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Welcome to The Bloch,
Public service announcement: if you have had your first covid vaccine, congratulations! If you have had two vaccine doses already, double good for you. If you only require one dose and you got that dose, fantastic! If you’re like me, then you are still ineligible for any COVID-19 vaccines. Despite conflicting reports about how many doses are being wasted here in California and some states not even counting how many doses are being wasted, the State of California remains officially only giving doses to those aged 50 and up if not otherwise at risk. An LA Times article Thursday is giving people the low-down on how to get a vaccine in California even if you aren’t eligible for one yet - without cheating of course.
Even though Biden moved up the deadline for all adults to be eligible for a vaccine to April 19th, I’m still not technically eligible yet in California… Personally, I’ll be happy to get a vaccine and feel safer for myself and for those with whom I come into contact. I’ll even be happy to get a “Vaccine Passport” in order to reopen travel and tourism, sports, and live entertainment if that’s what it takes. I’m not sure exactly what people even mean when they talk about vaccine passports, but it doesn’t seem as scary to me as some people make it out to be. On Wednesday the governor of Idaho issued an executive order banning the state government from implementing or using vaccine passports. This is on the heels of the governors of Texas and Florida doing the same thing recently.
Do I think people should be required to get the vaccine or get a vaccine passport? No, I don’t believe they should be required. But do I have a problem getting one myself in order to enjoy some of my favorite leisure activities that I used to enjoy? I certainly do not. These industries have been really hurt over the last year and I am hoping to see them bounce back stronger than ever as more of the population is vaccinated and the fear that has defined the pandemic subsides into distant memory.
The passport thing could go too far though. If the government were to start requiring these passports at outdoor venues like national parks, it seems overdone to me. If private businesses require them to operate safely, I’m all for it. I’m even for keeping some of the measures from the pandemic in place long term. I don’t have a problem with more mask-wearing and better cleanliness practices at heavily communal places like on airplanes, public transportation, and at grocery stores. We just need to be logical about this. Today I went to the dentist and they took my temperature. My barber has been doing this as well. This seems like a smart practice. We could add this to places like the grocery store or the airplane relatively painlessly. And if it is too much to do this permanently, at least we can add it to our pandemic playbook. Shutting everything down and waiting for a vaccine is not necessarily the best way to do things. It is definitely not the best way if you come from the deemed “unessential” industries that had your business ordered closed by the government.
As we round the corner of the darkest days of the pandemic, I have been reflecting on how the whole thing went down. What stands out to me is the continual movement of the goalposts by our public health leaders, political leaders, and media coverage. In the beginning, even public health professionals were told they needn’t use masks any differently than normal. We as the public were told 15 days to slow the spread. That turned into 15 months. We had opportunistic governors, and the cumulative number of deaths caused by the pandemic was daily headline news every day while Trump was President, but this number has faded into the background under Biden. It ultimately feels like the whole thing was overly politicized, and unfortunately, the immediate response for most people last March was to just panic and buy toilet paper. And now as the vaccines get rolled out, it becomes even more apparent how the world works: The richest countries like the United States are hoarding the vaccines from poorer countries; according to The Guardian, “Rich countries with 14% of the world’s population have secured 53% of the best vaccines.”
Now, the rich countries likely produced upward of 100% of the vaccines, so I can’t say I blame them (or blame us) necessarily. The Guardian also reports that nine out of 10 people in poor countries may never be vaccinated at all. So while it might be fun to act all annoyed that I haven’t been able to get a vaccine yet, the reality of the world we live in is much more humbling. I am lucky to be getting a vaccine at all. Thank you to anyone who had a part in developing them. We are all in your debt.
Until next time.
Bloch
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