Republicans Continue Their Efforts to Sabotage Our Progress on COVID-19
This week, Republicans continued to push back against the progress we’ve made on COVID-19. Yesterday President Biden once again asked Congress to provide the necessary funding to meet our urgent needs on the pandemic. Without this funding, the country will be unable to purchase life-saving therapeutics, vaccines, and boosters, and we’re already feeling the consequences of Republican inaction.
We’re still reeling from the past two years. The majority of family members of people who spent time in an ICU with COVID-19 report PTSD symptoms. COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2021, behind only heart disease and cancer. And cases are rising throughout the country.
Republicans must join with their Democratic colleagues and approve this additional funding as soon as possible. There’s no time to waste as we fall behind other countries in the line to purchase vital tools to combat the pandemic. We must act swiftly in order to protect ourselves in the future.
Elsewhere, in Republican efforts to prolong the pandemic…
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ first surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, has recently spoken out against the policies pushed by his former employer and Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s current surgeon general. DeSantis seems happy with his current quack pick, calling him the “anti-Fauci” in a recent interview on Fox News.
The chairman of the Ohio Republican party called for Dr. Fauci’s execution while members in the crowd cheered. A reminder that Dr. Fauci is a celebrated public servant with decades of experience under multiple presidents, and condoning and inciting violence is unconscionable and potentially a crime. .
Mississippi banned state and local government agencies, including schools and universities, from enacting COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
Ohio Republicans put forward a bill that would force doctors to offer treatments unproven to work against COVID-19 to their patients.