“Our global pandemic is now becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Those who are unvaccinated are allowing the virus to mutate and put everyone, even those who are vaccinated, at risk.” Thomas Patrick McNamara holds a B.S. in sociology and criminology and an M.S. in nonprofit administration from John Carroll University. That is the medical file: a former career development specialist at Goodwill, insurance portfolio builder, 3rd Ward alderman, and mayor of Rockford from May 2017 until August 2026. No M.D., no epidemiology, no immunology, no public-health degree, no clinic. The credential for declaring the unvaccinated the engine of mutation is a sociology degree and non-profit administration. In April 2021 he received his second dose and posted that he had no side effects beyond a slightly sore arm, that case counts and positivity rates were climbing, and that one way to help stop the spread was to get vaccinated. He encouraged everyone to register so the city could return to the people and places they loved. On July 31, 2021, he co-signed an op-ed with the Winnebago County Board chairman and the public health administrator. It said the Delta variant had entered the community with less than 43 percent of county residents vaccinated, that the global pandemic was becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated, that the unvaccinated were allowing the virus to mutate and putting everyone - including the vaccinated - at risk, and that residents should get the shot and tell others to do the same. The platform was the mayor’s office and the Rockford Register Star. The training was politics. McNamara took both doses, called the unvaccinated the reason the virus kept changing, and told the vaccinated they were still at risk because of the holdouts. The product did not stop infection or transmission. He left office in August 2026. The residents he told were endangering everyone by declining the shot did not get a correction when the needle he took and the letter he signed failed the one job they assigned it. Tom said the unvaccinated were letting the virus mutate. Then the vaccinated kept catching it, and the letter stayed.

“We have a responsibility to protect our employees, the residents who depend on them and lead by example.” Janice Hahn is a Los Angeles County Supervisor for the 4th District (since 2016), she is formerly a U.S. Representative and Los Angeles City Council member. She holds a BS in education from Abilene Christian University - credentials from teaching, local and federal politics, and family political legacy that include exactly zero medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health qualifications. Her base salary as supervisor is approximately $244,000, with total compensation higher. With Sheila Kuehl she introduced the August 2021 motion requiring all roughly 100,000 county employees to show proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing (with full vaccination for healthcare workers), framing it as common sense to protect the public and raise rates amid Delta. She separately moved for the county to explore proof-of-vaccination requirements for certain indoor public spaces, citing nearly 4 million still unvaccinated and the need to prevent surges, and later expanded the employee mandate to cover contractors working with the public or on county property. She backed the board’s efforts to strip the sheriff of sole disciplinary authority so non-compliant deputies could be forced into compliance, and she continued pushing boosters in person while stating that vaccines work but immunity wanes. A former education-degree politician with no medical training who told the county it had a responsibility to lead by example, pushed vax-or-test and indoor proof schemes, then tested positive for COVID-19 in August 2022 while fully vaccinated and boosted - reporting she felt “pretty lousy” with a terrible cough. The same supervisor who declared everyone eligible has the responsibility to get vaccinated remains in office for her final term, still carrying the identical lack of relevant medical credentials she used to set the workplace and public-space rules. The longtime supervisor who said the county must lead by example took the shot that didn’t stop transmission and decided its 100,000 employees and indoor venues needed proof it didn’t work as well.

“While it may be tempting to provide more flexibility for people not to be vaccinated and be tested instead, this would just delay the inevitable. The financial and logistical cost - as well as the human lives that could be lost - (of) allowing people to opt out of vaccines and get tested instead would be immense.” Holly Mitchell is a Los Angeles County Supervisor for the 2nd District (since 2020), she is a former California State Senator and Assemblymember, holds a BA from the University of California, Riverside - credentials from legislative work, policy advocacy, and nonprofit leadership (including as CEO of Crystal Stairs) that include exactly zero medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health qualifications. Her base salary as supervisor is approximately $244,000, with total compensation higher. She offered full support for the Board’s ratification of the county employee vaccine mandate covering more than 100,000 workers, warning that a testing alternative would merely “delay the inevitable” and cost lives, and declared that the board was “challenged to follow the science.” She co-introduced the 2022 motion (with Sheila Kuehl) that shifted disciplinary authority to the county personnel director so non-compliant employees - including those in the sheriff’s department, where rates lagged below 60 percent - could be disciplined or terminated. She also hosted equity-focused vaccination clinics and press events in South Los Angeles, partnered with community groups for hard-to-reach sites, and repeatedly used her platform and media briefings to push first doses, boosters, and uptake while dismissing historical medical distrust as inapplicable to the COVID shots. A career politician with no medical training who lectured county workers that testing would cost human lives, insisted the board was simply following the science, then backed a rule change aimed at firing the unvaccinated in departments that refused full compliance. The same supervisor who noted her own district’s poorer vaccination rates and pushed “disproportionate investment” in South LA clinics remains in office, still carrying the identical lack of relevant medical credentials she used to decide the testing option was delay and the mandate was inevitable. The former state senator who said opting for tests would cost lives never earned a medical degree to decide the county’s workforce had no more time for flexibility.

“Our employees interact with the public and provide vital services to residents. The City of Syracuse has an obligation to protect the health and well-being of all of our employees and the people that we serve. The data is clear that the best way to do that against the continued threat of Covid-19 is to be vaccinated.” Ben Walsh, the former Mayor of Syracuse (2018–2025), holds a BA in Political Science from Ithaca College and an MPA from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School - credentials from public administration, economic development, and local government that include exactly zero medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health qualifications. As mayor his salary was roughly $150,000; he is now Director of the New York State Canal Corporation. He publicly received the Pfizer vaccine in March 2021, then imposed a vaccine-or-weekly-test mandate on all roughly 2,400 city employees effective September 2021 (new hires required to be vaccinated with no test option), applied it to police, firefighters, and other public-facing staff, and celebrated when compliance hit 97 percent while continuing to urge the remaining unvaccinated and the broader public that “there’s really no more excuses.” Walsh said police hesitancy could not “get in the way of protecting everyone’s health and safety,” called on other employers to adopt similar rules, and later considered eliminating the testing alternative after full FDA approval. When he himself tested positive in 2022 with mild symptoms, he used the isolation to remind everyone to stay up to date on their vaccine and booster. A Maxwell School MPA with no medical training who treated city employment as leverage for a personal medical decision, got the shot on camera, then still caught the virus and immediately turned the breakthrough into another booster advertisement. The same mayor who declared the data clear and the excuses over left office in 2025 for a state appointment, still carrying the identical lack of relevant medical credentials he used to set the workplace rule. The independent mayor who said there were no more excuses decided the city’s employees had to choose between the shot and the swab.

“If New Yorkers attend an entertainment or sporting event they must provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccine. But New York City grants special privileges to out-of-town anti-vaxxers like Joe Rogan and NBA star Bradley Beal. This loophole puts the health of New Yorkers at risk, so I’ve introduced the FAIR Vaccines Mandate Act to close it. Our message is simple: Get jabbed or get outta town.” Brad Hoylman-Sigal is the former New York State Senator (now Manhattan Borough President) who holds a BA from West Virginia University, an MPhil in politics from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a JD from Harvard Law School - credentials from a career as a private-practice attorney and general counsel that include exactly zero medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health qualifications. In 2021 he publicly received shots (including participating in an NYU vaccine trial and later booster trial), then introduced legislation requiring COVID vaccination for all New York college students and for schoolchildren once fully approved, sponsored a bill to close the NYC vaccine-mandate loophole for out-of-town performers and athletes, and floated a 1% “anti-vax tax” on higher-income unvaccinated adults he labeled “free riders” who weren’t “taking the responsible approach.” He helped constituents schedule appointments, authorized pharmacists to administer the shots, and had previously led the push to eliminate religious exemptions for school vaccines. A non-scientist with Ivy League credentials used the Senate to push mandates on students, performers, and the general public while modeling compliance himself and proposing to tax those who declined. The “get jabbed or get outta town” line and free-rider framing treated personal medical choice as a civic failure deserving exclusion or financial penalty - despite the absence of any relevant expertise. He left the Senate at the end of 2025 for the Borough Presidency, still carrying the same zero public-health qualifications he used to write the bills. The Rhodes Scholar who said get jabbed or leave town never needed a medical degree to decide other people’s medical decisions.

“I personally took the Moderna… the more and more people get vaccinated the quicker it will recover as an economy and get back to an old sense of normalcy. … as mayor of the great city of Atlantic City ultimately I’m responsible for the health safety and welfare and we definitely need to promote getting it done.” Marty Small Sr. is the Mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey. He holds a BA in Communications from Stockton University and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Cheyney University; he has no medical degree, no scientific training, and zero credentials in epidemiology, immunology, or public health. His platform is the executive authority of a city government that includes public-health messaging and local vaccination-site coordination. In 2021 he stated that he had personally received the Moderna vaccine and publicly urged residents - particularly in minority communities - to get vaccinated, arguing that higher uptake would speed economic recovery and return to normalcy. He described the city as “leading the charge” on vaccinations, referenced local partnerships and walk-up sites, and framed the mayor’s responsibility as including the promotion of the shots for the health, safety, and welfare of residents. He also enforced earlier COVID restrictions such as a ban on short-term rentals. A mayor with no clinical background treated vaccination as the decisive tool for both public health and the local economy, then continued in office after facing (and being acquitted of) multiple criminal charges over the years, including recent child-endangerment allegations. He remains mayor; the residents who absorbed workplace, school, or social pressure tied to that framing absorbed the practical consequences while he retained the office. The Stockton graduate who once said the more people get vaccinated the quicker the economy recovers is still the mayor of Atlantic City - still without a medical clinic, still after multiple acquittals.

“This morning, my father received a COVID-19 booster shot as an eligible recipient as did I as his primary caretaker. These booster shots are critically important at extending immunity against COVID-19 and will help protect our most vulnerable. I urge all eligible Californians to make their appointments today.” Ash Kalra is a member of the California State Assembly representing District 25. He holds a B.A. in communication and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center; he previously worked as a public defender and law instructor. He has no medical degree, no scientific or epidemiological training, and no public-health qualifications. His platform is legislative office and official press releases, not clinical expertise. In November 2021 Kalra publicly received a COVID-19 booster shot alongside his father at a San Jose clinic and issued a statement urging all eligible Californians to book appointments, framing boosters as essential for protecting the vulnerable ahead of the holidays. As an Assemblymember he operated within a chamber that, under Speaker Anthony Rendon, required Assembly employees to begin vaccination by September 1, 2021, or face potential termination (with limited exemptions). Kalra’s own public action was the personal receipt and the call for others to follow. The lawyer-legislator with zero domain expertise used his office to model and urge additional shots while the broader California push for broader mandates stalled amid fatigue and opposition. He remains in the Assembly (base salary approximately $132,703 plus per diem). The politician who stood for the camera as caretaker and urged compliance later continued in office as the pandemic’s acute phase and the pressure campaigns receded. Ash got the booster and told the state to do the same. The medical qualifications were never required.

“Christmas will be uncomfortable for the unvaccinated.” Alexander Schallenberg is a former Austrian chancellor and foreign minister. He was chancellor from October to December 2021 and again, briefly, in early 2025. He studied law in Vienna and Paris from 1989 to 1994, then European law at the College of Europe in Bruges, and he has been a career diplomat since 1997. He has no medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health qualifications. His expertise is EU legal affairs and strategic foreign policy planning. He made that remark in November 2021 while preparing the country for a lockdown of the unvaccinated, which he called unavoidable. He said "we have to tighten the screws" and promised spot checks, and he rejected any "solidarity" with the unvaccinated in the form of a lockdown for everyone. On November 14 he announced the lockdown for the unvaccinated starting November 15, restricting them to leaving home only for essentials, work, or help. He defended applying it to children over 12 and later said it had no end date. He also called the country's vaccination rate "shamefully low." The chancellor gave Austria a 5-day whiplash: On November 14 he said "I don't see a vaccine mandate for the entire population." On November 19, with Tyrol's governor, he announced exactly that: a nationwide mandate from February 1, 2022, which he described as facing reality. The same announcement ordered a general lockdown for everyone from November 22. On November 12 he'd given that idea a clear refusal. In a 2025 interview with APA he said he regretted some of the harsh wording he'd used as chancellor and that the mandate was never put into effect. He is no longer in government. Schallenberg ruled out a mandate on Sunday and announced one by Friday, which is the sort of reality-facing that costs a week of other people's Christmases.

“After more than a year in this pandemic, I’m pleased to report that the only side effect I’m feeling thus far is joy.” Craig Melvin is a MSNBC/NBC Today anchor and Dateline host who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Wofford College (2001) and nothing else - no medical degree, no scientific training, no epidemiology, no public health credentials of any kind. His entire career is television journalism. In April 2021 he received his first COVID vaccine dose live on the Today Show with colleagues, then immediately used the national platform to declare the sole side effect “joy,” point viewers to a state-by-state guide, flash a QR code, and urge everyone whose “turn” it was to get the shot. He also spotlighted his hometown pastors converting their church into a vaccination site inoculating hundreds a day, while his MSNBC program repeatedly framed the crisis as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” covered employer and institutional deadlines as successful tools for sharply raising vaccination rates, and hosted segments treating refusal as the core obstacle. A pure TV personality with zero relevant expertise turned his massive daily platform into a compliance machine, modeling the shot, shaming the holdouts by implication, and normalizing pressure as civic duty. The promised “joy” and clean return to normal were soon followed by breakthroughs, endless boosters, shifting goalposts, and the human cost of firings, exclusions, and fractured communities - while the anchor who helped sell the simple narrative kept the microphone. The only side effect that truly lasted was the one felt by everyone who refused the script he helped write.

“It's time to begin stigmatizing them.” Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a retired Naval War College professor. His credentials are a B.A. in political science from Boston University (1983), an M.A. in political science from Columbia (1984), a Harriman Institute certificate in Soviet studies, and a Ph.D. in government from Georgetown (1988). His dissertation was on Khrushchev, Gorbachev, and Soviet military doctrine. He has no degree or training in medicine, virology, epidemiology, or public health. His expertise is how the Kremlin thinks about nukes. He said the stigmatizing line on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer in April 2021, comparing vaccine refusers to people who once rejected polio and smallpox shots, and he discussed whether vaccines should be mandatory and the case for vaccine passports. In July 2021 he went on a public radio show to argue it was time to shame the unvaccinated, naming white conservatives like himself as the main target, while physicians on the same program warned that shaming backfires. That August he tweeted that DeSantis and other GOP governors were killing thousands of people. He was a Harvard Extension lecturer and a Kennedy School fellow. He still wasn't a doctor. His best-selling book, The Death of Expertise, lectures the public for ignoring credentialed specialists and wandering outside their lane. His credentialed lane is Soviet doctrine and nuclear strategy, and in 2021 he lectured the public on pandemic policy from it. The Cuomo tweet drew a fair hit too: critics noted that Cuomo's own nursing-home order made the comparison backfire. The man who wrote the book on respecting experts spent the pandemic being the amateur. Nichols spent a career warning about people who won't stay in their lane and then drove a tank down the center of someone else's.

“All of those people are smart enough to know what they’re saying is complete bullshit, and that’s the problem. They should be ashamed. Those lies are having an impact.” Erin Burnett is the host of CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront, holding a B.A. in political economy from Williams College. She previously worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. She possesses zero medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health qualifications - her background is finance and television news - yet she used her nightly platform to police vaccine discourse and amplify pressure on the unvaccinated. In July 2021 she played clips of Republican lawmakers and commentators expressing personal decisions against vaccination or raising questions, then declared their statements “complete bullshit” and that “they should be ashamed,” while stating that more than 99 percent of COVID deaths were among the unvaccinated and that declining vaccination rates were driven by such messaging. Burnett repeatedly highlighted corporate vaccine mandates (including “get the vaccine or you’re fired” examples from companies like Durst), framed surges as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” and covered Biden’s 2021 employer and federal worker requirements as necessary steps against refusal. Her segments treated skepticism or non-compliance as disinformation whose impact required public shaming. A political-economy graduate and former investment banker with no clinical expertise spent the period treating personal medical choices as moral and public-health failures requiring institutional force, while the vaccines she treated as decisive did not stop infection or transmission as initially claimed. Breakthrough cases occurred, the “99 percent” framing was later adjusted, and the human cost of exclusion and pressure fell on ordinary workers rather than the anchor. She remains a highly paid CNN host. The host whose show is called OutFront spent the pandemic putting the unvaccinated outside the bounds of respectable opinion.