On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) stated that while the Omicron variant is a scary unknown and there will be more variants in the future, we have treatments like pills and monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, and “we need to integrate these tools into how we live.” Polis also argued that “there are some people that want folks to wear masks forever and for a long time,” and they can if they want to, some people don’t think they need to wear a mask, “and that’s a reasonable choice as well, given that we’re going to have this virus for the foreseeable future.”
Polis responded [relevant remarks begin around 1:50] to arguments that unvaccinated people pose a risk to others by stating, “So you know what? If you want to protect yourself, if you want an extra level of protection, you could wear a medical-grade mask. They’re available now. When this started in March of 2020, nobody could get a medical-grade mask, not even the hospitals. We didn’t have them. You had to put cloth on. You can wear a KN95, a surgical mask. That gives you a high level of protection. And you know what? My parents, who are 77, they’re boosted. But when they go out, they wear KN95s, and I’m glad they do. Because they’re medically vulnerable, they’re at risk for the virus, and it makes sense for them.”
He added, “It’s like, when do you stop saying something’s an emergency and when does it become something that you deal with and integrate into our everyday lives? I mean, look, is this Omicron variant scary, is it an unknown? Yes it is. Are there going to be more variants in the future? With the prevalence of the virus across the world, there almost certainly will be. But we’re in such a different place than we were in March of 2020, Neil, right? Do you remember at that point in time there were no gowns, no gloves, the hospitals didn’t know what to do, we had no treatments. The truth is, we now have monoclonal antibodies, there [are] pills coming online, so far the evidence looks great. There’s highly-effective vaccine, I mean, reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 15 times. So, we’ve got all these tools that we didn’t have in March of 2020, and it’s time that we realize we need to integrate these tools into how we live. Of course the health and safety we deserve, but fully respecting the individual freedom and local control that we also deserve.”
Polis concluded, “Obviously, there are some people that want folks to wear masks forever and for a long time, and I encourage those people, if they want to be protected, by all means, wear a mask. I mean, your freedom to wear a mask is absolute and protected, but respect the fact that some others don’t feel they need to wear a mask. They’ve been vaccinated and they’ve been boosted, their risk is low, and that’s a reasonable choice as well, given that we’re going to have this virus for the foreseeable future.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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