ICYMI – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: As Omicron Rages and Trump Admits He’s Vaccinated and Boosted, Walker Still Refuses to Say if He’s Vaccinated

Today, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution is reporting that U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker is still refusing to disclose whether or not he’s received the COVID-19 vaccine, even as the Omicron variant rages across Georgia and former President Donald Trump admits that he’s been vaccinated and boosted. 

For months, Walker has refused to encourage Georgians to get vaccinated despite efforts from officials in Georgia and nationally to raise vaccination rates. Recently, Walker praised performer Nicki Minaj for spreading false information about the vaccine and defended a donor’s use of the swastika as “an anti-mandatory vaccination graphic.” 

Read the report below:

Two Georgia Republican Senate hopefuls won’t disclose vaccination status
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/22/21

• The Republican front-runner in the race for the U.S. Senate in Georgia and one of his GOP rivals declined to say whether they had received the coronavirus vaccine, as the spread of the omicron variant sharpened scrutiny of the nation’s ongoing struggles to contain COVID-19.
  
• Herschel Walker wouldn’t say whether he has been vaccinated against the coronavirus, though he credited the vaccines for helping “turn a corner in this pandemic.” 
  
• They stand out among the Georgia candidates for marquee offices. Each of the three leading candidates for governor — incumbent Brian Kemp, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams — all confirmed they’ve been vaccinated.
  
• So did Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and two other Republicans running in the Senate contest: Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler.
  
• Georgia’s hospitals are bracing for a new surge in coronavirus cases as the omicron variant sweeps through the nation, and state leaders are under new pressure to blunt a fifth wave of the disease that coincides with the holiday season.
  
• A recent report from the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed those who are vaccinated and boosted are 20 times less likely to die from the disease than those who have not received the shots.
  
• King’s and Walker’s refusals to disclose their status contrast with Trump, who was peppered with boos in Dallas this month after he revealed he had received a booster shot.
  
• Walker raised eyebrows in September when he seemed to show support for performer Nikki Minaj after her false tweet about the coronavirus vaccine causing swollen testicles went viral. The Republican encouraged Minaj and others to be “inquisitive” about the treatments.
  
• In his memoir, the former pro football player has also indicated his skepticism with medical treatments, writing that he’s “not taken any kind of medication in my life with the exception of a few mild over-the-counter pain relievers.”

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