Lee, who so far has avoided drawing a serious Republican primary challenge in his 2022 reelection bid, has been accused of complacency in the face of the deadly pandemic. Tennessee s vaccination rates for COVID-19 hover at 39% of its total population, versus over 49% nationally for the fully vaccinated. The state s COVID hospitalizations have more than tripled over the past three weeks and infections have increased more than five-fold.
Speaking at the Tennessee Cattlemen s Association annual conference on Friday, Lee said he did not think incentives were very effective, WBIR-TV reported. “I don’t think that’s the role of government, he added. The role of government is to make it available and then to encourage folks to get a vaccine.”
Travis Loller
FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2021, file photo, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee answers questions after he spoke to a joint session of the legislature at the start of a special session on education in Nashville, Tenn. Despite having some of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, Tennessee isn t planning to offer any incentives for people to get the shot. But it s a different story when it comes to cattle, where the state has reimbursed farmers nearly half a million dollars over the past two years to vaccinate their herds against respiratory and other diseases. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Lee, who so far has avoided drawing a serious Republican primary challenge in his 2022 reelection bid, has been accused of complacency in the face of the deadly pandemic. Tennessee s vaccination rates for COVID-19 hover at 39% of its total population, versus over 49% nationally for the fully vaccinated. The state s COVID hospitalizations have more than tripled over the past three weeks and infections have increased more than five-fold.
Speaking at the Tennessee Cattlemen s Association annual conference on Friday, Lee said he did not think incentives were very effective, WBIR-TV reported. “I don’t think that’s the role of government, he added. The role of government is to make it available and then to encourage folks to get a vaccine.”
Lee, who so far has avoided drawing a serious Republican primary challenge in his 2022 reelection bid, has been accused of complacency in the face of the deadly pandemic. Tennessee s vaccination rates for COVID-19 hover at 39% of its total population, versus over 49% nationally for the fully vaccinated. The state s COVID hospitalizations have more than tripled over the past three weeks and infections have increased more than five-fold.
Speaking at the Tennessee Cattlemen s Association annual conference on Friday, Lee said he did not think incentives were very effective, WBIR-TV reported. “I don’t think that’s the role of government, he added. The role of government is to make it available and then to encourage folks to get a vaccine.”
Lee, who so far has avoided drawing a serious Republican primary challenge in his 2022 reelection bid, has been accused of complacency in the face of the deadly pandemic. Tennessee s vaccination rates for COVID-19 hover at 39% of its total population, versus over 49% nationally for the fully vaccinated. The state s COVID hospitalizations have more than tripled over the past three weeks and infections have increased more than five-fold.
Speaking at the Tennessee Cattlemen s Association annual conference on Friday, Lee said he did not think incentives were very effective, WBIR-TV reported. “I don’t think that’s the role of government, he added. The role of government is to make it available and then to encourage folks to get a vaccine.”