Alabama is floundering on vaccination — and GOP Gov. Kay Ivey seems content to fail: analysis

The Republican governor of Alabama is receiving harsh criticism as the state struggles at vaccinating residents.

Columnist Kyle Whitmire wrote an opinion column for AL.com that likens the situation in Alabama to the Jaws movies.

"There's a piece of fortune cookie wisdom passed around the Twitterverse. Maybe you've seen it, too. 'If you don't think politics is important, then remember, the mayor in Jaws is still the mayor in Jaws II.' Rattling around loose in my head, that little nugget won't leave me alone lately — because Chief Brody is waving his arms like a madman from the beach, but our public officials are acting like it's safe to go back into the water," he wrote. "But instead of a dorky mayor in a goofy blazer, we have Gov. Kay Ivey."

"This week Alabama's Chief Brody, UAB infectious disease expert Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, gave a warning about the big fish offshore. New coronavirus vaccinations have slowed close to a standstill. Test positivity is up. Hospitalizations are, too. The Delta variant is looking for a fat swimmer and we're the biggest in the sea," he explained. "But before the tourists could start looking for fins in the water, Ivey assured everyone, there's nothing to see here. The sun is hot and the water is cool."

Whitmire warned that Ivey is failing.

"Alabama is setting itself up for failure again. And Ivey is helping — by doing nothing," he explained. "For weeks, Alabama has lagged at its usual spot, next to last, in coronavirus vaccinations. But Friday morning, CDC data showed Mississippi had slipped ahead of us, if only by a tenth of a percentage point. Alabama had fallen to dead last."

"Alabama is open for business, all right, but for that big fish in the water, it's an all-you-can-eat buffet. Just like the mayor in Jaws, she didn't learn anything the first time," Whitmire explained.

Read the full column.