A number of far-right elected officials have embraced the Republican party's constant disinformation regarding the pandemic that's killed over 600 thousand Americans.
Among them is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. At the height of the pandemic, Noem refused to issue shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread. She's railed against mandatory masks in schools, even though many school-aged children are still ineligible for vaccination.
Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine months after clearing it for emergency use. This full approval paves the way for greater powers in the public and private sectors regarding vaccine mandates.
In line with the right's dangerous opposition to vaccines, despite their proven safety and effectiveness, Noem vowed to "protect" her constituents from vaccine mandates.
If @joebiden illegally mandates vaccines, I will take every action available under the law to protect South Dakotans from the federal government.— Governor Kristi Noem (@Governor Kristi Noem) 1629753122
Though the White House has repeatedly said there are no plans for a blanket federal vaccine mandate, Noem suggested that this was on the Biden Administration's agenda. Of course, vaccine mandates for other viruses have existed for decades, especially in public sectors, where students, service members, immigrants, and others are required to be inoculated.
Not only have institutions at the federal and municipal level announced sweeping mandates for certain occupations, but developments in the Supreme Court signal the body would uphold vaccine mandates as constitutional. The Court's most recently appointed conservative, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, recently upheld Indiana University's vaccine mandate for students.
People found the idea of Noem "protecting" her constituents by somehow requiring every American be vaccinated absurd.
South Dakota has seen a 312 percent increase in Covid cases the past two weeks and Republican Governor Kristi Noem is spending her time fake fighting President Biden instead of fighting Covid.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin) 1629761332
I wish someone could protect my family from Kristi Noem.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Doug Dodson (@Doug Dodson) 1629807754
If you'd fight against COVID as hard as you fight against Democrats, your state wouldn't have had the largest 2 week COVID surge in this country.\n\nAll you care about is gaining political points with an overbloated, microwaved circus peanut sitting at his golf club in Florida.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Jax Persists (@Jax Persists) 1629828580
Kristi Noem has failed to protect #SouthDakota from #COVID19. She\u2019s the reason my kids aren\u2019t as safe as they should be as they return to school. She\u2019s the reason we\u2019ve suffered so much here. She\u2019s the biggest threat we face. She should get out of the way and let the adults work.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Doug Murano (@Doug Murano) 1629763207
The late George Washington, who mandated smallpox vaccinations, would like a word.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Elizabeth Spiers (@Elizabeth Spiers) 1629770101
\u201cSouth Dakota Codified Law 13-28-7.1 (Rev. 2016) requires that any pupil entering school\u2026receive immunization against poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, rubella, mumps, tetanus, meningitis and varicella (chickenpox), according to the recommendations of the State\u201dhttps://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Chris Murphy (@Chris Murphy) 1629758313
Meanwhile, Conservatives chastised her for not going far enough.
Imagine having a low enough IQ to think she won\u2019t cave like she does every time when her corporate masters tell her to.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Cernovich (@Cernovich) 1629767679
But you are okay with employers in your state mandating them on workers?https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@Harmeet K. Dhillon) 1629769672
He\u2019s not using the federal government. He\u2019s using corporations. \n\nIf the GOP isn\u2019t willing to MAKE law to protect their people from these sidesteps, they\u2019re offering nothing more than platitudes.https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1429914350408585224\u00a0\u2026— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield Rando) 1629755648
Again, vaccines are safe and effective at significantly reducing one's risk of joining the 600,000+ Americans who've succumbed to this virus.
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