I got my shots. I recommend everyone get a Covid-19 vaccination unless their personal physician says there is a reason they shouldn't. I think most arguments I've seen against getting shots are silly. Now that we've got that out of the way:
I am 100% opposed to penalizing the innocent (i.e. those of us who got shots) by making us wear masks to protect the "guilty" (i.e. those who did not get shots).
The CDC released data today on Covid-19 cases. According to CNN, more than 99.99% of people who are fully vaccinated have been safe from "breakthrough" cases resulting in hospitalization or death.* ABC7, a local ABC station in Southern California, read the same report and puts the number at 99.999%.** I got my shot so by the CDC's own numbers, I'm not at risk.
I am 100% opposed to Vaccine IDs or Passports. It's ironic that many in favor of Vaccine IDs also oppose requiring IDs to vote. But I'm opposed to Government issued identification that segregates Americans this way. And that reference to segregation is a perfect segue to...
I am 100% opposed to segregating the population between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Is that likely to happen? Well, New York City's Mayor is talking about denying unvaccinated people the opportunity to eat indoors at restaurants, go to movies, attend sporting events, or generally go indoors at public places.
I use the word "segregate" intentionally because that's exactly what will be happening if we don't allow the unvaccinated into places. In New York, 61% of Blacks are unvaccinated. In DC, its 57%. In Mississippi its 62%. In California, 70% of Hispanics are not vaccinated, in Nevada 74%, New Jersey 83%, Florida 69%, Texas 65%, and NY 81%.***
Denying the unvaccinated access to public facilities will be the greatest act of racial segregation since the end of segregation in the South. Imposing this hardship will just further compound government and health care's failure to properly serve the Black and Hispanic communities throughout this pandemic. Rather than making Blacks and Hispanics eat at home and watch ballgames attended only by Whites on TV, people should be redirecting all the energy and jawboning about government restrictions toward finding ways to better reach out to minority communities to both provide access to shots and convince them to take the shots.
Mask wearing, the other solution being promoted, is another phony solution to the problem. As pointed out above, Blacks are vaccinated at a significantly lower rate than Whites but the percentage of Blacks being hospitalized or dying is far greater than their percentage of the population. For example, Blacks make up 46% of the total population in Washington DC, but they make up 56% of the Covid cases and 71% of the deaths.
Imposing a mask mandate isn't going to save Black lives. It is a typical example of government taking an easy approach to a problem and declaring victory, while not really accomplishing anything. On the other hand, mask wearing provides Government officials with someone else to blame - if Covid cases keep spiking its because people didn't wear masks. If Government officials focus on the real priority of getting minorities vaccinated and Covid cases keep spiking, then the failure is on the Government because whatever they are doing to communicate with minority communities isn't working.
To my Conservative friends who are arguing against the Government overreach associated with over-ruling individual choice on whether to get a shot, or with issuing Vaccine Passports, and the other associated individual rights arguments - please stop. It's not that you're wrong, its that you're not winning. Worse yet, you're actually aiding President Biden, Dr. Fauci and the others in creating a smokescreen to hide the real failure here.
The Democrats, and the Democrat Party public relations arm otherwise known as the media, are countering by saying human lives are more important than individual rights. That's a powerful argument and they are doing well with it even when the facts don't support them.
If we, the "racist Fascists," are going to win this argument, then we need to counter the argument that human lives matter by saying "no - Black Lives Matter." We need to point out the failure of States like NY and California (and list any other favorite Democrat run States) to get Blacks and Hispanics vaccinated, and point out the massively disproportionate number of Blacks and Hispanics who are hospitalized and dying today.
After pointing out what the real problem is, challenge anyone arguing for new restrictions to explain how wearing masks and segregating Blacks from Whites will reduce the Covid problem in minority communities. Ask them isn't the real solution to get more Blacks and Hispanics vaccinated since the CDC numbers - follow the science right? - shows that between 99.99% and 99.999% of vaccinated people don't have a problem.
Tell the mask proponents that our preferred solution is for Government to do more to ensure vaccines are available at times and places that are actually convenient to Blacks and Hispanics and provide information and incentives that resonate with those populations, because whatever Dr. Fauci has been saying for the last two years isn't working. And say "but that isn't enough" and point out the stories the media has already reported about the poor care received by Blacks and Hispanics during the pandemic and say we want Government to redirect some of the Covid funds to improve the medical infrastructure serving Blacks and Hispanics and ensure they get the same level of care that Whites do.
* Source - Jim Sciutto's Twitter feed. He is a CNN Anchor and Chief National Security Analyst.
** https://abc7.com/covid-breakthrough-cdc-data/10923757/
** https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-race-ethnicity/
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