The same party that politicized state oversight of COVID-19 vaccines now urges Tennesseans to get the vaccine, saying it “should not be political.”
Many members of the Tennessee state Senate Republican Caucus signed a letter issued Tuesday noting the recent spike in cases and said that “virtually all” of those who require hospitalization have been unvaccinated.
House Republicans said in a committee meeting last month that they would consider dissolving the part of the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) that oversees vaccine awareness. They were angered over the department’s moves to get more minors vaccinated, especially those who might get the vaccine without their parents’ permission.
Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) said those efforts amounted to “peer pressure applied by the state of Tennessee,” according to a story at the time from The Tennessean. Cepicky said he found the move to be “reprehensible … that you would do that to our youth.”
Sen. Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield), who did not sign Tuesday’s vaccine letter, said it seemed the state was “advocating” and said, “market to parents, don’t market to children. Period.”
Shortly after the hearing, Gov. Bill Lee fired Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the state’s top vaccine official. She claims she was scapegoated to appease Republicans angered over efforts to vaccine minors.
The news made headlines across the country in stories that mostly criticized Tennessee Republicans and the Lee administration. State GOP leaders fired back with a statement calling attacks on them “intellectually dishonest and wrong.” Their concerns about vaccines and minors was interpreted as “anti-vaccine” they said.
Tuesday’s letter lauds the country’s general vaccine history, saying it has “been saving lives for over a century” and has eradicated polio and smallpox. Even the “new mRNA technology, which has caused some people to be vaccine hesitant, has been around for decades,” they said, adding an explanation on how it works.
As for the COVID-19 vaccine, “we are well beyond the COVID-19 vaccine trial stag,” said the GOP missive. It noted that nearly 338 million doses have been given with “few adverse effects.”
”Please compare the very rare instances of side effects with the more than 600,000 deaths in the U.S. which have occurred due to COVID-19,” reads the letter. “The facts are clear — the benefits of the vaccines far outweigh the risks.”
However, “under no circumstances” will Tennessee mandate vaccines or vaccine passports, Republicans said, as “we recognize this is a personal choice.” Still, they urged “Tennesseans who do not have a religious objection or a legitimate medical issue to get vaccinated.”
“Unfortunately, efforts to get more people vaccinated have been hampered by politicization of COVID-19,” reads the letter from the party that politicized COVID-19. “This should not be political. Tennesseans need factual information to make educated decisions regarding their health.”
