Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene remains undeterred by news that the highly contagious Delta variant has contributed to an uptick in Covid-19 hospitalizations across the United States.
During an appearance on the pro-Trump Real America's Voice network Thursday, Greene commented on the news the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aims to give final approval to the Pfizer vaccine by early next month. She argued "more research is needed" before the FDA can authorize vaccines that have been distributed as a result of an emergency use authorization.
You can hear Greene's remarks in the video below.
Greene, who is not a medical professional or public health expert, expressed concern full approval of Covid-19 vaccines would give authorities the ability to enforce vaccine mandates.
"Because here's the problem ... once the vaccines are approved by the FDA, we're going to see the mandates for vaccines ramp up far more than they are right now."
"And I fear they'll become law in some cities and some states."
"[President Joe] Biden would love to make it the law of the land."
Greene, who has consistently aligned herself with the anti-vaccine movement, insisted she is not against vaccines.
She then suggested vaccines aren't "that effective":
"Again, I'm not anti-vax."
"I'm completely for people being allowed to make choices, medical choices for themselves and their families and I don't think the FDA should approve a vaccine that doesn't seem to be that effective, especially with COVID-19 raging all over the country -- at least that's what the media tells us every single day."
Remarking on conversations she says she's had with hospital employees about the surge in Covid-19 cases, Greene downplayed the severity of the pandemic even further.
She said hospital waiting rooms "are full of all kinds of things, not just Covid," adding humans "can't live forever."
"So while the news tries to tell us the hospitals are slam-packed with COVID, that's just not the case."
"Everybody needs to get back down to common sense and remember that, you know, we're human, we can't live forever, we're going to catch all kinds of diseases and illnesses and other viruses, and we get hurt sometimes."
Greene's indifference to the current wave of Covid-19 garnered heavy criticism both for her and the Republican Party at large.
There is overwhelming evidence vaccines save lives.
Despite the risk posed by the Delta variant, Covid-19 vaccines prevent severe illness, hospitalizations and death. In the last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated guidance for fully vaccinated people based on new evidence on the Delta variant.
And as others pointed out, a Covid surge hampers the ability of hospitals to care for patients with other ailments, underscoring the value in getting vaccinated.
Greene's statements come while she is on a time-out from social media.
On Tuesday, Twitter announced it had suspended Greene's account after she violated the platform's rules regarding Covid-19 misinformation.
In a tweet earlier this week, Greene claimed the FDA "should not approve the covid vaccines" and vaccines were "failing" and not actually curbing the spread of the virus.
A Twitter spokesperson said the tweet "was labeled in line with our COVID-19 misleading information policy" and "The account will be in read-only mode for a week due to repeated violations of the Twitter Rules."
