Livingston Today

Michigan has administered more than 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccination, but previous comments about vaccines by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the past 12 months are still under scrutiny, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

According to reports, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) tweeted a meme Feb. 19 that reads: “Until we all are vaccinated, we all need to wear a mask,” and the governor retweeted it. This is contradictory to comments Whitmer made regarding the potential vaccine last summer and fall. 

This has put the governor under fire for the constantly changing official statements from her administration. The difference arises from the phrase "until we all are vaccinated" as compared to "until there is a vaccine."

"What we’re trying to do is get people to do the right thing for the right reasons. And the right reasons are-- a mask is, without a vaccine, without a cure, a mask is the safest way to protect yourself from the spread of COVID-19, to protect your family from the spread of COVID-19, to protect your neighbors and coworkers and to protect our economy from another potential step backwards," Whitmer said on July 9, as reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential.

On Oct. 6, the governor said masks will be required until vaccination is "widely available" and "safe." In previous statements on Aug. 19 and 25, the governor stated that no one is immune to the virus and everything must be done to protect one another. 

Now that a safe and effective vaccine has been made widely available, the governor has yet to make a ruling requiring vaccination in order to lift the restrictive mandates currently in place to protect people from the spread of COVID-19. 

MDHHS spokeswomen Lynn Sutfin said the governor has no plans to mandate the vaccine.  As of Feb. 25, Whitmer has refused comment on the inconsistency regarding her previous statements about the coronavirus vaccine.