The coronavirus pandemic is back in America. Just as many feared, the Delta variant has proved to be extremely contagious, and cases are skyrocketing around the country — up 171 percent nationally over the last two weeks, at time of writing.
Worse, in many states well over half the population has not been vaccinated. (Despite a huge head start, the U.S. is now less vaccinated than Denmark, Spain, Italy, and Germany, and other countries are catching up fast.) In heavily-dosed states like Vermont and New Jersey, cases are up considerably, but hospitalizations much less so, because while the vaccines work less well against the Delta strain, they are still nearly 100-percent effective at preventing serious illness. But in conservative states full of Tucker Carlson-addled vaccine refuseniks, cases are skyrocketing and so are hospitalizations — and mass deaths are on the way. “I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,” one Alabama doctor wrote on Facebook recently. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”
There is a simple and obvious solution to this problem: mandatory vaccination. Wherever possible, so long as people do not have a legitimate medical reason (such as allergies to other vaccines), they should be required to get their shot.
On civil liberties grounds, the case for requiring vaccination is ironclad. Even libertarian philosophers like Robert Nozick admit that the government can coerce people to prevent injury to others. The argument for strict measures to halt the spread of a super-contagious and extremely dangerous virus is essentially the same as for laws against murder.
Moreover, the coronavirus vaccines are one of the most-studied treatments in the history of medicine. They are extremely safe for virtually everyone, and again, aside from people with rare vaccine-specific allergies, they are far, far less dangerous than getting COVID. Full FDA approval is simply a matter of jumping through the tedious bureaucratic hoops, and it is a foregone conclusion (hopefully happening soon).
There is also a long history of mandatory vaccination in the United States and other countries. Many states imposed smallpox vaccination requirements to stem outbreaks in the 19th century, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in 1905 that doing so is constitutional.
Now, it would probably not be possible at this point to actually go door-to-door and force people to get vaccinated. The American government barely knows where everyone lives. But there are a lot of other measures that could be taken in both the private and public sectors.
For instance, private businesses should require proof of vaccination (or a medical note explaining why someone can’t get it) to use their services. A bunch of conservative states have actually passed laws forbidding businesses from doing this, but this is almost certainly an unconstitutional infringement of property rights. This development is quite ironic, as in ages past conservatives furiously attacked laws like the Civil Rights Act (witness Barry Goldwater in 1964 or Rand Paul in 2010) as being an infringement of personal liberty and property rights. Now, as my colleague Bonnie Kristian points out, they are doing the exact same infringement except not on behalf of an oppressed group, but on behalf of a deadly virus.
Legally speaking, civil rights laws only apply to discrimination against protected categories like race, gender, religion, and so on — you can still require people to wear clothing in a restaurant, for example, or throw an abusive drunk out of your bar. If you can do that you can certainly require customers to be vaccinated during a raging pandemic so they do not kill you, your employees, or other customers. Airlines would be especially effective here, since people have returned to traveling in large numbers, and there are not many options for flying.
Health-care workers are another obvious category of people who have no excuse to not get their shot, since they are routinely interacting with the public in a medical setting. Some private and public hospitals have required vaccination, and others are reportedly mulling the idea. Similarly, as Talking Points Memo‘s Josh Marshall argues, any objection about personal choice is even weaker with regard to cops, since part of their job is forcing people to interact with them. The NYPD, for example, has a pathetic 43 percent vaccination rate, probably because it is full of right-wing cranks. In general, every government employee of any kind should be required to be vaccinated to come to work. (San Francisco is reportedly implementing this rule for city employees.)
Some other institutions are having similar ideas as they look down the barrel of another viral wave. Both France and Israel have imposed vaccination requirements for their populations to be able to enter public buildings. The NFL recently announced stiff penalties for teams that end up missing a game due to illness among unvaccinated players or staff. Indiana University won a lawsuit challenging their requirement that students get vaccinated before returning to campus this year. Even Fox News has changed its tune somewhat with a new PSA urging its viewers to get their shots (though Carlson continues to spew anti-vaccine lies).
A surge of completely unnecessary illness and death in the U.S. is unavoidable at this point, but perhaps it will inspire various institutions to stop indulging anti-vaccine nuts.
Maybe “The Week” ought to be renamed “The Woke”…. Bwahahahahahahahahahahah
“In heavily-dosed states like Vermont and New Jersey, cases are up considerably, but hospitalizations much less so, because while the vaccines work less well against the Delta strain, they are still nearly 100-percent effective at preventing serious illness.”
That is 100% bullshit. All those ‘breakthrough’ cases (of Influenza A or B because Covid19 is a lie) prove that the ‘vaccines’ are nothing but a bio-weapon created to depopulate the planet.
“On civil liberties grounds, the case for requiring vaccination is ironclad. Even libertarian philosophers like Robert Nozick admit that the government can coerce people to prevent injury to others. The argument for strict measures to halt the spread of a super-contagious and extremely dangerous virus is essentially the same as for laws against murder.”
Civil liberties? How about our ratified Law called the Bill of Rights?!? Injecting people with experimental gene therapies that will kill them is the true definition of murder.
“There is also a long history of mandatory vaccination in the United States and other countries. Many states imposed smallpox vaccination requirements to stem outbreaks in the 19th century, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in 1905 that doing so is constitutional.”
The ‘Supreme Court’ cannot exist as it violates our ratified Bill of Rights. What you’re calling “constitutional” is UNLAWFUL!
“Some other institutions are having similar ideas as they look down the barrel of another viral wave. ”
The only barrel you’ll be looking down is the barrel of one of the millions of firearms that American Nationals have to enforce the Bill of Rights!
” But in conservative states full of Tucker Carlson-addled vaccine refuseniks, cases are skyrocketing and so are hospitalizations — and mass deaths are on the way.”
The “mass deaths” you speak of will be those who foolishly listened to idiots like you and took the death shots.
““I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,” one Alabama doctor wrote on Facebook recently. ‘One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.’”
Who the f*** writes this ludicrous bullshit?!? I can pick apart ever word in this propagandist piece of shit article, but it is so insulting to anyone with even a few functioning brain cells that I won’t waste anymore time on doing so.
I found this just now: https://www.christopherfountain.com/blog/2021/7/22/liar-liar-facemask-on-fire
THE jab offers 0 protection against infection or transmission. They are all spewing a MYTH. Supposedly it lessens symptoms as a treatment would. So all you vaxxers are fine leave the rest of us alone. Please get this FACT out now.
They have to get people to take the jab so they will be more susceptible to the EMF and thereby controllable
This was always the plan…everyone must have the biometric LUCIFERase slavery mark. Everyone must be injected with graphene oxide and mRNA. Freedom is over and the buggers have won.
” Freedom is over and the buggers have won.”
The hell they have! We outnumber these treasonous bastards ten-thousand to one! The Bill of Rights will be enforced as the Supreme Law of this land and our Common Law Courts will be reinstated. Defeatist language isn’t welcome here at the Trenches, so if you in your individual capacity have decided that you want to be subjugated and under there imaginary ‘authority’, that is your choice, but the rest of us will continue the fight!
fight to the death!
Might be over for your defeatist candy ass, but here in the jungle it is just beginning.
“Resistance is futile, resistance is futile.”
Get the f-k off this site, you f-king loser.
“Freedom is over and the buggers have won.”
Said the pathetic hasbarat jew at the eleventh hour when we know full well where the final figures stand. YOU… ARE… GOING… TO… LOSE… AGAIN! THIS TIME FOR GOOD!!!
“Freedom is over and the buggers have won.”
What?
Like hell they have
This party hasn’t even started yet
This is going to be a funniest Shit show you ever saw
Talk about target rich environment
You’d have to be a simp to even think there’s going to be any winning , for anyone but those who know hells coming for lunch and no matter how well packed these fcks are
We’re all going to be eating those lunches while they bleed out
You can choose to give up
But that just makes you a traitor by another name
Every bit of blood will have to run out of me before I’d even think about talking that shit , and even at that point they would see my last act of defiance
Your message: “…and even at that point they would see my last act of defiance,’ is easily read, with just a bit of alteration, as a rallying call, one as good as any I’ve ever heard:
“EVEN AT THIS POINT, LET THEM SEE YOUR LAST ACT OF DEFIANCE!!”
Even at this point.
Thanks, EOTS!!
.
Re: “Hell’s coming for lunch”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icCmo2p6w8g
.
I think Ryan needs to take off from “The Week” for the weekend. He’s raving like a lunatic. A little vacation might do him some good. Maybe visit the circus and volunteer to get shot out of a cannon. It might do his head some good.
If one believes any of this article I think they should get the shot.
What a joke.
Ps.
Any website that posts “news” and doesn’t allow people to comment should catch falling knives.
Fukc the week news. It’s weak.
agreed
I use the “no comment” as a sign of they know they are defeated ..cant even listen to the truth , so they give it no chance
I don’t even listen to that video, because i know it will be filled with bullshit