Trump and the Vaccine Conundrum

Where is Trump when you need him?  Did I really say that?

Unfortunately, yes.  There is only one person who could convince most of the rest of the country to get vaccinated – Trump.  If he came out with a strong PSA, stressing his role in getting the vaccines developed and approved ASAP to stop the virus from crippling our country, and urging his supporters to do their patriotic duty and get vaccinated, that probably would make a major difference. 

Between his personalizing the issue and making it an act of patriotism, his supporters would probably march lock-step to the vaccination clinics. 

This is really our only hope.  There is no chance that the federal government, or most state governments, will follow the example of New York City and San Francisco and impose vaccination passport mandates.  That and a renewed mask mandate would have sufficed to get the virus under control again.  But that's not going to happen. 

So someone must appeal to Trump.  This is no time for politics or self-righteousness.  Right now, we need Trump.   

President Biden can't make that appeal because Trump doesn't recognize him.  And it can't be one of his allies.  It must be someone from the other side who comes to him asking for his help. And who better to make the appeal probably than Dr. Fauci?  Someone Trump respects despite past disagreements.

We Must Stop the Virus NOW

Most of the country – both governments and people – has diddled over the course of the last 17 months while the virus has taken its toll, surged again, taken its toll, and surged again.  With the availability of effective vaccines last January (I hate to say it, but thanks to Trump's urgency), we all breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that if the vast majority of people get vaccinated, the virus would be stopped, even if not eliminated. 

But there was a major problem with this scenario:  almost half the people did not want to get vaccinated for one reason or another.   Whether the reason was political, misinformation, or fear, the result is the same.   And despite the best efforts of government and NGOs to turn this around, nothing to date has been effective. 

The only solution, short of declaring a national health emergency and forcing everyone to get vaccinated, is to separate the vaccinated from the unvaccinated to the extent possible.   Requiring a vaccine passport to enter any indoor establishment that is not essential, including airplanes.   For essential indoor venues, like grocery stores, it means mandating masks for everyone..

Airplanes must be included because if you look at the New York Times hot spot map, what is clearly happening in the coastal south is that unvaccinated tourists are bringing the virus to resort areas and from there it is spreading.    To control unvaccinated people driving to resort areas, hotels must be told to require proof of vaccination (that was done in New England earlier in the pandemic).

This must be done nationally, not left to the states.  And it must be done now.   States like Texas and Florida are actually prohibiting both vaccine mandates and mask mandates by local governments.   There  can be no hesitation.   We know what hesitation brings.  Actually, we have already hesitated again and the horse is out of the barn, but the virus can still be corralled. 

If people continue to choose not to get vaccinated, then they cannot be allowed to infect others.  This is not about their freedom not to get vaccinated to protect themselves; it's about their not having the freedom to infect others.    They must pay the price for their socially irresponsible behavior by being segregated. 

The Delusional COVID Honor Code and Its Risk

We are at a critical point in our fight against COVID.   We have finally reached the point in the pandemic when, as a result of mass vaccinations and new case numbers coming down drastically, most states have fully reopened, several are scheduled for June.   Only two have set no date. 

But there's a catch.   Roughly half of the population has not been vaccinated.   And what is government's response to this catch?   Regarding mask mandates, it ignores the problem.   

The general guidance is that if you are fully vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask except in the limited situations defined by the CDC - airplanes, public transportation, etc. By deduction, that means that if you aren't fully vaccinated you should still wear a mask in all situations.   But I have not seen a sign anywhere that says, "If you are not fully vaccinated you must wear a mask to enter."

Everyone is operating on an honor system.   That is, if someone is not fully vaccinated they will wear a mask.   

Clearly in many situations, like stores, it would be impossible to police mask wearing, so one has no choice but to follow the honor system.   But at least the sign at the entrance should clearly state that if you are not vaccinated you must wear a mask to enter.   Or one could say, recognizing the risk, that everyone still must wear a mask, whether vaccinated or not. 

But even at the gym I go to, they are using the honor system.   Here it would be very easy to require people to present proof that they are vaccinated when entering the gym.

So what is the problem with an honor system?   It sounds very American.   

The problem is that many of those who have decided not to be vaccinated, for political or anti-government reasons, are the very people who were against mask mandates to begin with.   They will not now voluntarily don a mask because they haven't been vaccinated. 

And so you have half of the population that is still highly susceptible to infection by COVID most likely not wearing masks and thereby putting both themselves and those around them at risk.   For those who are vaccinated the risk may be relatively low, at least for the infection to be serious, but the risk is still there. 

We are thus risking another COVID surge.   Granted it may be limited to half the population, but that would still be bad for the economy, schools, our return to normalcy. 

At one point, there was discussion about having vaccine passports for entrance to all sorts of venues that put people in close indoor quarters - such as planes, theaters, restaurants.  That idea has been discarded because it was felt that it would impinge on people's right of freedom of movement.   But does one have a right to risk infecting another individual?  No.

Masks mandates should still be mandatory for those who are not fully vaccinated.   And in all situations where it is practical, proof of vaccination should be required before being allowed to enter without a mask.  Where it is not practical, until we reach herd immunity, everyone should still have to wear a mask. 

From a public policy perspective, perhaps such a policy would even encourage some people who weren't going to get vaccinated to get it.   That would be helpful. 

Bottom line, the government must do what it can to protect us from more damage from this pandemic.