Former GOP Senate leader decries his home state's 'deadly' anti-vax initiatives as COVID infections surge

On Friday, former Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) took to Twitter to urge the state of Tennessee to step up COVID-19 vaccination, following a series of high-profile political decisions officials made by state officials that are undermining immunization efforts.

Frist, a former Senate Majority Leader and doctor, made his comments as Tennessee has appeared in the news for shutting down all vaccination outreach to minors and firing Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the state health department's top vaccine official. And it comes as Tennessee ranks in the bottom ten states for percentage of fully vaccinated population — a situation that Frist decried as "discouraging and deadly."