CNN anchor Jim Acosta has suggested the next variant of Covid-19 to emerge should be named after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Mr Acosta tore into “anti-science” Republican politicians in states with surging cases of the Delta variant who are sending mixed messages to the public about getting vaccinated.
In Florida, which now makes up a fifth of new cases in the United States, Mr Acosta said Mr DeSantis was “prolonging” the pandemic after he banned schools from issuing mask mandates as children head back to school next week.
“People should not have to die so some politicians can own the libs,” Mr Acosta said on his Saturday afternoon CNN show.
“They’re not owning anybody, but they may end up owning the pandemic because they’re prolonging it.
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“Perhaps it’s time to start naming these new variants that may be coming out after them. Instead of the Delta variant, why not call it the DeSantis variant.”
Mr Acosta also cited Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading misinformation about mask mandates and vaccinations.
“The nation remains divided between states fighting the virus and states fighting the science. States led by politicians who know better.”
New cases surged to more than 100,000 across the United States last week to figures not seen since the winter surge.
In June, the country had been averaging about 11,000 cases a day. By Thursday, that figure had skyrocketed to 107,143.
Cases of the hyper-transmissable Delta variant are spreading unchecked through unvaccinated populations in states such as Texas, Florida, and Louisiana.
Doctors in Austin, Texas, where an emergency siren usually reserved to warn of natural disasters was activated on Saturday, have warned that hospitals have become overrun.