Alabama Governor Kay Ivey says it's "time to start blaming the unvaccinated" for COVID spike

Alabama's COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise, and Governor Kay Ivey is venting her frustration with the choice many in her state are making not to get vaccinated.

At an event in Birmingham Thursday, she was asked by a reporter, "What is it going to take to get people to get shots in arms?" Ivey retorted, "I don't know — you tell me. Folks are supposed to have common sense. But it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It's the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down."  The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Alabama is 47th in vaccination rates — just under 52% of residents 18 and older have received at least one dose. Alabama also tops the nation in the highest rate of positive COVID tests, with 40%, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Health experts do not recommend that states reopen until their rate of positivity drops below 5%.