On Monday, President Joe Biden spoke on the issue of vaccines to the American public, including what appeared to be a veiled threat that people not getting the vaccine will “pay the price” for not getting it.
Biden stated during his speech:
“If the unvaccinated get vaccinated, they will protect themselves and other unvaccinated people around them. If they do not, states with low vaccination rates may see those [COVID-19 infection] rates go up, may see this progress reversed.”
“Only those who are not vaccinated will end up paying the price. The vaccinated will continue to be protected against severe illnesses, but others may not be, if you’re not vaccinated”
(It is assumed that Biden is referring here to severe illnesses arising from complications due to COVID, since the vaccine clearly can’t and doesn’t protect against any other severe illnesses.)
Biden had previously on May 13 talked about the vaccine, mentioning that it’s ok for people to still “mask up” and for businesses to require people to wear masks, and that people should “respect” them.
“Last week the CDC announced that if you’re fully vaccinated, you no longer have to wear a mask. The science now shows that your vaccination protects you as well as being masked, or better than being masked.”
“So, you can protect yourself from serious illness from COVID by being vaccinated, or wearing a mask until you’re fully vaccinated.”
