New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ripped a group of heckling anti-vaxxers Wednesday, calling them “ultimate knuckleheads” for railing against COVID-19 inoculations amid a surge in new cases in the Garden State.
“You’ve lost your minds,” Murphy told the group. “You are the ultimate knuckleheads and because of what you are saying and standing for people are losing their lives.
“People are losing their lives and you have to know that,” he told the sign-waving group. “Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror.”
Murphy was speaking in Union City to announce an extension of the state’s eviction moratorium when he lapsed into the crisis caused by the recent spread of the virus’ Delta variant, ABC News reported.
He told the mostly-supportive crowd that New Jersey had reached “an inflection point.”
The state reported more than 1,100 new cases on Wednesday, with 13 deaths and 598 hospitalizations, 99 of those patients in intensive care.
“We are here at an inflection point in our fight, not just against the COVID pandemic, but also against the tremendous upheaval for thousands and thousands of New Jerseyans,” he told the crowd.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called people who refuse to get vaccinated “ultimate knuckleheads.” AP Photo/Wayne Parry“Please get vaccinated if you are not vaccinated,” he added. “We are not out of the fight. Please get vaccinated.”
On Monday, Murphy mandated vaccines for hospital and long-term health care workers
A New Jersey study released last month found that vaccines were 99 percent effective.
