At a time when the Delta variant has led to a spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is urging those in his home state to “overcome skepticism” about the vaccine.
The Republican leader promoted vaccinations during a stop in Butler County on Tuesday.
As a polio survivor, McConnell said he's perplexed why more Americans aren’t rolling up their sleeves.
Speaking in Morgantown, the GOP lawmaker noted it took 70 years to find two vaccines for polio compared to the mere months it took to get three vaccines effective against COVID-19.
He stressed the solution to ending the pandemic is right in our hands.
"We have the vaccine now," stated McConnell. "We have the solution.”
McConnell spoke the same day Governor Andy Beshear said Kentucky is expected to set a record for hospitalizations by the end of the week.
“One thing is absolutely clear. It’s a fact. Ninety-seven percent of the people in the hospitals right now are unvaccinated," McConnell said.
McConnell urged the public to ignore false information circulating on social media and to seek trusted, verified information about the vaccines.
The minority leader recently spent campaign money to pay for radio ads in his home state urging vaccination.
According to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, only 16 of Kentucky’s 120 counties have more than 50 percent of their populations fully vaccinated.
