrous example set forth by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
As with so much else in his limited policy platform, Youngkin could not be more out of touch with the majority of Virginia voters. Recent polling shows Virginians overwhelmingly favor mask and vaccine mandates and oppose the deadly policies embraced by Youngkin’s role model Gov. DeSantis.
American Independent: Youngkin: ‘We have to just respect’ people for refusing COVID vaccines
By: Josh Israel | August 26, 2021
Key Points:
- “Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that he believes it is important to protect the ‘liberty’ of people who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine even as hospitalizations from the delta variant continue to rise.”
- “Youngkin made the comments during an appearance on a right-wing radio show. The remarks were first flagged by the liberal opposition research group American Bridge 21st Century.”
- “Beyond his opposition to employer vaccine mandates, Youngkin has consistently opposed other strategies to slow the rapid spread of the delta variant, even as cases and hospitalizations in the state have soared back to levels not seen since February.”
- “He has fought against face mask mandates in Virginia schools, saying in a statement on Aug. 12, ‘Make no mistake about it, this mask mandate is the first step towards returning to a full shutdown of our economy. We must respect parents’ right to decide what is best for their own children. If parents, teachers, and children want to wear a mask, they absolutely should do that, but there should not be a statewide school mask mandate.’”
- “Youngkin has repeatedly cited Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a model for how Virginia should approach the pandemic. DeSantis has infamously shunned most safety measures, leading to a spike in hospitalizations and one of the highest case rates in the country.”
- “Youngkin has also donated more than $16,000 from his political action committee to elect other anti-vaccine Republicans running across the state. This included a $3,000 donation to House of Delegates nominee Scott Pio, who has falsely said the flu is more deadly than COVID-19 and that the vaccine might not be necessary.”
Read the full report here.
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Published: Aug 26, 2021