NASHVILLE, Tenn — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he doesn't like the idea of businesses requiring COVID-19 vaccines.
Speaking to reporters after an event in Franklin Monday, Lee was asked about businesses mandating vaccinations.
“I think that requiring vaccinations is generally a bad idea for private businesses or for anybody,” Lee said.
Some private businesses and colleges are requiring their employees to get vaccinated, like Maryville College, Tyson Foods, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United Airlines, and Meharry Medical College. The Pentagon also announced all troops would be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine by mid-September.
“Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the single most effective thing we can do to protect our team members, their families and their communities,” said Dr. Claudia Coplein, Chief Medical Officer, Tyson Foods. “With rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts of contagious, dangerous variants leading to increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization among the U.S. unvaccinated population, this is the right time to take the next step to ensure a fully vaccinated workforce.”