The pandemic is essentially over, right?
For some, yes. For others, not so much.
It was only June when unvaccinated Canadians were finally allowed to leave the country, for reasons unclear to anyone. The vaccine doesn’t prevent transmission, so how did it make sense to keep the unvaccinated behind the frozen curtain? It didn’t.
But that’s Canada. It’s completely lost the plot with COVID and chucked all its previously freedom-loving ideals out the nearest window, eh? America wouldn’t behave like that, right?
Except we are.
Tennis player Novak Djokovic couldn’t travel to America to compete in the US Open in August because he’s unvaccinated. No foreigner may enter the United States without being fully vaccinated. Unless, of course, they walk across our border. That’s right. If you’re visiting, stay away with your COVID-infested self. If you’re trying to stay here forever, bring that COVID right in.
If you’re looking for consistency in COVID-19 policies, you can stop right now. None of it has ever made sense. The fractured trust between Americans and our institutions will be immeasurable. And the damage continues.
New York City kids don’t need a COVID vaccination to attend schools but do need it to play school sports. Think about this. These kids can go to school, have lunch with their friends, take school trips and play sports during gym class, but they can’t play in an after-school league.
Many kids rely on sports to pay for their higher education. Think about all the kids who no longer exercise after school because they can’t play sports.
If we’re doing this for kids’ “health,” we’re doing it all wrong. The poor will be most hurt by these no-science-anywhere rules. Professional athletes playing in the city, obviously, have no such mandate.
The New York City Department of Education fired another 850 teachers and classroom aides for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Gregory P. Mango
It’s not just sports. A few days ago, New York City’s Department of Education fired another 850 teachers and classroom aides, bringing the total to approximately 1,950 DOE workers let go since the October 2021 vaccine mandate. It was a terrible thing to do, even back then, but a year later we have an avalanche of information, about the way COVID spreads and what the vaccines can’t do, that renders the decision not just foolish but cruel.
As The Post’s Susan Edelman reported a few days ago, “In all, NYC has fired more than 2,600 municipal workers not fully vaccinated.” This, when we’re told New York and so many other places are in the middle of a teacher shortage. These teachers are exploring opportunities in faraway places like Long Island. Make it make sense.
Parents also can’t enter New York school buildings if unvaccinated. That includes parents of special-needs children, who must interact with teachers. These nonsensical rules are causing lasting damage.
If you’re vaccinated and thinking “Those people should just get vaccinated,” you’re missing the point. I’m vaccinated, too. But there’s absolutely no reason my Johnson & Johnson shot from March 2021 should gain me any privileges not accorded to others. Studies show the vaccine’s effectiveness wears off after a few months and transmission can happen at any time.
Forced compliance for the fun of it should not be health policy.
And no, boosters don’t mean you’re any safer. In fact, the Biden administration isn’t labeling the latest shot a “booster” at all. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called it a “new vaccine.” You might find yourself back with the “unvaccinated” sooner than you think.
But don’t take my word for it. Throughout the pandemic, the line from politicians forcing their will on us has been “We must listen to the CDC!” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose guidance we’d ignored while we ate sushi (a big no-no) and medium-cooked burgers (seriously, are you trying to die at this picnic?), suddenly spouted the word of God.
Well, the CDC recommends to “no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur.” Yet somehow we’re no longer “following the science”?
It’s maddening. And it’s easy to forget these people left behind. But we will feel the effects of their absence. The policeman who’s no longer walking the beat, the firefighter who worked through the pandemic but now is off the job, the teachers missing from your child’s classroom because they wouldn’t do as they were told. And we’ll see repercussions from taking things away from youth because they would not comply.
We have won absolutely nothing with these vaccine mandates — but will have lost so much.
Politicians did so many backward, horrible things in the name of safety throughout COVID. The continuing vaccine mandates are a reminder that the pandemic is over for many, but the harm goes on.
* Article from: The New York Post
