Alabama Gov.\u00a0Kay Ivey\u00a0(R) declared that it’s \u201ctime to start blaming the unvaccinated\u201d for the surge in coronavirus infections in her state.<\/p>\n
The governor, visibly exasperated while discussing the need to get a COVID-19 vaccination shot, was\u00a0asked<\/a>\u00a0by local reporters Thursday what more can be done to boost vaccination rates.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, you tell me!\u201d Ivey said. \u201cFolks supposed to have common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It\u2019s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n By the numbers:<\/strong>\u00a0Ivey\u2019s comments come as her state grapples with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.<\/p>\n Only 48.7 percent of the population age 12 and up has received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 39.6 percent have been fully inoculated,<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the state has seen its average daily new cases quadruple in the past two weeks, reaching 1,133 on Thursday, according to data from\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ivey said it should be \u201ccrystal clear\u201d that the new cases and hospitalizations are being reported among the unvaccinated.<\/p>\n