Right-wingers online are preemptively denouncing measures that could be taken to limit the spread of bird flu amid health experts voicing concerns about the virus possibly mutating.
“LET ME BE CLEAR: WE WILL NOT COMPLY!” stated one conservative, who added: “WE’RE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN.”
The outrage follows multiple public health figures—including Dr. Deborah Birx, who led the White House’s Covid-19 response, and former Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen—urging the public to take steps to prevent the further spread of the virus.
As of Monday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 66 confirmed cases in humans—though most have been mild and exposure was linked to agriculture operations.
However, the CDC said last week that a genetic analysis of the virus in the first severe case reported in a human suggests it has mutated, fueling concerns about its transmissibility among people.
In an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Wen—who also served as commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department—urged the Biden administration to make testing kits widely available and promote vaccination.
“This is not like the beginning of Covid, where we were dealing with a new virus, we didn’t have a vaccine,” she said. “There actually is a vaccine developed already against H5N1. The Biden administration has contracted with manufacturers to make almost 5 million doses of the vaccine. However, they have not asked the FDA to authorize the vaccine. There’s research done on it. They could get this authorized now, and also get the vaccine out and to farmworkers and to vulnerable people.”
In response to Wen’s comments, anti-vaxx right-wingers preemptively decried a potential pandemic-like response to the virus.
“Throw her in PRISON before she uses the FAKE PCR Test to make another ‘Pandemic’…” one prominent right-winger commenter said of Birx.
Others spurred the term “we will not comply” to trend on X, often using a mix of memes and conspiracy theories to convey their points.
“We Will NOT Comply,” captioned someone else of a meme dubbing bird flu “the plandemic 2.”
“The Deep State wants to plant the ‘Bird Flu’ into Trump’s administration. WE WILL NOT COMPLY,” echoed one conspiracy theorist.
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