Virginia Democratic nominee McAuliffe: 'Make it hard' for unvaccinated to enter planes, theaters

The campaign for Virginia GOP nominee for governor Glenn Youngkin is taking aim at Democrat rival Terry McAuliffe for recently suggesting the only way for the country to finally beat back COVID-19 is to "make it hard" for unvaccinated Americans to fly on airplane and enter a movie theatre. 

"We have 93 million Americans today that are not vaccinated," McAuliffe said a conference earlier this month in Las Vegas. "And we need to do everything that we possibly can. I tell my private businesses all the time, 'I hope you mandate vaccine for people coming in.' 

"Until we make it hard for people to get on planes or go to movie theaters, people just aren't going to do it. We're not going door to door right, but you make life difficult."

Team Youngkin tweeted a video taken from a panel discussion at the event, hosted by the company HIMSS21. 

This election cycle has largely distinguished the Democratic and Republican parties and their candidates regarding respective responses to the pandemic – including the GOP's opposition to elected Democratic officials requiring proof of vaccination to enter public places. 

Youngkin, whose is giving the McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and Democratic National Committee chairman, a formidable challenge, says he has been vaccinated but the choice is a "personal decision" for each American.