Tipsheet

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Says 'Our Enemy is the Virus,' Not 'One Another'

Landon Mion
Landon Mion  |  September 12, 2021 2:45 PM

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Sunday that Americans should refrain from rushed judgement and attacking each other and instead focus on defeating the coronavirus.

During an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s "This Week," Murthy said while many people are angry due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the administration's virus protocol, turning against each other is not the answer. 

"What we cannot allow, George, is for this pandemic to turn us on each other," Murthy said. "Our enemy is the virus. It is not one another. And what we have to do is approach this next phase of the pandemic response, recognizing we’ve got to listen to each other before we rush to judgment and we’ve got to support one another in our decision making and during times of crisis."

This comes amid criticism from GOP lawmakers over President Joe Biden's new vaccine mandate, which requires employers with at least 100 employees to mandate that workers get vaccinated or undergo weekly coronavirus testing.
During Sunday's interview, Murthy defended the new vaccine mandate, saying that the administration's COVID-19 mitigation efforts will help ensure that Americans are protected from the virus.
"I do think that this series of measures taken here present a strong step forward and they will ultimately help protect our communities," he said. "And that is the single goal here. It’s to protect us from COVID-19, it’s helped us get through this, keep our kids in school, keep our economy going and give us the peace of mind that so many people have desperately wanted since this pandemic began."