WATCH: Marco Rubio Says Vaccination Is The Only Way Out Of Pandemic; Then Slams “Mask Fetish”

Marco Rubio (R-FL) has joined many other Republican politicians in trying to encourage their constituents to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, as the Delta variant continues to hit the country hard. However, he also exemplifies the trend of trying to balance pushing a lifesaving precaution with giving his base the personal-freedom rhetoric they so crave.

In a minute-and-a-half long video posted on his Twitter account, Rubio tells his viewers that vaccination is the only path out of the pandemic, but slams mask mandates as a ‘fetish.’ He warns, “The overwhelming majority of people that are in the hospital are not vaccinated,” and explains that vaccinated people are far less likely to suffer a severe case, compared to the unvaccinated.

Stop with the mask fetish

If you want to wear a mask as a courtesy to those around you or because you are in no mood to get even a little sick go ahead

If you want your kids to mask in school that’s your right

But we aren’t going to mask our way out of this pic.twitter.com/vrRIt4hZ0p

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 4, 2021

The overwhelming majority of people that are testing positive and are vaccinated are not going to the hospital So what’s common sense tell you? It tells you, if you’re vaccinated, you’re probably not gonna get COVID, but if you do, you’re not gonna get very sick. If you’re not vaccinated, you’re probably gonna get COVID eventually, and when you do, it might be nothing, or it might be really bad, and you might end up in the hospital. That’s the facts.

Rubio advocates talking to people and giving this information, and encouraging them to make the best decision, but then complains about mask rules.

You’re not gonna mask your way out of this pandemic. The only way out of this pandemic is to turn COVID into something no worse than a cold or a flu, and we have a medicine to do that. It’s called a vaccine.