Facts and many questions

This will probably be viewed as a political post (because what isn’t political these days?), but that’s not my intention. For the record, I:

• am a white female
• have an independent political affiliation with conservative leanings
• reside in one of the “flyover states”
• don’t agree with Covid vaccine mandates

Those may automatically put me in a particular partisan category, but considering that I also:

• am voluntarily fully vaccinated
• wear a mask when in crowded areas
• believe vaccines are beneficial
• believe in science and the development of new treatments
• encourage people to get vaccinated against the virus

Taking this into consideration, I have some observations I’d like to discuss. If you choose to leave a reply, please be courteous and respectful and prove civil discourse and discussion is not dead.

Fact: People who are fully vaccinated can still be infected and transmit the Covid virus.
Question: Why are some businesses requiring proof of vaccination before entering? Even though I’m fully vaccinated, there is a chance I still may be carrying the virus into an establishment just as easily as someone who is unvaccinated. What is gained by requiring proof of vaccination if the virus can be transmitted by vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike? It is my understanding one of the strongest arguments for vaccination is that it lessens the severity of the virus; despite what we were led to believe early on, it doesn’t prevent one from getting the virus. I know dozens of people who are fully vaxxed and have become infected. Some have died.

Fact: Some businesses are requiring proof of vaccination AND photo identification to enter.
Question: Why should someone have to show proof of Covid vaccination AND a photo ID to enter a business? If a case is trying to be made that photo IDs should not be required to cast a vote because it’s somehow discriminatory, how is it acceptable for a business to essentially discriminate against the same demographic? A person usually needs official proof of who they are in order to apply for a loan, open a bank account, get a passport, legally buy a gun, get a job, pick up mail at a USPS facility and complete any legal document. This question is NOT whether requiring a photo ID should or should not be necessary to vote as a citizen of the US….the question is, is this a double standard and in itself a form of discrimination?

Fact: Some health care workers are being mandated to be vaccinated or lose their job.
Question: Should the same people who weathered the initial assault of the virus and the dangerous Delta variant without the benefit of any developed vaccine now have their jobs taken away for not being vaccinated? In the beginning, every front line worker was hailed as a hero. I would certainly encourage them all to get vaxxed, but, seriously, if they survived this long without it and are still taking measures to keep themselves and patients safe, why should they lose their employment?

Opinion: My body, my choice.
Question: Why is it acceptable in some situations to cry, “my body, my choice” and in other situations it’s not? One might argue that, in the case of the Covid vaccines, the unvaccinated are putting other human lives at risk and should have no reason for refusal. (Refer back to my first question). In the case of a woman’s right to abortion, the counter argument can be made that another human life is at risk. This is not a debate on abortion because that is a very nuanced issue. It is an observation of how a political rally cry can be turned around and used against the crier.

Personal freedoms comes with responsibilities. In my opinion, personal freedom should work alongside community responsibility. This virus has taught us that governments and other organizations will try and take away personal freedoms for a variety of partisan reasons. They tell the public truths, half-truths and, sometimes, outright lies and expect everyone to walk in lock step or be ostracized. It has also taught us that only by working together do we have any hope of surviving Mother Nature’s pandemics. There will certainly be more virus threats in the future. Should how this one was handled be viewed as the gold standard of action/response? I certainly hope not.

Your thoughts? My head now hurts from thinking.