'Tell your quarterback to get the vaccine' Biden has a dig at anti-vaxx Aaron Rodgers while talking to a Packers fan during tour of Kentucky tornado damage
President Biden aimed a dig at coronavirus vaccine skeptic Aarons Rodgers while touring tornado damage in Kentucky today, telling local Packers fans that the quarterback should 'go get vaccinated.'
While turning his back to the cameras, Biden was wrapping up a conversation with two women, patting one of them, who was wearing Green Bay Packers gear on the back and telling her: 'Tell your quarterback he's got to get the vaccine.'
CBS News reporter Ed O'Keefe tweeted the moment and said Biden, who's is an avid Packers fan, made the quip while wrapping up the conversation, much to the amuse of the two women.
The president's personal plea to his favorite team's star quarterback comes a month after Rodgers admitted he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19, despite telling reporters in August that he was 'immunized'.
The 38-year-old athlete tested positive for COVID in early November, at which time it became known he was not vaccinated. He missed the following against the Kansas City Chiefs, which the Packers lost 13-7 with Jordan Love filling in as quarterback.
Rodgers was heavily criticized in the aftermath of his diagnosis, being accused of lying and trying to conceal his vaccination status.
President Biden made the quip during a long conversation with two women living in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. The pair, who were affected by the damage done by the tornadoes, were embraced by the President (pictured)
President Biden told local Packers fans that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers should 'go get vaccinated'
Since his return on November 17, after a compulsory ten-day isolation period, the Packers are winning 3-1. Their impressive 10-3 run means the franchise is tied for the best record in the NFL, along with the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The criticism over Rodgers' vaccination status has subsided in recent weeks but the NFL is currently facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic after nearly 100 players and coaches were placed on the unable-to-perform COVID lists this week.
The Packers, however, do not have anyone of concern on the list this week.
As of late, the Biden administration's efforts to promote vaccination against COVID have intensified as the omicron variant of the virus is spreading across the world.
Several scientists have claimed the new strain is more infectious than the delta variant and that the number of Omicron cases will soon exceed all other COVID-positive related cases.
However, it is unclear whether it is more deadly.
Health experts in the US have said that people who have been double-jabbed should get their boosters shots to build protection against infection and hospitalization.
As of Monday, only 16 percent of Americans had received their COVID-19 booster shots, with no state having more than 30% of its population boosted
Meanwhile, Biden was touring the storm-torn towns of Mayfield and Dawson Springs in western Kentucky on Wednesday, where residents were recently ordered to boil tap water until further notice.
The president arrived at the epicenter of Kentucky's tornado damage to be greeted by jeers of 'Let's go Brandon' before promising to meet the costs of the state's first 30 days of emergency work.
The greeting, which is supposed to stand in for 'f**k Joe Biden,' was a reminder that this corner of Kentucky is deep red, and voted overwhelmingly for former President Donald Trump in the election last year.
But the president paid no attention as he toured a downtown reduced to mounds of rubble and piles of logs by tornadoes five days ago. The death toll in Kentucky stands at 74 - but is expected to rise higher - and another 14 people are reported dead in three other states.
Back where I'm from we're used to hurricanes and floods and high water. But these tornadoes are just something totally different. They devour everything in their path: your homes, your businesses, your houses of worship, dreams or lives,' Biden observed.
Biden was visiting to see the damage for himself and to offer local leaders any help the needed.
U.S. President Joe Biden looks on as he visits a neighborhood devastated by an outbreak of tornadoes that passed through several states, in Dawson Springs, Kentucky
President Joe Biden speaks with members of the media as he surveys storm damage from tornadoes and extreme weather in Mayfield
President Joe Biden traveled to western Kentucky on Wednesday where he toured Mayfield, epicenter of Friday's devastating tornado strikes. He told locals the federal government would not leave until was rebuilt
An aerial view of a destroyed businesses in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Wednesday
A drone picture of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in the aftermath of the tornado
Matt Robertson helps search for possessions around his father's home after it was destroyed during Friday's tornado on December 14, 2021 in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. Multiple tornadoes touched down in several Midwest states late Friday killing at least 88 people
Gov Andy Beshear of Kentucky said the complete scale of destruction won't be known for days as some homes are impossible to get to
After touring the neighborhood of Dawson Springs, he said he had agreed to meet the state's emergency costs and promised the federal government would help it get back on its feet.
'I wasn't sure I had the authority to do this. But i do,' he said against a backdrop of homes reduced to matchwood.
'The government's going to cover 100 percent of the cost of the first 30 days, all the emergency work... the federal government's going to take care of it.'
He also spoke of how much harder it was to suffer loss ahead of the holidays - citing the phonecall he got from a first responder when his wife had been killed in a car crash.
'We also need to recognize that people are suffering mentally and emotionally,' he said.
'People talk about post-traumatic stress on the battlefield in Afghanistan and Iraq.
'Well, guess what there's a lot of post traumatic stress that comes from lying in your house all of a sudden the roof gets blown off and you wonder whether your kids are around.
'The shock of losing a home or business, the grief of losing someone. It's happening just before the holiday season. We're going to make sure you have all the help you need,' the president said.
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