JILL Biden received boos on stage in Nashville on Tuesday as she slammed Tennessee’s low vaccination rate and insisted “you’re booing yourselves.”
The First Lady was visiting a pop-up vaccine site at Ole Smokey Distillery in Nashville with country star Brad Paisley when she slammed the state over the lagging Covid vaccination rates.
She laughed as she said Tennessee “still has a way to go” on reaching vaccination targets.
Biden noted that there are only three in ten Tennesseans vaccinated which sparked a chorus of boos.
“Well, you’re booing yourselves,” she said, which drew a laugh from the small crowd.
The First Lady was met with only ten people waiting in line to receive a vaccine at the pop-up, according to The Tennessean.
It appeared that only a few dozen turned up to receive a shot at the site through the afternoon, it added.
Biden comforted a young girl receiving her shot by patting her on the back as she and Paisley toured the site.
The country singer sang for the crowd as he urged Tennesseans to get the vaccine.
He also mentioned country music legend John Prine who died of coronavirus last year.
“If I had a time machine, I would go back to November, I would give him that vaccine and he would be here,” Paisley said.
“Of course, we can’t do that,” he added.
“All we have is the future. Let’s save whoever is next.”
Biden in her speech also claimed that receiving a vaccine is the only way for Americans to return to normal life.
“You know what the vaccines mean for your family and your friends and your neighbors,” she said.
“You know they are saving lives. You know the vaccines are the only way to get back to the open mics and the music festivals and the concerts that make this town so very special.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 41 percent of Tennesseans have received at least one dose of a vaccine so far.
It is the sixth-lowest percentage of all US states.
The number of residents getting their vaccine per week is also drastically falling, down 75 percent from its peak in early April.
There are currently only 50,000 people getting their first dose of a vaccine per week, The Tennessean reported.
The First Lady visited Tennessee as the White House hopes to push up vaccination rates in states, especially in the south, where it is facing pushback from Republican lawmakers.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has rejected offering an incentive for residents to receive a vaccine as other states have done.
He claims that getting the vaccine is a personal choice that should not be pushed.
Local Republican lawmakers have also pushed back, especially over attempts to vaccinate teenagers.
Last week, conservatives proposed dissolving the Tennessee Department of Health because it encouraged teenagers to be vaccinated.
Jill Biden is currently on a tour of states with low vaccination rates as the president admits that he will fall short of a major target he set the administration for July 4.
The Biden administration conceded on Tuesday that it is almost certain he will not reach the goal of 70 percent of all Americans receiving at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by this deadline.
It said it will meet the target for people 27 years old and older but not for all Americans over 18.
“Our focus from the beginning has been continuing to redouble our efforts among demographics and groups where we need extra assistance,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
White House COVID-19 senior adviser Jeffrey Zients added that it will likely be a few weeks after July 4 before Biden reaches the target.
“The country has more work to do… particularly with 18- to 26-year-olds,” Zients told reporters.
“The reality is many younger Americans have felt like COVID-19 is not something that impacts them, and they’ve been less eager to get the shot.”
