With an eye on luring members of the anti-vax crowd who insist this whole 572,000-dead-from-COVID thing is overblown, on Tuesday Pres. Joe Biden announced new CDC guidelines. Those guidelines include (but aren’t limited to):
Vaccinated people can go maskless if they’re outside
Vaccinated people can hang out together, maskless and without social distancing
Vaccinated people can skip testing (If they don’t have symptoms)
Vaccinated people can skip quarantining, too (if they don’t have symptoms)
The guidelines say that vaccinated people should still mask up indoors, and/or while visiting unvaccinated people. Yet certain pockets of the population (Kaiser Family Foundation has an interesting ongoing study going here) still won’t get vaccinated.
Do you know people who refuse the shot(s)? What do you say to them?
I will not directly ask anyone if they are vaccinated. I suspect that some people will lie in the affirmative. Unless friends and family volunteer that they are fully vaccinated, I will continue to behave as if they have not been vaccinated. For some people, that means I will be masked in their presence. For others, it means I won't be in their presence.
That's an excellent plan. I just found out yesterday a family member won't get vaccinated. I can cheerfully put her -- she's long-distance -- over in that corner over there.
I don't know anyone personally, only anonymous faces online. I say that every time the virus finds a new host, it has a new chance to mutate to an even more deadly, more contagious variant. Sen Ron Johnson expressed their sentiments the other day when he said, "If you've been vaccinated, what do you care if your neighbor hasn't been?" There's a parable there somewhere. (Makes me wonder what exactly he thinks his duties and responsibilities are as a U.S. Senator. Or maybe he doesn't believe there are any because he doesn't believe in our form of government at all.)
I spoke with two colleagues yesterday, one of whom HAD COVID and believes she doesn’t need it, and the other who fears for her son’s ability to procreate should he get this “untested” vaccination. I did my best to explain away the fake science, offer real reasons why the risks are outweighed by the risks of getting it to their long term health and very real possibility of killing a loved one with it; they may not have enthusiastically agreed or jumped online to schedule appointments, but it seemed this was their first experience hearing reasonable reasons, which - given the siloing of news sources - seems highly likely. So perhaps they’ll take that information home and discuss it; I tried, anyway, and there’s always Matthew 10:14: “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”
I have relatives, well Into their seventies, that claim they want the vaccine but have been dodging getting it. They’re computer savvy, availability isn’t a question but they’ll say “I’m not going to wait in line” (they don’t have to) or “I have a friend at a pharmacy who’s going to set me up”. People totally capable of taking care of business, suddenly passive about getting the vaccine. All this after losing a cousin to Covid. Sometimes I think they’d be easier to deal with if they were straight up anti-vaxxers.
I like the Queenie approach, when I run into the anti crowd it usually ends with just a stay masked, keep yourself safe , This is not an enemy you can bargain with or count on faith to beat, then i can move on with a clear conscience.
I will not directly ask anyone if they are vaccinated. I suspect that some people will lie in the affirmative. Unless friends and family volunteer that they are fully vaccinated, I will continue to behave as if they have not been vaccinated. For some people, that means I will be masked in their presence. For others, it means I won't be in their presence.
That's an excellent plan. I just found out yesterday a family member won't get vaccinated. I can cheerfully put her -- she's long-distance -- over in that corner over there.
I don't know anyone personally, only anonymous faces online. I say that every time the virus finds a new host, it has a new chance to mutate to an even more deadly, more contagious variant. Sen Ron Johnson expressed their sentiments the other day when he said, "If you've been vaccinated, what do you care if your neighbor hasn't been?" There's a parable there somewhere. (Makes me wonder what exactly he thinks his duties and responsibilities are as a U.S. Senator. Or maybe he doesn't believe there are any because he doesn't believe in our form of government at all.)
Oh, Ron. You never fail to disappoint me.
I spoke with two colleagues yesterday, one of whom HAD COVID and believes she doesn’t need it, and the other who fears for her son’s ability to procreate should he get this “untested” vaccination. I did my best to explain away the fake science, offer real reasons why the risks are outweighed by the risks of getting it to their long term health and very real possibility of killing a loved one with it; they may not have enthusiastically agreed or jumped online to schedule appointments, but it seemed this was their first experience hearing reasonable reasons, which - given the siloing of news sources - seems highly likely. So perhaps they’ll take that information home and discuss it; I tried, anyway, and there’s always Matthew 10:14: “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”
Amen.
I have relatives, well Into their seventies, that claim they want the vaccine but have been dodging getting it. They’re computer savvy, availability isn’t a question but they’ll say “I’m not going to wait in line” (they don’t have to) or “I have a friend at a pharmacy who’s going to set me up”. People totally capable of taking care of business, suddenly passive about getting the vaccine. All this after losing a cousin to Covid. Sometimes I think they’d be easier to deal with if they were straight up anti-vaxxers.
That’s a tough thing. How do you talk through that hesitancy that they won’t acknowledge?
I like the Queenie approach, when I run into the anti crowd it usually ends with just a stay masked, keep yourself safe , This is not an enemy you can bargain with or count on faith to beat, then i can move on with a clear conscience.
Great plan. I’ve given up much explaining.