During an interview with Colorado Public Radio on Thursday released on Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) defended his refusal to reinstitute a state mask mandate by saying that the coronavirus “emergency is over” and state public health officials don’t “get to tell people what to wear.” Polis also argued that because vaccines have been available for a long time, “People who want to be protected are.” And that “If you haven’t been vaccinated, that’s your choice. I respect that. But it’s your fault when you’re in the hospital with COVID.”
Polis said, “Well, you know, our top goal is always to follow the science, and there was a time when there was no vaccine and masks were all we had and we needed to wear them and Colorado stepped up, which was great. The truth is, we now have highly effective vaccines that work far better than masks, I mean, not even close. If you wear a mask, it does decrease your risk of getting COVID, and that’s a good thing to do indoors around others. But if you get COVID and you are still unvaccinated, the case is just as bad as if you were not wearing a mask. So, it’s a different place. Everybody’s had more than enough opportunity to get vaccinated, I think. … At this point, if you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s really your own darn fault.”
He added that he sees the vaccines as “the end of the medical emergency, frankly. People who want to be protected are.”
Polis further stated that having a mask mandate is “the kind of thing that I never — I didn’t hesitate to do in the emergency. The emergency is over. So, you know, public health doesn’t get to tell people what to wear. I mean, that’s just not their job. I think it’s great to wear a mask indoors around others. But when you’re not in an emergency situation — public health would say to always wear a mask. Because it always decreases flu, it always decreases anything. But that’s not something that you require. You don’t tell people what to wear. You don’t tell people to wear a jacket when they go out in winter and force them to. If they get frostbite, it’s their own darn fault. If you haven’t been vaccinated, that’s your choice. I respect that. But it’s your fault when you’re in the hospital with COVID.”
After the interview, Polis’ office put out a statement saying that he was referring to the role of state officials, and he “believes that local leaders can and should put disease reduction protocols in place based off their disease levels and community support for those policies.”
(h/t Mediaite)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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