Hutchinson to DeSantis: ‘We Shouldn’t Undermine Science’ by Trying to Relegate the COVID Vaccine

Outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) should not try and relegate the COVID vaccine.

Anchor Chuck Todd said, “You spent a lot of 2021 trying to get some skeptics to take the backseat in Arkansas, so I’m curious what you think of this.”

Discussing requesting his state’s Supreme Court convene a grand jury to probe wrongdoing related to the coronavirus vaccine on Fox News, DeSantis said, “Like anything, you take an MRNA shot, the way to view it is what are the benefits and the drawbacks? It seems like our medical establishment never wanted to be honest with people about the potential drawbacks.”

Todd said, “The Florida governor is leaning into vaccine skepticism at a time when I know health officials are trying to get people to take these boosters so we can prevent the 300 deaths a day that we’re still averaging in America. Do you have any thoughts?”

Hutchinson said, “We shouldn’t undermine science and the medical community that’s important to our public health. Whenever you look at how I handled the pandemic in Arkansas, we didn’t have mandates of government forcing people to take the vaccine, but I did go out into the communities. I had the medical experts educating them as to how this that is beneficial. I had local community doctors addressing that. I think we’re not good as a society. It’s not the right direction if we diminish the facts, diminish all the best information we have from science at the time. Sure, during the pandemic, things changed from time to time we had to adjust. That’s what leaders do.”

He added, “But I don’t think it’s good to go back, whether you’re going back to the 2020 election or going back and trying to relegate everything that happened. That’s not helpful for where we are. We do need to make sure we get the protection. Whether it’s a flu shot or COVID vaccine, everybody makes their own decision. I’m for the education and science behind it.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN