President Biden took a swipe at Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi Wednesday, accusing them of "Neanderthal thinking" following their decision to reverse COVID safety policies, including mask mandates.
"We've been able to move that all the way up to the end of May to have enough [vaccines] for every American, to get every adult American to get a shot," Biden told reporters from the White House Wednesday. "The last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking."
Despite the warning issued by health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding a fourth resurgence in coronavirus cases earlier this week, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said all state regulations would be lifted starting Wednesday.
RED STATES ABANDON MASK MANDATES, BIDEN SAYS: 'NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LET UP'
"Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!" he said in a tweet Tuesday.
Similarly, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pointed to lower case counts and the increase in vaccine accessibility as justification to revoke all state imposed coronavirus regulations starting March 10.
"With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus," Abbott said Tuesday, advising Texans that businesses will be allowed to operate at 100 percent capacity and masks are no longer required.
The governor’s offices did not respond to Fox News’ questions regarding the threats of a fourth wave as COVID variants are on the rise.
But New York Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez took to twitter to voice her frustration over the decision, saying it "endangers the entire country and beyond."
"We are in a pandemic. We know that COVID spread isn’t neatly contained by state borders, and explosions in COVID cases can increase the likelihood of new COVID variants to develop or spread to new places. It’s dangerous," she said.
Adding in a separate tweet that "93.2% of Texans aren’t fully vaccinated."
The same day Biden slammed the Republican lawmakers for allowing business owners to open their doors again to help put food on the table, a new disturbing report about COVID coming across the border came to light.
The Biden administration's border patrol has released more than 100 illegal immigrants into Texas since late January that have tested positive for the coronavirus following their arrival, officials in a city on the U.S.-Mexico border tell Fox News.
The coronavirus has infected over 28.7 million Americans and killed more than 518,000 since the pandemic started a year ago, according to data by John Hopkins.
Biden announced that the U.S. will have enough vaccines by the end of May to vaccinate 300 million people, nearly the entire country, but he warned that the effects of the vaccine will take time.
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"Getting a shot in someone's arm and getting the second shot…[is] going to take time. And it's critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science," Biden told reporters from the White House. "Wash your hands, hot water, do it frequently, wear a mask and stay socially distance."