LANSING — The anti-vaxx show continued yesterday as Mike Shirkey sat with WRFH radio to double down on his baseless and dangerous claims about vaccines and COVID-19, including that in the case of vaccinating 70% of the state “we’re already there.”
This comes after Shirkey’s cascade of lies was recently fact checked by MLive, who accused the Republican of “misus[ing] health data” throughout his comments. In reality, there have been far less confirmed COVID-cases than Shirkey stated, and overcoming the virus only results in 6-8 months of immunity. When MLive reached out to Shirkey’s office, his staff conceded that there was “a rough doubling” of the data — or as those that understand math like to call it, a lie.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey previously got caught cooking the books on COVID-19 data in order to fit his completely devoid of science narrative that public safety guidelines don’t work. And on Monday, he took to WJR radio to rail against “Vacc to Normal,” a plan laid out by Gov. Whitmer that sensibly ties reopening to key benchmarks as Michiganders get vaccinated at levels approaching herd immunity.
Shirkey himself refuses to get vaccinated, saying that he’s “got immunity now” after contracting COVID-19 (he doesn’t) and said people should just learn to “live with the virus” (a non-plan that would have actually killed 30,000 additional Michiganders). While horrific, it was entirely unsurprising that he would apply his nonsensical immunity logic to the entire state, arguing that because “2 million-plus people” have contracted and recovered from COVID-19, they now have “natural immunity” and should be counted as if they’re vaccinated.
“The only thing that’s a bigger threat to Michigan than COVID-19 itself is the GOP’s sustained refusal to acknowledge reality and listen to the science that will safely guide us out of this pandemic,” said Rodericka Applewhaite, MDP spokesperson. “Michiganders have been waiting over a year for Mike Shirkey and Republicans across the state to start taking this virus seriously. Instead, he’s knowingly throwing out bad numbers and fake science. Despite facing headwinds purely for the sake of partisanship, Gov. Whitmer has continued to lead Michigan out of this pandemic and towards a vaccinated state with a revitalized economy. It’s unfortunate that Mike Shirkey and his ilk can’t say the same.
