Commerce Secretary Raimondo: ‘Incredibly Frustrating’ Certain Americans Choose Not to Be Vaccinated

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Friday on MSNBC’s “Stephanie Ruhle Reports” that it is “incredibly frustrating that certain Americans” were not getting the COVID-19 vaccination after the Biden administration has made it free and easily accessed.

Ruhle said, “We’re seeing more businesses demand that in the last couple of hours with United Airlines announce a vaccine mandate. They have tens of thousands of employees. We learned the administration is just thinking about, hasn’t done anything about it, but withholding federal funds to push more COVID vaccines. That would be great. What does that look like? Is that a serious consideration?”

Raimondo said, “You know, the president’s team on COVID is trying to be as creative as possible and considering all options. So, yes, everything is being considered. Obviously, in a very thoughtful way because, you know, we want to get it right. This is too important.”

She added, “The fact of the matter is, it is incredibly frustrating that certain Americans are still choosing not to be vaccinated because of the great work of the Biden administration, anyone can get a vaccine for free, any day. We know these are incredibly effective vaccines. At this point, there is no excuse not to get yourself vaccinated. It is easy. It’s free. It’s safe. It’s effective. We are starting to consider different approaches and more creative approaches, more incentives because until everyone is vaccinated, we will not be out of the woods. How do we turn the corner on COVID? Everyone needs to be vaccinated, and then we need to get in the business of making these long-term investments so we can fundamentally improve our productivity, innovation, and competitiveness in this economy.”

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