I have become so fed up with COVID vaccine resisters that I no longer care whether we reach herd immunity. Whether or not 70% of our population is inoculated will have no impact on my life.
I have sympathy for those who want but haven’t had access to the vaccine for economic or geographic reasons and hope that outreach attempts can meet all of their needs. But that’s not the same as those who refuse to believe that science works, or prefer conspiracy theories to facts, or still play up political objections even though their cult leaders and their families have all had the shots. For them, no amount of urging and prodding from anyone in authority is going to change their minds because Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and their Cult Leader have lied to them so often they buy into the bullshit.
The analogy I draw is of adults telling a child not to play in the middle of the street because they might get hit by a car. You tell them over and over until they understand, follow the advice, and find safer places to play. However, if that baby has grown up to be several decades old and still plays in the middle of the street, it’s no one’s fault but their own when they get plowed into by a neighbor’s SUV.
On the other hand, I’m glad to see the US participating in a global effort to get the vaccine to more people in other nations. I admit that’s out of selfishness, because my wife and I would like to return to international travel in the near future, so we’ll need those other countries to not only get their citizenry immune to coronavirus, but also allow American tourists to visit again.
When that occurs, I’ll have no problem showing proof that I’m vaccinated and requiring everyone else on the plane to do the same. I doubt such policies will impact the resisters, because they’re the kind of people who haven’t and won’t travel to any place that’s full of foreigners. But even domestically, such a requirement — not just for air travel, but for attending concerts and theater performances and sporting events and other large group gatherings — is not a violation of privacy, but a confirmation that you’re among the bright ones in our society. For evidence of the veracity of that statement, just look at the growing number of Republican governors and other politicians who have spoken out against such requirements.
If they’re against it, that’s a good indicator you should be for it. And you can be sure their hypocritical arms have been jabbed, too.