As soon as I read the news on Tuesday that New York City was going to start requiring proof of vaccination for indoor spaces, I knew that Los Angeles was going to do the same. A day later, it was announced that the Los Angeles City Council is considering whether they will require residents to show proof of vaccination in indoor spaces like restaurants, gyms, spas, concert venues and stores, perhaps even grocery stores.
While I am all in favor of beating this horrific virus, and I am by no means anti-vaccine, I believe lawmakers are not looking at the entire picture. In fact, a sweeping number of states have had narrow-minded, damaging policies throughout the pandemic, including lockdowns, which were never proven to be effective.
When I first heard the news about vaccination proof, I thought: What about the people who can’t take the vaccine because they are allergic to the ingredients? How about people with autoimmune conditions who are worried about the effects? Or what about people in general who haven’t gotten it because the long-term effects still haven’t been proven? What about children under 12, who cannot yet take the vaccine?
On the other side, how are private businesses going to enforce these rules? The past 18 months have been especially hard on restaurants. It’s estimated that over 110,000 eating and drinking establishments have closed (so far). Now, restaurants will suffer even more because they won’t be able to serve the unvaccinated for dine-in. Are restaurant owners and retail stores going to have to hire an additional person to check everyone’s vaccine proof? Is the government going to give them any guidance, or just leave them on their own like they’ve done this entire time?
Another thing that policymakers fail to consider is the fact that limiting gyms only to people who have been vaccinated is detrimental. This disease is much harder on the obese population (as of 2017-2018, 42.4% of Americans were obese). Closing the gyms for so long was a bad move. While gyms certainly should have held classes outdoors, opened up the windows and doors to circulate air, and required people to take social distancing measures, exercising at gyms should have been encouraged. Instead, we were all told to stay home, where we would eat, drink too much alcohol, and fry our brains with Netflix and sensationalist, fear-mongering news.
Another question I have is: How is this vaccine proof mandate going to affect minority communities? The Black community in particular is hesitant to get the vaccine because they rightfully mistrust the government and medical community for its long history of exploiting them. At a time when equity and equality are on the forefront of everyone’s minds, vaccine proof mandates seem to be counterintuitive.
This new vaccine proof mandate is misguided. It should be up to business owners to decide how they are going to protect their workers against COVID-19, and for private citizens to determine how they are going to protect themselves. At this point, the survival rate for COVID in general is 98.2%. Breakthrough cases are rare for the vaccinated, and they have an even higher chance of not becoming severely ill, needing hospitalization, or dying.
This new vaccine proof mandate is misguided. It should be up to business owners to decide how they are going to protect their workers against COVID-19, and for private citizens to determine how they are going to protect themselves.
Lawmakers need to create policies that are balanced, and give businesses, schools and all American citizens the right to choose what they believe is best. While those who disagree will point out that people need to be told what to do because they won’t make the right decision, I think they will. I believe the average American does not want to get sick or spread COVID-19 to others. And they should have control over how they live their lives.
At the very least, the government needs to stop being hypocritical in its policies. Border patrol agents are not testing migrants for COVID before they are released to states around the U.S., so how can I trust that they’re doing the right thing with these vaccine proof mandates? What’s the point of us following the rules if the government itself isn’t? Why not require migrants to be tested and vaccinated in order to keep all of us safe?
This week, a former Biden COVID adviser said that regular cloth masks are ineffective, and that we all need to wear N-95 masks instead. Have we been doing it wrong this whole time? Has the government gotten anything right?
I want the pandemic to be over already just like everyone else. But I don’t believe lawmakers here in LA and throughout the U.S. are going about it correctly. It’s time that we step up and tell them what we think, because 18 months in, they should know better.
