Missouri taxi company refuses to take masked passengers -- and its owner says he's 'proud' of state's low vax rate

On Thursday, KMOV reported that a taxi company in St. Louis, Missouri has instituted a policy prohibiting any masked or vaccinated people from riding in their cars.

"Charlie Bullington owns Yo Transportation services, a business he started 16 years ago," reported Emma Hogg. "Recently, he has made it a requirement that he will only transport passengers who aren't wearing masks and have not gotten the vaccine. Bullington said he verifies his passengers have not been vaccinated and won't be wearing a mask before he even picks them up. One man took to Facebook saying he was denied a ride because of his vaccination status."

Bullington claims that the vaccine is dangerous and that masks "trap" the virus that can then shed more efficaciously — neither of which has any scientific basis. He has also said he is "proud of all the Missouri people for standing against" COVID-19 public health efforts.

Missouri has among the lowest vaccination rates in the United States. In the month of July, it ranked worst in hospitalizations nationwide, and is one of three states, along with Texas and Florida, responsible for the most new cases.