Dr. Irwin Redlener came prepared.
In an interview about the growing number of coronavirus cases in many parts of the U.S., the New York doctor placed blame on vaccine "holdouts" for "really creating problems" in the nation's fight against the deadly disease.
"We have the internet and social media creating havoc, people not knowing what's true," said Redlener, an NBC News and MSNBC contributor, and a senior researcher at Columbia University. "I've had people who are adamant vaccine resisters saying things like, 'Oh, I read that if I get vaccinated somebody's injecting a microchip into my body, or that I'll become magnetic.' It's absolutely crazy," he added.
The doctor said another factor causing issues with the vaccination rate in the U.S. is "toxic partisan politics, Trump politics."
In August, the U.S. is now averaging seven times as many daily cases of the coronavirus compared to July, and states in the South with the lowest vaccination rates are making up a large share of the outbreaks. In Louisiana, there have been more cases in the last week than any other seven-day period of the pandemic.
For more, check out the interview above with LX News Now.
Here's one more quick part:
Says there's a limits to personal freedoms: 'you can't run down the street naked'
"People have raised the issue of personal freedoms, [saying] 'you are making a decision about my body by forcing me to get vaccinated.' And I think that's also a completely spurious misuse of the concept of personal freedom," Redlener added.
"There are many, many things you're not allowed to do. You can't drive without a license. And if you drive, you must have insurance, you can't drive drunk, you can't keep your children from school, and in most schools you are absolutely required to get them vaccinated against the usual childhood diseases."
"Our lives are filled with things that are restricted by the law, or required by the law. I mean, you can't run down the street naked. You'd get arrested."
