No Brainer
Unless you’re completely crazy getting vaccinated against COVID makes sense. If your vaccinated, you have a better than 90% chance of NOT getting the virus. And if you do happen to get a “break-through” nfection, you are near 100% likely to avoid hospitalization, and/or death. That’s what I call a “no-brainer” decision.
So “no-brainer” that I got vaccinated as soon as I was able to. Two weeks ago I got my booster shot, making for a total of three doses of the Pfizer vaccine. And if tomorrow, they say I need a booster a month – so be it. I don’t care that the US Government is paying Pfizer a whole lot for those shots, it’s a whole lot cheaper than the alternatives – people missing work, people in hospitals, people dying.
Spanish Flu
In case you missed it – more people died in the United States from COVID since February of 2020, then died in the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918. More people died of COVD than died for both sides in the Civil War. The United States – supposedly the most “modern” nation in the world, is the world leader in COVID deaths (though numbers from China and Russia are highly suspect). So we are not a great example of how to handle this disease.
And what should we “chalk up” that failure to? Why are so many more Americans dead – more than any other country in the world? Even though we had the vaccines first, even though we supposedly have the best medical care (if you can afford it) in the world, even though we are AMERICA – we failed.
Because COVID in general, and the vaccines in particular, are wrapped up in politics.
Mandate
A couple of weeks ago, President Biden mandated that all Federal employees be vaccinated. That means all businesses of over 100 workers who do business with the US Government, require vaccination. Why – the more people who get vaccinated, the fewer people spread the virus – duh!!
Keeping people from spreading the virus will slow down viral mutation, the biggest risk of all. So vaccine mandates make sense.
Yesterday, Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, ordered all COVID vaccine mandates banned in the Lone Star State. The Washington Post reported the Governor’s statement:
Abbott called the Biden administration’s sweeping plan “yet another instance of federal overreach,” saying in his order that the administration is “bullying” private entities into vaccine mandates, hurting the livelihoods of Texans and threatening the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
Livelihood
So let’s take just a moment to dissect the Governor’s statement. There are two points that only make sense within the Texas borders. It’s hard to see how getting a vaccine would hurt the livelihoods of Texans. In fact, the word “livelihood” comes from the word “live” – something they would have a much greater chance of doing with the vaccine. And it’s not vaccination that hurts the economy of Texas or anywhere else, it’s the disease the vaccination would prevent. People don’t go to work, they don’t gather in groups, they don’t go to restaurant – because of the virus – not the vaccination.
And to add full insult to idiocy, the Governor himself not only is vaccinated, but encourages others to get vaccinated. So this isn’t about the “economy” or “over-reach” or even the poor, poor Texans being “bullied” into saving their own lives. Nope – it’s about politics, and Governor Abbott’s run for a second term for the Big Chair in Austin.
Bullied
It’s Greg Abbott of the novel abortion ban. Greg Abbott, who signed into law a restrictive voting measure that will keep Democrats from easily voting. Greg Abbott who is trying to build his own WALL. Abbott is a Trump–Clone, but he’s still being out “Trumped” by two opponents in the Republican Primary. So the Governor HAS to make a statement, make a move to get even “righter” with the Trump/Republican Party.
And how can he do that? By opposing everything that Joe Biden is for – and particularly by being against mandatory vaccination. It’s not about what’s good or bad for Texas, it’s about what the small percentage of Republicans who vote in a primary want. So to pander to the less than 12% of Texas voters who likely will participate in the 2022 Republican Primary (Texas), Greg Abbott is willing to put Texans, and the nation, at greater risk.
Big companies headquartered in Texas are now caught between two governments. Ultimately it will be the Courts who decide whether Federal supremacy outweighs state’s rights. But because many of those companies impact the entire nation, Southwest Airlines being a major example, what happens in Texas matters.
And if you want an example of bullying – you don’t have to look much farther than what’s going on in Austin. Governor Abbott is being “bullied”, but not by Joe Biden. He’s being bullied by the small minority that dominates the Republican Party. And so is the rest of the nation.
He is following instead of leading. It’s bad for Texas, and bad for America as well.
