After the headaches, chills and fever, muscle pain and loss of taste, the lungs get clogged which causes a person to cough constantly and results in breathing difficulties for days and nights, constantly gasping for air. Once hospitalized, a patient might need a ventilator’s wide endotracheal tube stuck down his throat for days, which may assist in breathing. Sometimes it does not.
I don’t want to die that way.
And so not only can I not comprehend why more than 100 million Americans (nearly half the population), e.g., are refusing to take the vaccine, but I also can’t understand why some individuals, who claim their freedom is being infringed upon by health officials telling them what to do, insist their freedom is the most important consideration. Trump is saying it is a test of loyalty. But their chances of getting COVID-19 increase. Do they want to die “that way?”
To me, they simply seem selfish – caring only about themselves, and not others around them. Many of the unvaccinated are carriers, and their ability to go wherever they want can cause others to get corona virus. The vaccinated are now sublimating their new mask-free freedoms to the unvaccinated, e.g., masks are required for all attending an indoor meeting.
My criticism certainly does not extend to those who, for valid medical reasons, have a rightful concern about getting the vaccine. But some have other issues.
You’ve heard them – some say they don’t trust the vaccine yet, even though almost no one in the millions inoculated has died from a vaccination. Others call it a government plot to control their bodies. Some women say the vaccine might damage their DNA or ovaries, or may hurt their child if and when they decide to have a baby. But what if they get the virus and die, and never have that baby? Or lose their so-called freedom when they are in a grave?
A big part of the problem, we are learning, is the disinformation about the disease and the vaccine that is spreading rapidly. And the bigger issue is that this disinformation on social media that is prevalent in America, Europe and now Asia. This disinformation contains vicious, dangerous lies because many believe them and remain unvaccinated.
What should we do? President Biden has consistently encouraged us to get vaccinated, and now we now have enough vaccines for everyone in our country. But it’s time for him to put away the carrot and use his stick a.
I like France’s President Macron path toward enforcement. He is telling the unvaccinated French that it’s okay if you don’t want the vaccine, but until you get one you can’t go to theaters or music performances, can’t get on buses or subways or planes, can’t go to restaurants to take-out food places, can’t go to sporting events, etc. But have a great life, he implies.
I think it’s time for Biden to adopt a similar approach -- only I would make it harsher. I would adopt Macron’s rules and require us to carry around our covid vaccine cards (the way we carry around our drivers’ licenses), and we use that as an entrance card to all of the above.
I would insist all businesses impose a covid vaccine requirement for employment, which includes working from home. The same for high schools, colleges and universities. I might even go so far as requiring a vaccine for any unemployment check from the government. The vaccines are free.
The new D variant of the virus is spreading like wildfire. Once more people get it, the chances for more variants will increase. Scientists have already named two future ones – the Gamma and Lambda variants. Scientists say we need everyone in this country to get vaccinated, which will substantially diminish the risk of getting infected.
But the bigger problem is a global one – having available enough vaccines around the world, which seems like an impossible task. Yet some countries are working on it, including African nations, and the more people are vaccinated, the better it will be. The U.S. is starting to ship out vaccine supplies.
With this new outbreak, I suspect that we all are sitting on the edge of our chairs, wondering away. Will we need a booster? Probably, but we got booster shots when we were young, so that’s nothing new. Will we be protected from these new variants by our current vaccines? We don’t know. Will scientists get a quick fix for these new variants? They don’t know.
All we can do is our best to protect ourselves --- and help each other. And hope.
