President Joe Biden's administration is ramping up its efforts to get a sufficient amount of Americans vaccinated as stronger variants of the virus that's killed over 600 thousand Americans continue to emerge.
A hindrance to that effort are the countless right-wing congresspeople and media personalities eagerly promoting disinformation regarding the efficacy and safety of the vaccines, as well as mischaracterizing the government's effort to persuade Americans to get it.
Recently, these right-wing figures have likened the government's vaccine push to Nazis, to Jim Crow, and to apartheid.
Now, one Fox News panelist has likened the effort to the Taliban, the ultraconservative insurgents who gave refuge to Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.
Watch below.
Fox contributor compares the Biden administration's vaccine push to the Taliban \n\nHurt: "When it comes to medical privacy, they've become like the Taliban, which is a real problem."pic.twitter.com/oKXyWtBna8— Lis Power (@Lis Power) 1625855998
Fox News correspondent Charlie Hurt said:
"The problem is when it comes to medical privacy, they've become like the Taliban, which is a real problem."
Hurt went on to falsely claim that young people "don't need" the vaccine.
Fellow commentator Marie Harf pushed back on Hurt's comparison:
"Bringing the Taliban or Nazi Germany like Marjorie Taylor Greene has done into this debate about vaccines, that is just not helpful. ... That language is what's scaring people from getting the vaccine."
Others on social media disagreed with the comparison as well.
Fox News: a safe space for liars and morons. (Mostly.)\n\n#FixFoxNews— Rick G. Rosner (@Rick G. Rosner) 1625859999
Uh huhpic.twitter.com/HaDUqCLRay— Reese(Marquis de Lafayette) (@Reese(Marquis de Lafayette)) 1625856414
Whenever I think of public health policy that could mitigate unnecessary illness & death, I always picture theocratic militant sects— Busto Mundo (@Busto Mundo) 1625856384
To be clear, the taliban are known for violently attacking public vaccination campaigns.— Cross-eyed Bear (@Cross-eyed Bear) 1625860548
Damn. I needed al-Qaeda to finish my bingo card of GOP comparison\u2019s of the vaccine. \n\nCurrently, I have Communist, Nazis, Socialist and Marxist.— John Howie (@John Howie) 1625856467
Yup protecting and saving lives is totally like the Taliban.— tellthetruth (@tellthetruth) 1625856455
Once again, Fox was breaching dangerous territory.
This is going to get people killed\u2014The healthcare workers knocking on doors.https://twitter.com/LisPower1/status/1413568628180627456\u00a0\u2026— Kim \ud83c\udf38 (@Kim \ud83c\udf38) 1625858600
This is insanity. How are they getting away with spreading so much anti-vaxx propaganda and paranoia? HOW?https://twitter.com/LisPower1/status/1413568628180627456\u00a0\u2026— CyberMindGrrl\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@CyberMindGrrl\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1625858501
Just pumping people who won't read a newspaper full of terrifying nonsense hour after hour after hour.https://twitter.com/LisPower1/status/1413568628180627456\u00a0\u2026— Hank Epton (@Hank Epton) 1625856065
Segments like this have contributed to the major disparity of vaccine reception between Democrats and Republicans.
