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.
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene on COVID case surge: "Yes, the waiting rooms get full. But guess what? The waiting rooms are full of all kinds of things, not just COVID," adding "we're human, we can't live forever"pic.twitter.com/cA13oU7kAV— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1628783707
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.
it's been quite apparent for decades now that the GOP is pro-death, not pro-life.\n\nnice of Rep. Greene to not bother to pretend otherwise.— P\u00e9 (@P\u00e9) 1628786430
It\u2019s gonna be a great day when she\u2019s no longer in politics and selling shirts at some motorcycle rally in Sturgis.— David Paniagua Jr. (@David Paniagua Jr.) 1628784652
Why would anyone put their trust in a woman so clearly out of her unhinged mind? This is more non-sensical drivel from a personality disordered sociopath. She belongs in a freak show museum, not American government in 2021. She is not a serious person. She's deranged.— Callie Khouri (@Callie Khouri) 1628787363
I bet if she gets sick with Delta Variant she will demand to be treated even if \u201cthe waiting rooms are full of all kinds of things, not just Covid.\u201d Pretty sure she wouldn\u2019t apply \u201cwe can\u2019t live forever\u201d to herself.— TruthSeeker (@TruthSeeker) 1628787021
Great. I'm sure she'll never seek medical care again, for anything, ever, because hell we can't live forever, may as well just throw the towel in now.— Tracee (@Tracee) 1628784003
I love hearing from the stupidest people on the planet every fucking single day.— Jared Krichevsky (@Jared Krichevsky) 1628784115
This is not only shocking, amoral ignorance. This is evidence of a sadistic approach to politics that views human beings & their right to be treated as human beings, as irrelevant & expendable. Nothing good comes from people who have this rank hatred for other people.— Joseph Robertson (@Joseph Robertson) 1628789541
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.
I don't think she understands the point she's making. Yes, surging Covid causes a higher-than-normal mortality rate among people sick with other things, because there are only so many beds and doctors available.— Jamie Lawson (@Jamie Lawson) 1628784606
They just don't get it. The more it fills up with Covid, the less other ailments can get looked at.— BRT\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@BRT\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1628783768
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."
