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I've been feeling a fair amount of internal conflict this week. It's both a painful and a hopeful moment that I find myself in. My parents won't get vaccinated. This worries me on a personal level for their sake and mine, but also hurts me to think of them as contributing to the problem and prolonging this pandemic. Still, I feel conflicted about how to broach this with them, and how hard to push. Local and state governments are announcing that mitigation efforts are ending - mask mandates being canceled, capacity limits lifted, and summer events back on. I am overjoyed to see my world open back up and my community start to thrive again. I am all for safely returning to normal life! It has been SO nice to walk around without a mask when I am outdoors. I haven't found a store near me yet who doesn't require masks, but I can't wait! Yet my conflicted feelings do dampen some of my joy. I am so frustrated by the way it's all being handled. My state announced they'd drop mask mandates on June 28 or at 70% vaccination, whichever comes first. Of course the June date will be first, which leaves unvaccinated people free to live normal life and keep the virus around, albeit at lower levels. Why can't we continue with masks - while putting everything back to normal - until it's safer? Wjy can't we develop a vaccine passport that allows vaccinated people to do these things safely, while creating incentives for the unvaccinated to get on board? I swear this is not about "punishing" those who don't get vaccinated. It's about protecting the immunocompromised and avoiding a situation where we have localized spikes in cases or where we create the conditions for a mutation or variant to thrive. It's about avoiding unnecessary deaths. I really worry that we will mishandle this so that vaccine-resistant variants can start to appear and spread. Why can't we find a way to actually encourage vaccination BEFORE lifting the mask mandates?
May 30, 2021