There is a new movement afoot in Western Pennsylvania and, because we are not known for groundbreaking thought, probably across the rest of the US, and likely Canada too. But then this is pretty self-serving so maybe not in Canada. This is the pandemic version of the smoking section. You certainly recall the days of being greeted at the hostess stand with the initial query, “Will that be smoking or non-smoking?” (They always put smoking first. I wonder why.) I often asked for the first available because in most restaurants, particularly the smaller diner types that I was apt to visit, you could section off the smokers, but not the smoke.
Several establishments, notably the concert and sports venues, have asked city, county, and state authorities for permission to ease pandemic related seating limits by permitting non-distance seating areas for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. I’m not sure how I feel about this. Personally, as a fully vaccinated individual I like the idea of mingling with others who take their health and the health of those sharing space on the planet seriously. Personally, as a card-carrying cynic I am certain three-quarters of the individuals claiming to be fully vaccinated are more full of lies than vaccine. Especially now that news broke on internet sites with templates and instructions for forging COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards.
I already can hear the hue and cry. You’re making us second class citizens! You’re taking away our rights! This is no COVID! Regardless of the incorrectness of those statements, they will be the justification for opposing Vaccinate and Non-Vaccinated seating sections just as they are the uninformed persons justification for not getting the vaccine and not be asked the question at all.
For my other life I have been working on an article about vaccine hesitancy and its less famous cousin vaccine confidence. While doing research I discovered an alarming fact. When asked if they have plans to be vaccinated, 13% of the people in the US eligible for vaccination responded they had no intention of receiving the vaccine. An additional 7% would consent to the vaccine only if required. That is alarming. It is expected that there would be some hesitancy but basically 20%, one-fifth of the people who could get a vaccine, a free vaccine, are saying no thank you. Still not the really alarming part of the survey. The really alarming part is that of healthcare personnel, 18% said they had no intention of getting the vaccine and an additional 12% answer they had not yet decided. (Kaiser Family Foundation COVID Vaccine Monitor) Think of that the next time you go to the doctor. After being greeted by a receptionist, you will be escorted to the exam room and prepped by a medical assistant, have your vitals measured and history reviewed by a nurse, and then be seen by the doctor. Of those three people caring for your health, one has chosen to not receive the vaccine that will reduce the risk of exposing their patients to the virus that has as of May 1 already killed 576,339 Americans. (New York Times compiled from state health agencies) And we call them heroes. (pfft) (Expressed as a card-carrying member of the health care personnel world with as much venom as I can muster in written form.)
In the United States, even as vaccination rates have slowed, variant cases of COVID-19 are escalating. Earlier in the pandemic the question was raised if vaccination should be mandatory. Opponents argued that the 14th Amendment prohibits mandated vaccinations as an arbitrary legislative action. Supporters cited the Supreme Court’s 1905 decision to allow mandated smallpox vaccinations in part because “liberty for all cannot exist if each individual is allowed to act without regard to the injury that his or her actions might cause others.”
Attempting to argue the legality of mandatory vaccination is out of my league as I am not a constitutional lawyer (although that stops so very few nowadays) and about as satisfying as arguing with a Trumpican about who won the election. Arguing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine is a different story and firmly in my wheelhouse. It is. Period. Go get the shot. Just do it. You don’t need any other reason but if you insist, get it because you will be protecting liberty for all.
And if you don’t, don’t be surprised if the next time you stop for dinner and drinks after work you are greeted with, “Welcome to Henny’s! Will that be Vaccinated or Non?”
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