Getting Vaccinated vs. Getting Fired
If you consider yourself a patriot, under most scenarios these days you’re a racist.
President Biden has made an exception. If you get vaccinated for COVID 19 you’re ‘patriotic.’
As candidates, both Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris told voters they wouldn’t take a “Trump vaccine.” But I digress.
Now is now. We have a vaccine, approved under ‘emergency’ FDA protocol, that is purported to prevent those getting inoculated from getting the virus. That’s the science. Since the vaccine has become extensively available, the pandemic here for all intents and purposes, is over.
But…. This administration wants everyone to get vaccinated.
But. And there are a number of additional “buts.”
But – there’s no science that indicates those vaccinated individuals need to wear a mask. Further, there’s no science proving wearing some flimsy cotton mask prevents the spread on any corona virus in the first place. Yet, we continue to have required mask wearing in a number of workplaces, public transport and commercial airlines. Making matters more confusing, the WHO now recommends masks for those vaccinated. ????
But – there’s no data that supports a requirement that kids, if they’re lucky enough to be going to school, wear a mask in classrooms. In fact, a new study out of Germany showed masked kids can develop dangerous levels of CO2 in their bodies.
But – there’s no data to support young people are at high risk of COVID-19 at all. There have been incidents of young adults having heart problems after receiving to vaccine.
But – there’s no data to support that anyone who has had COVID and have developed the antibodies naturally are more immune after being injected with the vaccine – or at any risk of getting COVID again – or spreading it.
In the face of these known facts, the data, a requirement or even strong encouragement for an objective to get 100% of the population vaccinated is not supported by the science and loses its legitimacy – particularly when masks are required/recommended after being vaccinated.
Many people don’t believe in that 100% objective and refuse to get the vaccine for a variety of reasons. In America that’s still supposed to be nobody’s business but their own.
Yet here we are with a plethora of universities with a requirement that students will not be allowed on campus this fall without proof of vaccination. There are many employers, including hospitals, requiring all employees be vaccinated or lose their jobs.
Look, we know from the data that the older you are the more risk COVID-19 is to your continued existence. Using CDC data, nearly 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths occurred in people 65 and older. Only 0.4 percent were younger than 30.
Here’s how the official CDC data breaks down as of June 26, 2021:
Age # of COVID Deaths Cumulative Total % of Deaths Cumulative %
85+ 177,021 29.7%
75-84 163,161 340,182 27.4% 57.1%
65-74 132,611 472,793 22.3% 79.4%
50-64 94,211 567,004 15.8% 95.2%
40-49 18,435 585,439 3.1% 98.3%
30-39 6,913 592,352 1.2% 99.5%
18-29 2,408 594,760 .4% 99.9%
0-17 326 595,086 .05% 100%
Just for some additional perspective here’s some additional facts. The numbers are as of March 1, 2021.
Age COVID Deaths Total Deaths -All Causes % COVID Deaths
85+ 177,021 1,443,475 12.3
75-84 163,161 1,193,317 13.7
65-74 132,611 991,043 13.4
50-64 94,211 813,115 11.6
40-49 18,435 195,004 9.4
30-39 6,349 130,608 4.9
18-29 2,408 91,534 2.6
0-17 326 48,513 0 .67
The table above is presented to show that while COVID has been a significant factor in deaths since 1/1/20, deaths from other causes far exceed those from COVID-19. Even for those age 65+, 87% of those seniors died from something else.
The CDC reports indicate 33,756,349 cases of COVID-19 in the US that it’s aware of. It’s anyone’s guess as to how many cases were not reported. People that just got sick and stayed home and recovered. As of June 3, 2021, the national, 7-day report showed an average of 1,520 new cases daily. That’s down from 12,956/day in early January and 13,997/day in June 2020.
In the US, we’re fortunate that at present basically anyone can get a COVID vaccination. Pfizer says its version is safe for anyone over the age of 12. So, if you want to get vaccinated you can.
But who is anyone to say you must get vaccinated? Whether you’re sure you’ve had it, or have some other reason, it’s still a free country and it’s your body – and you shouldn’t be forced to get the vaccine.
99% of the seniors I know have been vaccinated. That translates to the people I know at the highest risk of getting and dying from the virus are protected.
At this point our government and employers should leave getting vaccinated up to the individual. They can legitimately encourage vaccinations but attempts to force people is out of line.
And forcing students or anyone to get vaccinated is likely unconstitutional as well as just plain wrong.
I’m a senior citizen so when it became available, I got vaccinated. But it was my choice. Over 75% of the country’s 65+ age group were fully vaccinated as of July 2.
And what’s this mask wearing? People should not be required to wear one by businesses, universities or K-12 schools – not anymore.
People should not lose their jobs for things that are not the purview of employers.
It’s still America.
****************
Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
https://www.heritage.org/data-visualizations/public-health/covid-19-deaths-by-age/
https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/
Spider Bites
20 years in Afghanistan was 19 years and 6 months too long. But the staggered pullout finally became reality last weekend as our military turned off the lights as they left Bagram Airfield.
Oil futures topped $76/barrel last week. Gasoline prices are highest since 2014. Thank you, Mr. President.
We finally got a “recovery” jobs report for June – adding 850,000 to payrolls. At the same time the unemployment rate showed a slight uptick to 5.9%. The overall labor participation rate stayed flat at 61.6%. Within that rate however, adults aged 25-54 had a participation rate of 81.7%, the highest since January 2018. As of June, total employment in the U.S. remained 5.7 million below pre-pandemic levels.
Haven’t heard any prime-time news people say anything about their making Michael Avenatti a front-running presidential candidate in 2018 – as he begins his 2 ½ year prison term for extortion. Stormy Daniels is apparently still short $300K. She needs a good lawyer.
Interesting article in Florida Trend this month on the economics of recycling. Florida had a goal to recycle 75% of all garbage by 2020. But when China and other developing countries stopped buying it several years ago, local governments are finding themselves spending much more or recycling than what they can get for it. Some, dealing with reality, have already stopped curbside recycling pickup. The rate of resale on plastics in 2020 was 3% while only 13% of aluminum cans and 19% of glass containers escaped the landfill. Floridians generate 388 pounds of packaging material waste per capita annually according to the article. Of that number, 173 pounds is recycled – about 45%. I assume Floridians are pretty typical of the rest of the country.
As we look back at a pandemic year, two things could have been done differently with a lot less economic loss and pain. One, lockdowns on non-senior citizens had little effect and resulted in depression-era unemployment and other collateral consequences. Two, because of that the country added $10T to its already burgeoning debt – over half of which was an excuse to spend for things other than COVID relief. Have we learned anything?
