Dr. Peter Hotez, a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, said China's current surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths is the result of too much freedom stemming from unvaccinated individuals.
"China COVID deaths accelerate to 9,000 a day - What you get when you allow a lethal virus to rip through an unvaccinated population. When they try to ram 'health freedom' propaganda down our throats, remember that number…" Hotez tweeted on Tuesday while sharing an article from Reuters.
He went on to say people like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is actually the one who is authoritarian like China President Xi Jinping:
Remember: House Freedom Caucus, FL Governor, Fox News, the far right think tanks, contrarian pseudo intellectuals and their health freedom propaganda: they don’t care about you, they don’t care about your family. It’s all about authoritarian control, no different from China’s Xi.
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) January 10, 2023
"Death and destruction possibly on a massive scale, fyi this is what happens when you let the virus rip through an unvaccinated population. Don’t forget it, maybe as many as 9,000 deaths/day? Almost unimaginable," he added.
Hotez's assertions is absurd for multiple reasons. For starters, over 91 percent of China's population has been vaccinated for COVID-19, according to the New York Times. Second, the reason why people are flocking to states like Florida is because they saw what power-hungry politicians were able to get away with in the name of public health. California was a prime example of leaders implementing lockdowns over COVID, only to then flaunt the rules when they thought no one was watching.
