Despite the fact that mask-wearing is both a wholly easy and inadvertently cool-looking thing to do, we’ve all been forced to deal with anti-maskers (and anti-vaxxers, et al.) since the very beginning of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As Howard Stern argued during a recent episode of his SiriusXM show, recent developments in the realm of easing mask mandates can often make it feel as though “the wackos are winning.”
During Wednesday’s show, per Mediaite, Stern explained how pressure from a “small minority of people” ultimately resulted in such mandates being eased (or lifted altogether) sooner than they should have been. Fellow host Robin Quivers, meanwhile, added that battling against “people who want to get sick and die” had simply grown tiring for government officials.
“You get all these wackos with their anti-mask, anti-vaccine. … The reason they’ve lifted these mask mandates is because we gave into this small minority of people who are completely out of their fucking minds who think masks are some sort of prison sentence and their freedoms are being taken away,” Stern, who previously suggested overworked hospitals should turn away those who refuse to get a free and safe COVID-19 vaccine, told listeners.
Continuing, Stern pointed out the presence of “so many wackos” within the larger political infrastructure in the U.S.
“Yeah, there’s so many wackos,” he said. “I miss the old Republican party. It used to be nice to have a two-party system. Now it’s the wackos versus, you know, Democrats. The wacko party. And still to this day, and I hate to say it, only 65 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated and I can’t help but think, the wackos are winning.”
Hear more from Stern here.
Indeed, as of the latest CDC stats dated March 23, just 65.4 percent of the U.S. is fully vaccinated. Just under 77 percent, meanwhile, have received at least one dose. If you’re still not fully vaccinated (and boostered), head here to find a nearby appointment. Free masks are also available via participating locations, with the CDC having recently rolled out a tool that lists all distributors near you based on zip code.
