LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's attorney general and the state Republican party are at odds over a tweet about the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Aaron Ford announced that he had received his first shot of the Moderna vaccine the day before by sharing a video on Twitter of him dancing.
Got my first shot of the Moderna vaccine yesterday. Walked up in there like: pic.twitter.com/2ZYjlHs0hd
— Aaron D. Ford (@AaronDFordNV) January 13, 2021
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On Friday, the Nevada Republican Party called the video "insensitive." In an emailed statement the party said in part:
Now, we see Attorney General Aaron Ford boasting that he received his vaccine, ahead of many of our elderly citizens, our business owners, our frontline workers. Attorney General Ford's video that depicts him dancing in joy for receiving the vaccine is a stark reminder that our leaders have privileged treatment over our vulnerable populations and our business owners.
The party went on to call the video "a slap in the face to all Nevadans waiting to be vaccinated and all those who have dealt with the heartache associated with losing a loved one," and called on the attorney general to apologize.
RELATED: COVID-19 vaccine skepticism high among African Americans
Ford was quick to respond with a message of his own.
Quote-tweeting the Nevada GOP, Ford said:
Don't play politics w/ my effort to encourage Black Americans & other communities to get the COVID vaccine (you might want to read some history on why the trepidation). Instead, apologize for perpetrating a fraud that helped lead to the insurrection. Or did I miss your statement?
The GOP responded by saying, "Sorry you think vote buying on camera is a lie. Do your job and prosecute voter fraud."
The Nevada Supreme Court previously denied the Donald Trump campaign's appeal to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Nevada. The judge said lawyers for the Trump campaign could not prove the election was decided by voter fraud or illegal votes.
On Friday, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services reported 3,698 deaths due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and a test positivity rate of 21.6% over the last 14 days.
This week, the Cashman Center opened its doors as a COVID-19 vaccination site for all eligible people, including health care workers, frontline community support staff and seniors 70 years or older.
Visit covid.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Clark County or to make an appointment.
