Vice calls Republicans a ‘death cult’
July 15, 2021
Refinery29 irresponsibly attacks Republicans in a new article, calling them a “death cult.” Refinery29 is a Vice publication that “cover[s] news through a feminist lens” for its young, female audience.
“Tennessee Is Halting All Vaccine Outreach For Kids Because Republicans Are A Death Cult” blares the headline, blasting Tennessee Republicans for opposing the state’s Mature Minor Doctrine. Under that law, unemancipated minors as young as 14 can receive the COVID-19 vaccination without their parents’ consent.
“It seems that the GOP’s war on COVID vaccines is taking precedence over saving lives through immunization,” the article says. “And it could quickly ripple into other states, should their health departments cave to similar pressures.”
The article lays Tennessee’s decreased vaccine outreach at the feet of Republicans, but these decisions came directly from state health officials. State Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey made the call to stop all adolescent vaccine outreach and COVID-19 vaccine events on school property. Tennessee’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tim Jones – not state legislators – told staff to halt all “proactive outreach regarding routine vaccines.”
Dr. Michelle Fiscus was fired on Monday from her role as the medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs at the Tennessee Department of Health. Fiscus had sent a letter to medical providers that administer vaccines that described the Mature Minor Doctrine. She’d been given the option to resign.
As Refinery29 admits, “[t]hroughout the pandemic, kids have been considered low-risk for death or hospitalization.”
Vice News struck a similar note in its reporting with the headline, “Anti-Vaxxers Just Screwed Over All the Kids in Tennessee.”
“The Tennessee GOP has declared war on vaccine outreach, and they’re not stopping with COVID-19 vaccines,” the article continues. “The shift away from vaccine outreach appears to be driven entirely by politics…”
To recap, Vice publications think that Republicans are a “death cult” “screw[ing] over all the kids in Tennessee.” That’s false, but the narrative is more important than the truth for the Left.
The Daily Beast piles on with the headline, “‘Out for Blood’: Inside Tennessee’s Self-Imposed Vaccine Fiasco.” A state senator provided the “out for blood” quote.
“Critics say Republicans turned what was just another vaccine-hesitant state into a creeping public-health disaster,” the article says. Sad.