MSNBC anchor Joy Reid said Monday on her show “The ReidOut” that Republicans in the southern states where COVID-19 cases were surging stopped “caring whether or not kids get sick” given they oppose vaccine and mask mandates.
Reid said, “I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like these days we’re seeing a lot of discussion around what rabid COVID deniers are thinking and feeling. But what about the people who have no choice and no voice in the matter, namely kids? When did we stop caring whether or not kids get sick? Why are their needs secondary to the needs of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers?”
She continued, “Thousands of kids under age 12 are heading back to school unvaccinated because the food and drug administration has not approved emergency use authorization for their age group. Sadly we’re now seeing an uptick in COVID pediatric cases as the Delta variant continues to spread. According to the CDC, at least 81 children died of COVID in the U.S. between March and July of this year. Normally kids dying would be a five-alarm fire in America or anywhere around the world.”
Reid added, “I thank God every day that I was able to get my kids to New York. You know, they grew up in Florida. If we were still there, I would be terrified to send my three kids, who are now grown too, back to school in a state where Ron DeSantis is saying he will fine teachers and school board members for defying his ban on mask mandates. So what he’s saying is the school will not be allowed to be a COVID-free space. There will be no COVID-free spaces for children in Florida, period. they have to be allowed to be exposed to it.”
She concluded, “I wish both sides of this debate cared equally about kids, but that is unfortunately not the case.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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