I agree with the thrust of this Op-ed in the Washington Post (behind a paywall, for the most part), the gist of which I read over at Lawyers, Guns and Money. The authors, Leana Wen and Sam Wang, argue that there is no distinction between drunk driving and going out in public unvaccinated.
If you decide to remain unvaccinated and are still going out, unmasked and unconstrained, to restaurants, gyms, bars and concerts, that no longer affects only you — similar to if you decide to get behind the wheel of a car while impaired. Your right to remain unvaccinated stops when you interact with those who did not choose to become exposed to a potentially deadly disease.
I do have a nit to pick, as there is one difference between the two situations. The victims of a drunk driver are, except in extremely unusual circumstances, just that: victims. At this point, the direct “victims” of the unvaccinated are themselves unvaccinated, so they are aiding and abetting the criminal act of any particular unvaccinated person you might want to identify. There are exceptions of course: kids who cannot be vaccinated yet, and the rare person for whom, due to a medical condition, a vaccine is contraindicated.
In other words, the unvaccinated are, at this point, largely killing each other, so their victims are a bit like sober people who deliberately choose to step in front of the car the drunk is driving. It’s important to point out that most of these victims, did, in fact, “choose to become exposed to a potentially deadly disease”. The innocent victims are largely secondary: those who are denied medical services because ERs and ICUs are filled to capacity with the unvaccinated.
Somewhat related point: I’ve started a collection of articles about right wing radio types, right wing preachers, and other COVIDIOTS who have gone to meet their maker (who doesn’t exist, by the way). It’s nice to see them shuffle off this mortal coil. Here’s the latest and few have deserved it more.
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