A Moral Failing

 

It has been said that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members. By that metric, we are all coming up far short.

Although I have seen a recent uptick in people wearing masks in stores, the sad fact is that the majority shun such practices, despite the fact that masking is one of the layers of protection we have to help shield both ourselves and others from illness. Another fact is that 2022 saw the most deaths from Covid-19, both in Ontario and across the country.

Nationwide, 19,035 people died of the disease in 2022 — up from 14,606 deaths in 2021 and 15,307 in 2020.

How can this be, given the great strides made in combatting the disease through vaccinations, treatments and prevention methods? In addition to the spread of Omicron, there are other reasons for this year's lethality.

Ethicists and medical professionals point out that, as 2022 wore on, COVID seemed to join a long list of illnesses, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and rhinovirus, that society has learned to live with as long as the worst effects are confined to specific populations.

In COVID’s case, that’s the medically frail and the elderly.

“I think unless it’s in your house or your social circle, you kind of forget that these people need — deserve — our attention and care,” said Dr. Miriam Mottiar, an Ottawa anesthesiologist and palliative care physician, noting that in her practice she still takes care of people who are dying of COVID.

“It’s very sad for me and my colleagues, but it’s doubly sad, because it feels like if our society managed to mask, a lot of these deaths would be preventable, because we would have lower levels of COVID in the community. So I think there’s sadness, but there’s regret as well.”

The elderly and the frail are two groups we seem as a society willing to sacrifice.

It’s not often we see a lot of medically frail, elderly people standing in line at our local hardware store or grocer. So perhaps it’s understandable why, no matter where you go these days, masking seems to be a rare thing, as does social distancing.

Maxwell Smith, a bioethicist and assistant professor at Western University, says part of society’s increasingly tepid response to COVID comes down to the adage: what is out of sight is out of mind.

Because we apparently exist to serve the economy, governments now issue only weekly updates of hospitalizations and deaths, meaning that Covid is now in the background, joining the other viruses we have learned to live with.  And because it is less likely to now victimize the privileged, its threat-level has been downgraded.

[Maxwell says] that a common pattern in the history of infectious disease is for severe outcomes to shift to marginalized or disadvantaged sectors of society, while those privileged enough to not experience the worst outcomes move on.

“Now that (COVID) is sitting in those populations and the most privileged among us don’t feel threatened anymore, there’s very little tolerance to have collective measures put in place,” Smith noted. “We sort of just say, ‘Well if those people are vulnerable, let them take care of themselves,’ knowing full well that this will continue to disadvantage those groups. I think that is at play here.”

No one enjoys wearing a mask. Indeed, as one who has a beard, I find a certain itchiness creeps in after wearing one for long durations. That, however, is of minor consequence when one considers the protective effects both for the wearer and the general public. And I claim no special virtue here, given that I am largely, but not totally, motivated by an instinct for self-protection. 

Sadly, however, in the name of freedom, far too many are willing to risk their health and that of others. This, clearly, is not a good way to conduct our lives. It can only be seen for what it is: a moral failing.

 

 

 

Who Benefits?

 

Some time ago, I read an excellent book by Michael Lewis called The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. In it, the author follows a group of dedicated researchers and a public health officer who fearlessly follow the science of the emerging pandemic, frequently facing obstructions and even threats to their very careers. Their heroism stands in sharp contrast to the careerists who lead entities like the Centers for Disease Control, utterly failing to fulfill their mandate of protecting and keeping the public adequately informed on the emerging virus. To say that such people are political whores is the gentlest way to describe them.

I was therefore not entirely surprised that the CDC has now loosened its guidelines around COVID-19. Here are some of them, with emphasis added:

The changes shift much of the responsibility for risk reduction from institutions to individuals. The C.D.C. no longer recommends that people stay six feet away from others. Instead, it notes that avoiding crowded areas and maintaining a distance from others are strategies that people may want to consider in order to reduce their risk.

People who are exposed to the virus no longer must quarantine at home regardless of their vaccination status, although they should wear a mask for 10 days and get tested for the virus on Day 5, according to the new guidelines. Contact tracing and routine surveillance testing of people without symptoms are no longer recommended in most settings. 

...the guidelines note that schools may want to consider surveillance testing in certain scenarios, such as for when students are returning from school breaks or for those who are participating in contact sports.

Unvaccinated students who are exposed to the virus will no longer need to test frequently in order to remain in the classroom, an approach known as “test to stay.” The C.D.C. no longer recommends a practice known as cohorting, in which schools divide students into smaller groups and limit contact between them to reduce the risk of viral transmission. 

Not everyone is onboard with the new guidelines: 

Dr. Saskia Popescu took issue with the CDC removing the quarantine recommendation for those who have been exposed, particularly those unvaccinated. She also questioned the feasibility of people wearing masks in small offices where they will have to take them off for eating and drinking.

Additionally, Popescu said discouraging routine testing ignores the "high levels of asymptomatic cases."

"We should be providing people the resources to stay home if they're exposed, especially if unvaccinated and [without] vaccine-induced protection, not doing away with the quarantine guidance [altogether]," Popescu said.

Dr. Judy Stone called the CDC's guidelines "capitulation" in a tweet.

"What would be welcome to me and many others would be masking until rates are down and a focus on improving ventilation," she said. "Immunocompromised/elderly people have been devalued and discarded."

So, as I often ask about suspicious actions and decisions, "Who benefits?" 

Clearly, those disruptive elements of society who have made a fetish of their opposition to masks and mandates benefit. But if appeasement of such people is part of the motivation here, they will surely be on about something else in short order.

Perhaps the biggest winners are to be found in the world of commerce. The past two years have been admittedly very difficult, with shut-downs, staff absences, etc. But, as Rick Salutin has asked on more than one occasion, "Does the economy exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve the economy?

The new guidelines also serve to weaken calls by workers to provide more sick days, another cost to business, along with the expenses of  hiring temps in many instances. The strongest suggestion in the guidelines is that people who test positive should stay at home for five days. 

As well, the new CDC direction pays no heed to the dangers of long-Covid. If anything, they will facilitate the spread of a virus about whose long-term effects we still really understand little.

Ultimately, everything is up to the individual in the new guidelines. And if the past two years have taught us anything at all, it is that individuals, and groups of individuals, make some pretty poor, even dangerous, choices.

UPDATED: Oh, The (In)humanity

I doubt there is anyone amongst us who is not thoroughly tired of Covid-19, the terrible virus that has forced us to live circumscribed lives for the past two years. Our forced confinement, record hospitalizations and deaths, unprecedented in our lifetime, have taken their toll on us in so many ways, not least of all our mental well-being.

Despite all of that, the majority have endured, doing what we can for both ourselves and our fellow-citizens, getting vaccinated, isolating when required, wearing masks and keeping safe physical distances.

But, to borrow from Charles Dickens, it has proven to be the best of times and the worst of times when it comes to how we treat others. The best is seen in the tireless health-care workers whose exhaustion and frustration over the unvaccinated crowding our hospitals is hard to imagine. The worst comes from the villains of our time, the anti-vaxxers and those of such little character that they have to take out their frustrations on others.

It is what Heather Scofield calls pandemic rage. She writes about Adam, a 26-year-old Toronto cashier:

Adam, who doesn’t want to use their last name for job security reasons, has begun refusing to serve customers who won’t wear masks. They’ll offer up a free mask, first. But if the customers resist, Adam simply won’t serve them.

That’s when the harassment begins. Perhaps it’s just eye-rolling or a mild comment. But on occasion, it’s mocking, accusations, yelling, shoving groceries, complaints to the manager or even filing formal grievances with the head office.

Service-sector workers, predominantly young, bear the brunt of the rage coming from a segment of the approximately 14% of adults not vaccinated.

Almost a third of workers aged 15 to 24 work in retail, and that’s up a full three percentage points from before the pandemic. About 16 per cent work in accommodations and food services, which is down significantly from the 20 per cent share two years ago, says Brendon Bernard, economist at jobs website Indeed Canada.

Whether they realize it or not, these workers do have some power. They can quit and seek other jobs.

Clearly, any employer or policy-maker aiming to respect young workers could see some quick fixes. Arming them with the best of masks, lots of paid sick days, and all the support they need to turn rule-breakers away at a moment’s notice would certainly go a long way. So would consistency and clarity on vaccine requirements in public-facing spaces.

Clearly, if they want to prevent excessive job churn, employers need to act quickly to address the cruelty and egotism of some. The following, which occurred in the U.S., is an illustration of the terrible behaviour people are inflicting on young workers. That the perpetrator is unmasked may be a solid indication of his 'values'. Be warned that the language is rough:

I've identified this man as James Iannazzo of

@MerrillLynch

being racist and assaulting a minor

H/t Danesh (@thatdaneshguy) / Twitter

When the Hindenburg crashed and burned, reporter Herbert Morrison used a timeless phrase, "Oh, the humanity," which was an expression of horror at what he was witnessing. To close out this post, permit me one slight alteration that seems to epitomize our current zeitgeist:

Oh, the inhumanity.

UPDATE: A little justice.

#breaking

@BankofAmerica

confirms to me that #jamesiannazzo, that man arrested for Intimidation Based on Bigotry or Bias and breach of the peace, has been fired.

H/t Naveed Jameli

 

 

 

Third Time Is Not Always The Charm

 Somehow, this editorial cartoon speaks to me.

H/t Michael de Adder

Unflappable No More

As the world continues its devolution, it becomes clear that few things can be taken for granted anymore. One of the casualties of the times is the erstwhile British unflappability, as the following amply demonstrates. 

Tesco’s festive TV ad featuring Santa Claus bearing a Covid vaccine passport has prompted more than 1,500 complaints, making it the most complained-about advert of the year.

The advert, titled “This Christmas, Nothing’s Stopping Us”, shows the public determined to enjoy a proper Christmas with family and friends after lockdown restrictions prevented gatherings last year.

However, in one scene a reporter appears on TV with “breaking news” telling viewers that “Santa could be quarantined”. Father Christmas is then shown presenting his Covid pass at border control, proving he has been vaccinated to a customs officer so he can enter the country without restriction. Most of the complaints made to the UK advertising regulator state the scene is coercive and encourages medical discrimination.

 The scene sparked controversy on social media, attracting criticism from those in the anti-vaccination movement.

Before clicking on the offending ad, deliberate carefully on whether it might be too unsettling for your sensibilities. 

Star Readers Weigh In

I like to regularly post letters-to-the-editor that hit targets concisely and precisely. The following meet those criteria.

On the subject of the Pandora Papers, her is what one writer thinks:

Naive to think any changes will come of Pandora Papers

• Toronto Star
• 10 Oct 2021

Re Opening the Pandora Papers and what they reveal, Oct. 4

As your research on the Pandora Papers shows, Canada has been and continues to be a tax haven for laundered money on both the provincial and federal level with its lax laws. Provinces don’t require residency or even basic identification to register a company, and the end result is millions of illicit money is placed in real estate.

It is not surprising that, on the federal level, billions are placed into offshore accounts.

Much of these activities can take place because of the legal loopholes that allow criminals, millionaires, and corporations to stash billions in offshore accounts around the world.

Since the publishing of the Panama Papers in 2016, not a single charge has been laid.

It would be totally naive for anyone to think that those identified by the Pandora Papers will face consequences.

Canada and the rest of the world needs to close loopholes that allow billions to be stashed in offshore accounts, leaving hard-working Canadians and citizens of other countries shouldering the bulk of the tax burden.

These loopholes allow the rich to continue becoming richer while the rest pay the price. 

Sheila Gaal, Toronto

 A flurry of letters attest to the public reaction of disgust over the insane opposition to vaccines and certificates:

Freedom comes with obligations

• Toronto Star
• 9 Oct 2021

RICHARD LAUTENS TORONTO STAR

A vaccination protester was arrested after refusing to leave nurses alone as the Ontario throne speech was delivered.

Is there no end to anti-vaccination characters complaining about tyranny and coercion of people to get vaccinated?

One argument turns on being forced to get vaccinated or losing their job; if I lose my job, who is going to put food on my family table?

The question they should be asking is: if I don’t get vaccinated and contract the virus and spend weeks or months in hospital or even die, who is going to put food on my family table?

The part that anti-vaccination folk are missing is that, with freedom, come certain obligations. The society you are part of is asking you to step up and join your fellow citizens in an effort to quash the pandemic that has cost thousands of lives in Canada and millions worldwide.

Don’t complain that restrictions, such as the requirement to show a vaccination certificate, make you a second class citizen if you are not vaccinated!

If your definition of freedom is “I do what I please and to hell with everyone else,” then you are a second class citizen all of your own making.

Francis Zita, Scarborough

Venues that follow vax rules deserve support

Re Ontario must enforce its Covid rules, Oct. 2 

Eighty-three per cent of the population has stepped up and been doublevaxxed. It’s time for the majority of us to enjoy our freedom.

And it’s time for the 17 per cent to endure the restrictions that their ignorance has caused.

Stop pandering to the minority! We’ve been a divided community since the vaccine became available.

A vaccine certificate didn’t suddenly become the cause for division in our society.

It’s too bad our premier doesn’t recognize this; so many deaths and hospitalizations could have been prevented.

I am proud to support venues that follow the rules, and will certainly avoid those that flout them. I am certain I am not alone.

Linda Saxe, Toronto

Following COVID-19 rules good for business

No one wants to see businesses like gyms and restaurants suffer any more unnecessarily, but the requirement for proof of vaccination for entry is a necessity, and any owner who openly declares that the rules do not apply at their establishment needs to pay the price

And this disregard to the rules demands a big price be paid.

The unvaccinated are many, but still a minority, so, if the owner feels motivated to cater to the minority of his clients, the majority of them who are the vaccinated will likely stay home.

How is that good for business, never mind the obligation we all have as part of society to protect each other with every tool available against the scourge of COVID-19?

Margaret Perrault, North Bay, Ont.

Kids routinely vaxxed, so why raise objections?

Go to school? Get your shots!, Sept. 26

The problem with this selfish, misinformed bunch is that they are too young to remember all the previous health challenges their ancestors had to live through, and defeat.

Smallpox, diphtheria, polio, not to mention measles, rubella, mumps, all of which are controlled by … vaccines.

All school children get their measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus vaccination.

These anti-vaccination people all had these when they were children.

Yet they insist on listening to the those who spread unscientific misinformation and blame the various governments with infringing their rights.

The only right, when it comes to pandemics, is the right to do the right thing to protect themselves, their kids, their parents and their neighbours.

Roll up your sleeves and help defeat this disease!

George McCaig, Kitchener

Ontario needs system for reviewing exemptions

Re NDP leader calls out PC vaccine exemptions, Oct. 5

The recent furor over medical exemptions given to two government MPPs reminded me that, according to the news, medical exemptions in PEI must be approved by that province’s chief medical officer. Granted, there is a huge difference in scale between PEI and Ontario, but it illustrates the need to have those exemptions vetted by someone other than one’s own family doctor.

This is a matter of public health, and should be reviewed accordingly, with questionable exemptions reported to the Ministry of Health as well as to the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The knowledge that such decisions of family doctors would be reviewed would ensure exemptions would only be granted for specific and relevant medical conditions.

Doug Lewis, Clarington

Designed To Fail

H/t Theo Moudakis

In his column today, Bruce Arthur offers the opinion that Ontario's vaccine passport is a half-hearted effort by Doug Ford that seems almost designed to fail.

...as the Star’s award-winning Rosa Saba reported in one of several essential pieces this week, existing vaccination PDFs can be altered after downloading using a rare hacking program known as … Microsoft Word. 

What about the QR code system slated to come into effect next month?

…software industry experts estimate it would take approximately four months to build an adequately secure and stable system, which is what happened in Quebec. Ontario got three weeks. And while there is a paper/PDF option in Quebec, that province built both a QR reader and a business-side system to connect data to the database, so QR codes are secure and difficult to forge. Ontario is skipping that.

Oh, and Ontario’s QR app will be, uh, voluntary.  

So after watching Manitoba create a plastic immunization card that fits in your wallet, and watching Quebec take four months to build an app that could be secure, Ontario decided on one month of easily faked documentation, followed by an option for more of the same. It’s not that this is the kind of system you would design if you knew and sympathized with people who didn’t want to be vaccinated, but it does seem like that kind of system, doesn’t it?

Hmm, is there a pattern emerging here? Well, the Premier has left little doubt where he stands.

…let me be very clear, this is a temporary and exceptional measure. We will only use these certificates for as long as they are needed and not one day longer.”

Many appear to be putting the clues together.

...some businesses are already signalling they won’t enforce the passport. At a sad, pitiable hospital protest in Toronto last week, one anti-vaxxer told me they anticipated businesses would signal to the community on the channels that anti-vaxxers use, like Telegram. And some hardcore anti-vaxxers are so feral that some restaurants closed their dining areas in anticipation of trouble.

Premier Ford likely has his eye on next year's provincial election which, in so many ways, will be  referendum on his handling of the pandemic. Given the poorly designed nature of the vaccine certificate, he is clearly hoping that his base, much of which includes the crank crowd of anti-vaxxers, will turn out in force, understanding that he has done the minimum possible to try to placate those who place a high value on public health, at the same time offering a big wink and a nudge to his 'people'.

 

 

A Message For Those Who Claim To Be Religious

 And if that doesn't convince you, perhaps this will.

This And That

Too tired to write after a night spent watching election returns, I opt for an easy way out today: the thoughts of others.

H/t David Parkins

H/t Theo Moudakis

H/t Graeme MacKay

And on a related theme …

All The Lonely People: Where Do They All Come From?

Before the advent of our current troubles, the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur won widespread acclaim for his sports reporting. Since the arrival of the pandemic, however, his writing has achieved an entirely new level; his coverage of various aspects of the disease, especially the social consequences, has been superb.

In his latest column, Arthur turns his sights on the irrational protests that have been occurring outside of hospitals, some resulting in obstruction of patient and healthcare worker access. His analysis is well-worth the read.

“You’ve all got blood on your hands! You’re worse than the Nazis!” one middle-aged man yelled at the TV cameras, outside Toronto General Hospital. “You’ll have rocks thrown at you, next!” A few yelled Fake News like they were at karaoke. Mostly, they rejected vaccines. Society, too.

But at ground level there was something piteous about it, malignancy and all. The trappings of a brain-poisoned movement dotted the crowd: a couple of red Make America Great Again hats, some purple People’s Party of Canada gear, a hat from a disgraced barbecue joint. There was a one-page anti-mask, anti-lockdown, ivermectin-boosting, hydroxychloroquine-boosting pamphlet handed out that claimed a vaccine passport was the mark of the beast.

Arthur considers who is so lost as to be protesting a hospital. Some of the misbegotten, of course, are the rabid anti-vaxxers, along with rag-tag followers of the People's Party of Canada. But Arthur offers an interesting perspective about many of the others.

… most people protesting outside the hospital were clearly lost souls. One carried a giant wooden cross; one had tattoos drawn on with a marker; one had a sign that misspelled the mayor’s name as J. Tori. Some seemed hungry for confrontation that never really came, but it was largely social: they swapped conspiracy theories, or recorded one another. More than anything, they seemed lonely. But then, so do QAnon fanatics, or Trumpian rallygoers. Lonely people are easy prey for conspiracies.

One of the more rational attendees was 35-year-old Torontonian Radu Dragon, who posts videos of protests to TikTok and YouTube. A smoker who refuses to get vaccinated, he seems to have found a new fellowship.

So he comes to the protests, and the people there have replaced his former circle of friends, even dotted as it is with the paranoid, the stressed, and people who vibrate on strange, off-reality frequencies. Society has always had people like this. But if you communicate on Facebook, Telegram, Instagram and TikTok, it can become a social circuit.

And for many, there seems to be no coming back, and outreach to them will prove futile.

There is a school of thought that if only we are nicer to people who think health-care workers are criminals and vaccine advocates violate the Nuremberg Code, then they will come around.

But there is an anger out there in Canada living at the conservative end of the spectrum, as the PPC surges in the polls.

“Some of these movements are like a bug light for more radical groups,” says Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor at Queen’s University who specializes in the study of extremism. “It’s not something you can just not have a police presence for, otherwise you wind up with a smaller version of Jan. 6. The vast majority of people on Jan. 6 weren’t violent, but some were.

 “A lot of these groups are getting their content from abroad as well; there’s this theory that our crazies are not as crazy as America’s. Yeah, but they’re reading American content. They’re talking to them on Facebook … these movements are transnational.

 There is an anger and misinformation virus in this country that has been encouraged by some pretend and even mainstream media, and it could absolutely eat our conservative movement. This time there was no violence, and no ambulances were blocked. Thank goodness.

Instead it was mostly a bunch of sad lonely people together on a sidewalk, loosely united in a cause, feeling like they had a purpose, and unaware, while outside a hospital filled with the truly sick, that they had become the monsters.

And it is precisely this aspect of the pandemic for which there is no real treatment available. 

 

 

 

Not So Special After All

As I have written before, legitimate exemptions to the Covid-19 vaccinations range from few to non-existent. Ultimately, the enforcement of that fact is predicated on the notion that both doctors and faith-leaders will act with integrity and not give in to pressure from their constituents. The jury is still out on whether that will be the case.

Given that there is no religion that forbids vaccinations, I was encouraged by an article I read in the NYT by a former pastor, Curtis Chang, who sets out very clearly why religious exemptions are essentially baseless.

Religious exemptions to employer mandates are a precious right in our democracy. This is why it is especially important not to offer such exemptions to coronavirus vaccine mandates. They make a mockery of Christianity and religious liberty.

Although writing from an American perspective, his arguments are universal, and they cast a shameful light on those who are enabling people to flout regulations. Their arguments hold no ecclesiastical water.

First, there is no actual religious basis for exemptions from vaccine mandates in any established stream of Christianity. Within both Catholicism and all the major Protestant denominations, no creed or Scripture in any way prohibits Christians from getting the vaccine. Even the sect of Christian Scientists, which historically has abstained from medical treatment, has expressed openness to vaccines for the sake of the wider community. The consensus of mainstream Christian leaders — from Pope Francis to Franklin Graham — is that vaccination is consistent with biblical Christian faith.

A private entity like a hospital can feel confident that it is not infringing on the religious liberty of an evangelical receptionist by insisting that he be vaccinated as part of his job requirement. My religious liberty is actually advanced by the ability of institutions to define job requirements for their employees. I want my church to be able to hire pastors who share our institution’s beliefs — and to be able to reject candidates who don’t. 

Exemption requests also likely fail on the grounds of sincere belief. We naturally look for consistency of a belief as a test of sincerity; it’s common sense. We would doubt the sincerity of a receptionist who demands vegetarian options at a workplace cafeteria when he frequently eats steak at restaurants. Any institution considering religious exemptions should require applicants to demonstrate that they have consistently refused other immunizations for religious reasons.

Vaccine hesitancy has never been a core religious belief of evangelical Christians. The vast majority of evangelicals have historically chosen to be immunized against polio, measles, tetanus and other diseases. As a child, I attended evangelical summer camps that required vaccinations, and as an adult, I worked for ministries with similar mandates. 

One of the most important reasons to get vaccinated is the protection of oneself and one's fellow citizens.

… the law allows companies to forgo offering exemptions if doing so places an “undue hardship” on the employer. Increasing the risk of bringing an infectious disease into the workplace certainly qualifies. For jobs that involve exposure to vulnerable populations, minimizing that risk via immunization is clearly an appropriate job requirement. Religious freedom for a teacher who opposes vaccines does not mean having the right to jeopardize children by being unvaccinated. Religious freedom means that if she doesn’t wish to fulfill her employer’s job requirement, she is free to find another job.

Chang calls for employers to eliminate religious exemptions for all employees, and heseeks a united front from all religious leaders.

… religious leaders will need to join with secular institutions in opposing exemptions. Pastors are already being inundated with requests for letters supporting exemptions. As a former pastor of an evangelical church, I know it will be difficult to say “no.” But my colleagues should do the right thing and refuse such requests. Refuse to mislead our secular neighbors. Refuse to abuse our precious religious liberty. Refuse to be complicit in putting our neighbors at risk.

Given the current perils posed by this pandemic, resolute and principled behaviour is required by all. A tall order, I realize, but one with no alternative if we are ever to be free of this virus. 

"I'm Done"

                                          

Like many of us, Peter McMartin has had enough. He's had enough with the anti-vaxxers, the anti-maskers, those who place their faith in what they read on the internet rather than science, those who, ultimately, don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. 

If you will indulge me, I shall reproduce much of his denunciation below:

I’m done with those whose fear of vaccinations arises from studies that were long ago peer-disproved and retracted.

I’m done with those whose ignorance of science is so profound and intractable that, rather than heeding the advice of scientists, doctors and virologists, they put their trust in celebrities, politicians and quacks …

I’m done with those who are so mentally lazy that they refuse to trust in anything beyond hearsay, urban legend, apocrypha, conservative wing-nut provocateurs and the whole digital witch-doctor network of chat rooms, Facebook forums and the first hit that pops up on their Google searches that are designed to reaffirm their ignorance rather than challenge it.

I’m done with those who believe we all have our version of reality, because no, we don’t all have our own version of reality. Singular undeniable realities exist. The earth is round. COVID-19 has killed millions. There are no microchips in vaccines. Vaccines are not designed by governments, Bill Gates or the Illuminati …

I’m done with those whose fear of vaccinations is so rigid and unthinking that, as an unintended consequence of their ignorance, they would drag us back into the Third World by helping to resuscitate polio and whooping cough and mumps and measles …

I’m done with any person, government or business that would coddle anti-vaxxers, or who, like desperate parents trying to entice a spoiled child to eat his vegetables, would offer them tax breaks, lottery tickets or beer as rewards for getting vaccinated.

I’m done with anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers who, while literally weaponizing themselves by refusing to get vaccinated and putting other lives in danger as surely as if they were carrying a loaded gun, see themselves as brave freedom fighters protecting their constitutional freedoms, not because they believe in equality, but because they believe exactly the opposite, that their rights are preeminent over all others.

I’m done with those who complain about wearing masks, as if having to wear a piece of fabric designed to stop the inhalation of a deadly virus was akin to torture. 

I’m done with those who, after a visit to the intensive care unit and death’s door, experience their moment of revelation that, yes, they are so sorry that they didn’t get vaccinated because — with the usual egocentricity and selfishness that characterizes anti-vaxxer sentiment — they could have died rather than, you know, the untold number of people their stupidity put at risk.

Other than those with legitimate health concerns or compromised immune systems, I’m done with trying to understand, accommodate or politely tolerate anti-vaxxers, or those who are just too stupid, tuned out or unconcerned with the health and safety of others to get vaccinated.

My late father-in-law had a succinct way of dismissing things that to him were patently absurd. I leave you with his words:

"I don't have time for such foolishness." 

In that, he is far from alone.