In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky revealed that she and Joe Biden are “looking into” the possibility of establishing a vaccine mandate.
“Are you for mandating a vaccine on a federal level?” Baier asked her.
“Ummm. That’s something that I think the administration is looking into. It’s something that I think we are looking to see approval of from the vaccine,” Walensky replied. “Overall, I think in general, I am all for more vaccination. But, I have nothing further to say on that except that we are looking into those policies.”
Looking into those policies? Oh, hell no, sister.
The Biden administration has been struggling to deal with vaccine hesitancy since April, when they put a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over a statistically insignificant number of cases of severe blood clots (6 people out of nearly 7 million who received the vaccine). That decision caused a massive decline in new vaccinations. On Thursday, Biden called on state and local governments to give $100 to adults who get the COVID-19 vaccine. Apparently, they’re not very confident that will work if they’re actually considering a vaccine mandate.
Related: Time to Move to Canada? Alberta Declares COVID-19 a Common Flu
Enforcing mask mandates was hard enough to swallow, but the Biden administration is actually considering mandating that Americans get injected with a vaccine that is so new it is technically experimental. That just isn’t right. I got vaccinated, figuring the benefits outweighed the risks, but plenty of people are not comfortable doing that, and many more don’t want to vaccinate their young children with such a new vaccine when the longterm effects are not known. Being forced to wear a mask may be inconvenient—especially when the nation’s top doctor admitted they don’t protect you—but forcing Americans to be injected with something is a gross violation of rights. I am certain that if the Biden administration actually attempts to go through with it, it will be fought vigorously and will be rejected in the courts.
Our bodies, our choice.
Update: After the interview, Walensky later claimed on Twitter that she didn’t mean a nationwide mandate. “I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate.”
.@BerkeleyJr To clarify: There will be no nationwide mandate. I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate.
— Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) July 30, 2021
Join the conversation as a VIP Member