Lt. Gov.-elect Sears says she won’t force vaccines
Winsome Sears, the lieutenant governor-elect of Virginia, reaffirmed Sunday that she did not support a sweeping vaccine mandate for Virginians like the rules implemented in New York City and elsewhere.
“I’m not going to force anybody to do that,” Sears said on the CNN program “State of the Union.”
She added, “I have said: Get the vaccine. And then if you’re not going to get the vaccine, then do what’s necessary to keep yourself safe and keep other people safe.”
Virginia reported a sevenday rolling average of 1,518 new daily cases Saturday. Cases have dropped since a mid-September surge, but are starting to tick up again. More than 74% of Virginians have received at least one vaccine dose, according to a New York Times database, ranking the state one of the nation’s most vaccinated.
Sears pointed to New York City’s strict vaccination rules as an example of overreach and a “slippery slope.” Although she has encouraged vaccination, she refused to say whether she was vaccinated.
“The minute that I start telling you about my vaccine status, we’re going to be down the bottom of the mountain trying to figure out how we got there because now you want to know what’s in my DNA, you’re going to want to know this, that and the other,” she said.
She added that monoclonal antibody treatments for people with severe COVID
were also a good solution. Scientists have maintained that while the treatments are effective and help prevent the nation’s death toll from going up even higher, more widespread vaccination is a cheaper and easier way to prevent many COVID patients from having to go to the hospital in the first place.
The new Republican governor she will serve with, Glenn Youngkin, has said that he did not support vaccine mandates and campaigned partly on loosening strict pandemic rules for businesses and schools. He has said he supports dropping mask mandates in schools. But his team has also suggested they would leave it up to local authorities and school districts to decide.
Sears was elected Nov. 2 as the first woman of color to serve in her role in Virginia.
Asked what the new role means to her, she said, “Well, it means that when children look at me, they can say, ‘Winsome is there. If she can do it, I can do it.’ ” she said.