Alabama Congressman Blasts Mask Mandates Day After Announcing He Has Covid: ‘Wouldn’t Want to Force My Beliefs and Opinions on Anyone’
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Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) announced on Friday that he and his wife tested positive for Covid-19, but that diagnosis has not stopped him from opposing mask mandates.
“I just don’t believe in mandates from the federal government,” Moore told The Daily Beast in an interview on Saturday. “If I died of COVID yesterday, I wouldn’t want to force my beliefs and opinions on anyone.”
According to The New York Times, Alabama has the lowest rate of fully vaccinated adults (45%) in the U.S. A recent surge in Covid-19 cases across the state has put its healthcare system under strain, with Alabama running out of ICU beds early last week.
In his Friday statement, Moore said he would continue working virtually while quarantining. He stopped short of explicitly promoting Covid vaccines, but encouraged “talking with your doctor about the different vaccines and therapies available and making an informed decision.”
“While I believe every American has the freedom to make their own health-related decisions, I encourage talking with your doctor about the different vaccines and therapies available and making an informed decision about the prevention and treatment that is best for you,” Moore said. “Now is the time to act–don’t wait until you or someone you love is sick.”
Moore has previously rebuked federal government vaccination campaigns, saying that “the federal government is NOT our doctor or parent.”
“It’s NOT the government’s job to knock on doors and force the vaccine on people; Americans have the freedom to choose,” he added.
According to the Daily Beast, Moore would not disclose his vaccination status on Saturday.
The freshman Congressman blasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the end of July for implementing a mask mandate in the House, claiming she is “a tyrant” whose “power has gone to her head.”
Moore told the Daily Beast he is not sure what he will do when he returns to the House concerning masking, but said he still is not convinced that mask-wearing will slow the spread of the virus.
“I’ll have the antibodies and I’ll already have had [Covid],” he said about returning to the House. “I’m not sure that me wearing a mask, whether you think I should or not, really is going to help anybody.”
He also reportedly suggested masks only protect the wearer, despite numerous studies finding it is incredibly effective at slowing community spread — particularly “when compliance is high.”
