Bits and Pieces

Mask Mandates: Our county has seen a spike in COVID infections. Masks are now mandated for indoor use, even for those who have been vaccinated. This is reasonable and smart public policy. Those of us who are vaccinated simply do not know who have not been vaccinated. Because the political climate rewards anti-vaxxers and non-mask wearers, it is supposedly a mark of honor to go without both mask and vaccine. Therefore, the rest of us must take precautions. Wearing the mask with strangers in public makes good sense. We are protecting ourselves. We also protect others from themselves.

Vaccine Mandates: If COVID is to be eradicated all people must be vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus. This is especially true if the virus is expanding via variants. If the virus were stopped completely, it could not mutate. It would have no basis to mutate. However, we do not have total vaccination of the population, nor are we likely to.

To protect the largest number of people, therefore, vaccines must be encouraged AND mandated in many circumstances. The first circumstance is public mingling. Concerts, shopping malls, grocery shopping and other enclosed areas where many people gather are prime virus sharing sites. To have access to these activities and sites, vaccines should be mandated. Proof of vaccination is a no-brainer.

Another circumstance, school rooms. Most young students are not yet vaccinated because the vaccinations have not yet been approved for the youngest among us. Thus, masks should be required in all schools all the time until vaccines are available to these students. When available, proof of vaccination should be required and masks worn as long as there is one unvaccinated person present.

Vaccination should be waived for those people with health conditions doctors feel are in danger from the vaccine. That is not a political determination; it is a medical one. That patient should be mandated to wear a mask at all times to protect themselves and others.

Commonsense: Protecting the public is a duty of government and institutions that serve the broader public. No patron should be subjected to a known health threat without precautions. This is commonsense and the basis of most public policy. The test for this is simple: if a public official or executive of a public accommodation is blamed for a patron’s infection, then it is their job to protect the public. Doing nothing in the face of this threat is not an allowable response.

August 2, 2021