Most issues that become political do so because there are at least a few valid points on both sides of the debate. But there is no debate about vaccines. You either understand science, math and logic, or you don't and flee into some fantasy realm. It's no exaggeration to say that most of the 7.5 billion people on this earth right at this moment owe their existence to vaccines. We have basically eliminated diseases like small pox, typhoid and diphtheria, which would've killed hundreds of millions if left unchecked. While there were always a few holdouts - mainly certain fanatical religious groups - the overwhelming majority of the population got their shots and lived happily ever after. But then along came an arrogant, fame-seeking British doctor who found there were plenty of gullible folks who would buy the garbage he was selling. Mix in a few bubble-brained celebrities and the power of social media, and here we are.
Recent data shows that about 15-20 percent of Canadians still refuse to get the Covid vaccine. (There is a small group of people who have legitimate medical reasons not to get it.) The good news is that's down considerably from the 35-40 percent last September. But since it doesn't look like we'll be vaccinating kids under 12 any time soon - and they make up about 13 percent of the population - it's likely we will need close to 100 percent of adults to get inoculated for Canada to achieve herd immunity in the next few months. This is very unlikely to happen.
Some of the people refusing to get jabbed are the anti-mask, anti-lockdown Covid denier dingbats who at this point are probably irredeemable. But some portion of the vaccine hesitant (another bloodless term the media has cooked up to avoid hurting people's feelings. I guess soon racists will be labelled the diversity hesitant?) are leery because of the problems with blood clots. But those issues are tied only to the Astra Zeneca vaccine; neither Moderna nor Pfizer have had any cases of blood clots that were definitively tied to their vaccines. To put what's happened with the AZ vaccine in context, thrombosis - the medical term for blood clots - is responsible for one in four deaths in Canada each year, which is roughly about 10,000 deaths; the AZ vaccine has been linked to five deaths in Canada. Further, there are many other things that also cause blood clot issues, such as obesity, the birth control pill, pregnancy, smoking, hormone replacement therapy and yes, Covid itself.
But just how risky is the AZ vaccine? The biggest data set is from the UK, where over 21.2 million doses of the AZ vaccine have been administered as of mid-April. There have been 168 cases of subsequent blood clots, 32 of which resulted in death. This works out to roughly 1.5 deaths per million. Compare this to the Covid death rate in Canada, which is 667 per million. That would be 444.6 times, or 44,460 percent, higher. Even if you're one of these people that follows the advice of Dr. Facebook and is absolutely sure the virus won't kill you, let me point out that there is a much higher probability of you dying in a car accident, falling to your death, accidentally poisoning yourself, or being murdered, than dying from the AZ vaccine. Based on those odds and the reasoning entailed in your decision to not get jabbed, the logical thing for you to do would be to stay in bed for the rest of your life.
Requiring vaccine passports should be a no-brainer. If you aren't vaccinated, you shouldn't be able to do certain things, like taking a flight or going to a concert. Companies should also have the right to demand it as a condition of employment, depending on the job. But the anti-vaxxers are already screeching in protest. Some US states, notably Florida and Alabama, have moved to make vaccine passports illegal, in a newfound concern for privacy. The leadership in these two states has apparently forgotten that they, like most jurisdictions, require parents to show proof their kids have had certain vaccines before they can be enrolled in school or attend a daycare. So, you know, pretty much exactly like a vaccine passport.
It's yet another illustration of the bankruptcy of what passes for conservatism these days. Corporations should be free to use tax havens to avoid taxes, send jobs overseas, exploit third world labour and pollute indiscriminately, but they better not dare require that their employees or customers be vaccinated. When it suits their political purposes, it's leave the market alone; when it doesn't, conservatives suddenly have no qualms about using government power to dictate how businesses have to behave. This cynical fake outrage against vaccine passports is simply cowardly political pandering to ignorant voters. Of course, this issue somewhat transcends left and right; the original anti-vaxxers came mainly from the left. It goes to show that if you go far enough out to the extremes, both sides seamlessly merge into a steaming pile of crap.
The lunacy has gotten so bad that many politicians are refusing to say whether they've been vaccinated or are planning to be. Here in Alberta, nineteen Conservative MLAs refused to answer this question when asked; thirteen of these same MLAs signed a letter addressed to Premier Kenney demanding that the province remove many Covid-related restrictions. It apparently hasn't dawned on these deep thinkers that there's an easy way to get the restrictions removed - get everyone inoculated. Nor has it sunk in that they might lead the way and reassure the public by setting an example.
Our leaders should represent the best of us. Instead they pander to the least among us, people who deny science and instead cling to irrational fears and conspiracy fantasies. It's an ominous sign for our future.
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