Late Night Talk Show Hosts Ridicule Tennessee Vaccine Policies

Jimmy Fallon Stephen Colbert

Late Night Talk Show Hosts Ridicule Tennessee Vaccine Policies

Photo: Jimmy Fallon & Stephen Colbert

Photo Credit: Montclair Film Festival / CC & Montclair Film / CC

Published July 19, 2021

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Television talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert have turned to Tennessee’s new vaccine policies for some of the latest late night comedy material used in their opening monologues.

Tennessee Capitol Building in Nashville

Colbert spent a portion of his show discussing several new vaccine initiatives across the country. These initiatives include teen pop star Olivia Rodrigo visiting with President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci at the White House for a social media campaign to promote vaccination and rapper Juvenile’s collaboration with Mannie Fresh and Mia X on “Vax That Thang Up”, a remix of the 1999 song “Back That Thang Up.”

He then moved on to parody Tennessee’s tourism advertising by compiling all of the things you can enjoy under the state’s new vaccine guidelines.

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“Looking to get away? There’s never been a better time to discover Tennessee! Scenic lakes, beautiful state parks, and soon, polio,” the video said. “There’s just so many things to do and catch in Tennessee. Ride the rapids, and pick up a case of smallpox. Visit Graceland, and then Mumpland. Tennessee, the last place you’ll ever visit.”

Colbert goes on to claim that Tennessee lawmakers do not care about public health and safety.

“The White House needs all the help it can get promoting the vaccine because Fox News and the GOP do not, uh, what’s the word, care whether you live or die. Case in point, GOP-controlled Tennessee, the Volunteer State, has one of the worst vaccination rates in the country,” Colbert said.

He continued, “And they aim to keep it that way because this week after pressure from Republic lawmakers, the Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach, not just for coronavirus but all diseases.”

New vaccination promotion policies will no longer send postcard mailings to teens with reminders of vaccination doses and the department will not be holding any vaccination events on school campuses.

These new policies do not apply to health departments in the top six counties of the state, however, because those counties run their own health departments. There are 89 rural counties with health departments supervised by the Tennessee Department of Health.

The Department has made it clear that they are not halting the immunization program itself, but instead will stop targeting children with outreach and reminders of vaccinations. They will, however, support other outreach programs through pediatricians and family physicians.

Jimmy Fallon also tackled the topic on “The Tonight Show,” coming up with a list of new state mottos for Tennessee.

“Tennessee: Come for the music, stay for the polio.”

“Tennessee: Nine letters, just like hepatitis.”

“Tennessee: The only medicine kids need is Jack Daniel’s.”

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About the Author:

Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative 

Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com

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14 Responses

  1. Interesting how these guys attempt to be experts by disclaiming something they do not understand. If they had the intelligence to read the “real science” instead of spouting off idiotic PC garbage they would be shocked into reality. Pathetic.

  2. jimmy Fallen is a liberal moron his opinion means nothing we are not and will not be puppets to their propaganda crap! They have nothing to talk about except the things they don’t agree with

  3. That’s fine, tourism has ruined our state. We love that we have the freedom of choice.

  4. Ignorance is bliss. Colbert and Fallon are obviously in Nirvana. These no nothings have no clue more are being killed by the recommendations of governments than covid and variants could hope for. Fear porn is the currency, death of common sense and freedom is result. PLANDEMIC is simply continuing into each “new” variant. Brought to you by each genetic modification injection accepted. I will Never submit to out of control government.

  5. I moved from Miami to Tennessee back in the 1990s, we do have a lot of people vaccinate, my wife was vaccinated last Sept. I did not get the vaccine. My wife gets a flu shot every year, l do not, in my nearly 50 years l have had the flu twice in my life, once as a kid and once in my 30s.
    My state is a free state, l think it should be up to the person not the state or federal government to decide, most drugs take years if not decades to get safety clearance before use.
    Even if you get the vaccine you still have to wear a mask, still have to social distance, use hand sanitizer, you can still catch the virus if vaccinated, if you have a bad reaction from the vaccine or die from being allergic you cannot sue the drug manufacture or the gov, nobody can tell you the long term health effects. This is still a free country (for now), if you want the shot get the shot but don’t force me to get it, when it’s your time it’s your time no matter what.

  6. Jimmy Fallon and S. Colbert are morons who blindly follow without thinking for themselves…
    Here is a quote…
    “The White House needs all the help it can get promoting the vaccine because Fox News and the GOP do not, uh, what’s the word, care whether you live or die. Case in point, GOP-controlled Tennessee, the Volunteer State, has one of the worst vaccination rates in the country,” Colbert said……..
    I live in Tennessee, Colbert has 100 staffers to check facts for him, l live in west TN. my county has about 110,000 people living here, our death rate is about 200 in a year and a half.
    Yes our vaccine rate may be lower than most states but our infection and death rate are low too..
    What do you say to that Fallon or Colbert?
    Why did you not mention that fact?
    Are your fact checkers slacking off or maybe you are pushing an agenda?
    If you do not “say” what they want you will be out of a job, no free thinking for you guys.
    You MUST push the left wing liberal WOKE, PC pronoun police agenda or else….
    I prefer to think for myself and do my own thinking and research not just believe what the so called Lame-stream media tells me.

  7. Gee, wonder why Tennessee has record numbers of migrants from other states! Can’t hardly find native Tennesseans. Lots of folks from CA, NY, IL, etc. Cheap real estate taxes (1/7th of what I paid in NE), NO state income tax, and VERY red! The best part is we don’t put up with liberal crap! We all have guns too! But, we don’t go around doing stupid stuff with them.

    So y’all keep on trashing TN! Means less of you communist liberals moving here! LOLOL

    1. Hopefully with all the transfers from blue states, they remember what they’re leaving and vote red. I’d hate to lose our state to the liberals!

  8. Personally, I don’t care what state I would be living in, I WILL NOT get the Covid Vaccine. Period. That is MY choice and has nothing to do with what anyone says I should or should not do. Especially any airhead moron talk show hosts who think that their position in life gives them the right to tell me what I should or should not be doing.

  9. If Dr. Fauci told me to take aspirin for my headache, I wouldn’t take it. He only cares about fame and money.
    And late night talk show hosts don’t know anything about Tennessee. If you want the shot, get it. If you don’t want to get it, we don’t have to. Our children are vaccinated for childhood diseases including polio and pertussis. If you don’t want to come here, then don’t. If you do come, you won’t catch polio. You’ll have fun.

  10. If Dr Fauci told me to take aspirin for my headache, I wouldn’t take it. He only cares about fame and money.
    Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert know nothing about Tennessee. If you don’t want to get the shot, you don’t have to. If you do, then get it. We are not forced to get a vaccine that is still in the trial phase.
    Our children are vaccinated for childhood diseases including polio and pertussis. Tennessee is a great state to visit. You won’t catch polio but you will have fun. Fallon and Colbert, you’re not invited.

  11. Tennessee has the lowest infection and deaths rates as well as Florida, Texas, and several other state who have lifted lockdowns, masks, mandatory shots, and passports. Why is that? Because we actually read the science, followed it, and now we’re seeing the results. Why push an experimental vaccine on every man, woman and child when there is proof that one size does not fit all. That’s not only bad medicine, it’s bad science. I have never blindly accepted anything doctors or the medical communities have told me. When I’ve asked for an opinion, that’s exactly what I mean. It’s no different than going to a mechanic and asking them their opinion. I may not like what he has to say so I’ll go get a second opinion. Same with doctors. I do my own research, I ask my own questions, and then I make my own choice for myself. Government should get their claws out of our medical decisions and people around the world should stop listening to the disinformation by the pharmaceutically owned and paid MSM, and lying Fauci and Gates.

  12. Fallon and Colbert are mental midgets who can not do anything but repeat the liberal narrative.

    They can go straight to the Devil with their moronic opinions.

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