WMUR REPORTS: Sununu: “The State Government’s Role in This Pandemic is Over”

As COVID Cases Rise in NH, Sununu Throws Hands Up

Concord, N.H. -- According to a new report from WMUR, Chris Sununu says there is no longer any role for his Administration to play in fighting COVID-19. Last night, WMUR’s Tim Callery reported that the Governor now believes that “the state government’s role in this pandemic is over,” even as new COVID cases are rising daily and New Hampshire’s vaccination rate lags behind every other state in New England. Watch the full report here. “Instead of taking action as the delta variant spreads in New Hampshire, Governor Sununu is waving the white flag of surrender,” said NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. “Rather than running an effective vaccination campaign, Sununu has spent the last six months using taxpayer money to promote himself in ads — and now the result is stagnant vaccination rates and rising cases. Once again we are seeing Chris Sununu fall short when it comes to handling the COVID pandemic.” Recently, WMUR reported that new documents show that Chris Sununu’s staff demanded that he be included in a vaccination PSA campaign — despite the fact that research shows that politicians are not effective messengers for vaccination. The state has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a vaccination campaign that stars Chris Sununu — and has been largely ineffective in encouraging vaccination. According to updated data from the New York Times, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are all well ahead of New Hampshire in percent of the population that is vaccinated. Vermont’s vaccination rate is 67.4 percent, Maine’s is 63.3 percent, Massachusetts’s is 63.6 percent, Connecticut’s is 63 percent, and Rhode Island’s is 61.1 percent. Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s vaccination rate is only 58 percent.

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