Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that more people need to get vaccinated against coronavirus or new lockdowns could come in the fall.
McConnell pointed out that 97% of COVID-related hospitalizations are from unvaccinated people, and said that he never expected there to be an issue convincing people to take the vaccine once it was developed. The Senate minority leader cited his battle with polio and the lengthy amount of time it took to develop a polio vaccine. (RELATED: Hillary Adviser Brags After Poking Fun At McConnell Disability)
Get vaccinated!
These shots need to get into arms as rapidly as possible, or else we’re gonna be back in a situation this fall like what we went through last year. pic.twitter.com/J4o6yL5cn4
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) July 20, 2021
“I want to underscore in the strongest possible manner I can, and I say this with some authority as you all know, as a result of being a polio victim myself, and being very aware that it took seven decades to come up with two effective polio vaccines,” he said. “This was done in under one year.”
“These shots need to get in everybody’s arms as rapidly as possible or we’re going to be back in a situation in the fall that we don’t yearn for — that we went through last year,” McConnell added. “This is not complicated.”
Some places have already started re-implementing restrictions. Los Angeles County put in place another indoor mask mandate that applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Australia also placed more than half of its population under strict lockdown after a handful of cases were confirmed.