But uttering these words, in Tennessee, just got the head of state-level public health. . . fired. Insane. From NPR's latest reporting, then -- tonight:
. . .Dr. Michelle Fiscus was caught up in a controversy after she passed along legal guidance to health providers saying teenagers do not need parents' consent to receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot -- a position established by decades of state law. Fiscus was named medical director of Tennessee's immunization program in early 2019. Later that same year, she was elected to the American Academy of Pediatrics' board of directors as a district chair, representing five states. . . .
"Specifically, it was MY job to provide evidence-based education and vaccine access so that Tennesseans could protect themselves against COVID-19," Fiscus said in a scathing statement about her firing. "I have now been terminated for doing exactly that. . . ."
Fiscus said that "the 'leaders' of this state who have put their heads in the sand and denied the existence of COVID-19 or who thought they knew better than the scientists who have spent their lives working to prevent disease. . . they are what is 'reprehensible.' I am ashamed of them. I am afraid for my state. . . ."
This is lunacy -- and it is very dangerous lunacy. If she sues, she will win her job back. She simply disclosed, and defended existing law, with the objective of educating vulnerable teens, about their right to protect themselves. Crazy.
These GOP Tangerine believers. . . think the law doesn't apply to them. Time to disabuse them of that notion.
UPDATE -- 07.23.2021 PM: Seeing rising Delta varaint cases, no doubt, influenced this reversal:
. . ."The reason that we paused is because we wanted to leave no room for interpretation about where we are shooting, and we are shooting to get the message to parents. And there was a perception that we were marketing to children. And that totally was against our view about the importance of parental authority," Piercey said. . . .
नमस्ते
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