If You'd Worn This and Gotten That, We Wouldn't Be Here Now
The most indelible disappointment and takeaway from this COVID pandemic will be the failure of my fellow Americans to get vaccinated. Why are we so divided about something that seems so apparent? This division is why we’re now experiencing yet another rise in infections, this time from the delta variant.
Americans’ belief in the immutability of our individual rights has often collided with our concern for the public good. Our Declaration of Independence states that the authority to govern is given only by the consent of its people. Some treat this as an absolute. But we have many laws which limit the rights of individuals. As the dire nature of the pandemic became evident, efforts to contain it with mask mandates and lockdowns only intensified the altercations between personal freedom advocates and those who believed in doing what’s appropriate for the greater good. We have been on this trajectory for decades. I’m disappointed because this is who we are.
There is that giant elephant in the room. The virus’ origin story, former President Trump’s inability to formulate a national response, with his complete abdication of any responsibility, and the Republican Party’s and right-leaning media’s politicization of this crisis are all responsible. Science deniers have always been a part of our culture. The politics of the right — to win elections at any cost and use the COVID crisis as a wedge issue — has exacerbated that divide and stoked an already incendiary distrust in our institutions. Promoting disinformation and conspiracy theories for political gain while people are dying is galling.
Most recent outbreaks are in red states, where political leaders not only discourage mask mandates they have prohibited them. Despite this bit of GOP Russian roulette, leaders in some of these conservative and rural states are noticing the negative optics of their decisions. Florida governor Ron DeSantis, whose campaign was selling “Don’t Fauci My Florida” t-shirts a few weeks ago, has reconsidered his message after discovering his state accounts for twenty percent of new COVID cases. “These vaccines are saving lives. They are reducing mortality,” he pivoted. Republican Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is finally urging her constituents to get vaccinated as the state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation. She told reporters, “I want folks to get vaccinated. That’s the cure. That prevents everything. It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.” When did Republicans begin referring to vaccinated Americans as “regular folks”? And why did it take them so long to advocate for vaccinations? Blame has become part of the bedrock of this crisis. Their decisions have little to do with the human cost. There are now political and economic incentives to do so.
As Washington Post opinion writer E.J. Dionne stated, “It’s the new political geography of sickness and death.” He quotes Democratic pollster Guy Molyneux who said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if GOP pols are hearing from business leaders: Knock it off with the anti-vax nonsense.” Red state businesses have no desire for more lockdowns.
But isn’t this what many of us have been saying all along? We don’t want lockdowns either. But it may be necessary for the short term if we want this pandemic to end. Follow the science. Wear masks and get vaccinated. We’ve all suffered from the loss of our friends and relatives. Many of us have lost our jobs and our homes. And most of us have been sequestered in our houses for over a year.
From the very beginning, our leaders failed to present a unified voice of reason, one that focused on our distrust and hesitancy while promoting short-term sacrifices. The mis- and disinformation that scientists and doctors like Anthony Fauci are lying to us or don’t know what they’re talking about is a common criticism. “They keep changing their minds” shows a misunderstanding of scientific inquiry. Science is based on facts. Scientists test hypotheses about the way COVID infects people. When research shows these hypotheses are accurate, they become theories that become part of our knowledge base. Sometimes new information supersedes previous conclusions.
The coronavirus is constantly evolving. Variants have developed more efficient ways of infecting a host. The delta variant’s infection rate is higher because its virus load is greater than in previous variants. So, even if we know a lot about how the original coronavirus works, new variants present differently. Scientists aren’t lying to us or simply changing their minds. They’re adapting to new information that has resulted from their studies. This process is the message our leaders should have and still need to convey to the public.
To date, fifty percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated. While vaccines aren’t one hundred percent effective, they go a long way to protect people from the disease, even the more communicable delta variant. Most break-through infections of vaccinated people do not lead to death or even hospitalization. But what about the other fifty percent? Ninety-nine percent of COVID deaths right now are those who were unvaccinated.
Hospital COVID patients are now expressing their regret at not getting the vaccine. And many are begging for it now. Dr. Brytney Cobia at the Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama wrote in a Facebook post: “I’m admitting young, healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections. 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.”
Are Americans finally going to do what it takes to end this pandemic? The Department of Veterans Affairs has just become the first federal agency to require vaccinations of all its front-line workers. Hundreds of colleges and universities have mandated vaccinations for all returning students.
But by the end of May 2021, twenty-five percent of health care workers and over thirty-eight percent of nursing home workers were still not vaccinated. The American Public Health Association, the American Pharmacists Association, the National Medical Association (which represents over 50,000 Black doctors), and 54 other groups are now calling for vaccine mandates for all health workers.
President Biden has just issued a mandatory vaccination mandate (or regular COVID tests) for all federal employees. The Pentagon is following suit for all military personnel. Will this encourage the private sector to do the same?
This wave of sanity is still in its early stages. So it’s unclear if these efforts will be enough. Former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who’s running for Arkansas governor, blamed the Biden Administration for vaccine hesitancies: “No one did more to undercut public confidence in the vaccine than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Biden doubted that the vaccine would be ‘real,’ while Harris said in her debate [with Vice President Pence] that she would not take any vaccine the Trump administration had a hand in creating.” Sadly, Sanders’ remarks reflect the partisanship that has fueled this pandemic. Biden and Harris made those comments while Trump was president. Their concerns reflected their distrust of any self-centered motives he might have had for rushing a vaccine’s development. In her debate with Pence, Harris stated she would be one of the first to take a vaccine endorsed by Dr. Fauci. But she voiced her concerns about taking one promoted solely by Trump.
Many still view mandates as intimidating. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, issued a statement in which he said, “In order for everyone to feel safe and welcome in their workplaces, vaccinations must be negotiated between employers and workers, not coerced.” While Henry A. Garrido, the executive director of District Council 37, New York City’s largest municipal employees union, tweeted, “If the Mayor wants to mandate Vax or weekly testing for City employees, he must first [bargain] over its impact.” I think we’re beyond pleading, offering incentives, or negotiating.
If we’d worn masks and gotten the vaccine, there probably wouldn’t have been a delta variant. And the worst would be over. Our ignorance and obstinance have resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans and millions across the world. I’d like to think we’ve learned something. But many are still suspicious, and their fear and disregard for “real” facts have made them easy targets for 21st-century shysters and political opportunists.
COVID really kills. Our morgues are full of proof. Let there be no more tearful goodbyes. No regrets. Get the shot.
Feel free to pass this poster on. It's free to download here (click on the down arrow just to the lower right of the image).
See the rest of the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here (click the down arrow on the lower right side of the image). Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.
Follow the history of our country's political intransigence from 2010-2020 through a seven-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.
If You'd Worn This and Gotten That, We Wouldn't Be Here Now
The most indelible disappointment and takeaway from this COVID pandemic will be the failure of my fellow Americans to get vaccinated. Why are we so divided about something that seems so apparent? This division is why we’re now experiencing yet another rise in infections, this time from the delta variant.
Americans’ belief in the immutability of our individual rights has often collided with our concern for the public good. Our Declaration of Independence states that the authority to govern is given only by the consent of its people. Some treat this as an absolute. But we have many laws which limit the rights of individuals. As the dire nature of the pandemic became evident, efforts to contain it with mask mandates and lockdowns only intensified the altercations between personal freedom advocates and those who believed in doing what’s appropriate for the greater good. We have been on this trajectory for decades. I’m disappointed because this is who we are.
There is that giant elephant in the room. The virus’ origin story, former President Trump’s inability to formulate a national response, with his complete abdication of any responsibility, and the Republican Party’s and right-leaning media’s politicization of this crisis are all responsible. Science deniers have always been a part of our culture. The politics of the right — to win elections at any cost and use the COVID crisis as a wedge issue — has exacerbated that divide and stoked an already incendiary distrust in our institutions. Promoting disinformation and conspiracy theories for political gain while people are dying is galling.
Most recent outbreaks are in red states, where political leaders not only discourage mask mandates they have prohibited them. Despite this bit of GOP Russian roulette, leaders in some of these conservative and rural states are noticing the negative optics of their decisions. Florida governor Ron DeSantis, whose campaign was selling “Don’t Fauci My Florida” t-shirts a few weeks ago, has reconsidered his message after discovering his state accounts for twenty percent of new COVID cases. “These vaccines are saving lives. They are reducing mortality,” he pivoted. Republican Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is finally urging her constituents to get vaccinated as the state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation. She told reporters, “I want folks to get vaccinated. That’s the cure. That prevents everything. It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.” When did Republicans begin referring to vaccinated Americans as “regular folks”? And why did it take them so long to advocate for vaccinations? Blame has become part of the bedrock of this crisis. Their decisions have little to do with the human cost. There are now political and economic incentives to do so.
As Washington Post opinion writer E.J. Dionne stated, “It’s the new political geography of sickness and death.” He quotes Democratic pollster Guy Molyneux who said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if GOP pols are hearing from business leaders: Knock it off with the anti-vax nonsense.” Red state businesses have no desire for more lockdowns.
But isn’t this what many of us have been saying all along? We don’t want lockdowns either. But it may be necessary for the short term if we want this pandemic to end. Follow the science. Wear masks and get vaccinated. We’ve all suffered from the loss of our friends and relatives. Many of us have lost our jobs and our homes. And most of us have been sequestered in our houses for over a year.
From the very beginning, our leaders failed to present a unified voice of reason, one that focused on our distrust and hesitancy while promoting short-term sacrifices. The mis- and disinformation that scientists and doctors like Anthony Fauci are lying to us or don’t know what they’re talking about is a common criticism. “They keep changing their minds” shows a misunderstanding of scientific inquiry. Science is based on facts. Scientists test hypotheses about the way COVID infects people. When research shows these hypotheses are accurate, they become theories that become part of our knowledge base. Sometimes new information supersedes previous conclusions.
The coronavirus is constantly evolving. Variants have developed more efficient ways of infecting a host. The delta variant’s infection rate is higher because its virus load is greater than in previous variants. So, even if we know a lot about how the original coronavirus works, new variants present differently. Scientists aren’t lying to us or simply changing their minds. They’re adapting to new information that has resulted from their studies. This process is the message our leaders should have and still need to convey to the public.
To date, fifty percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated. While vaccines aren’t one hundred percent effective, they go a long way to protect people from the disease, even the more communicable delta variant. Most break-through infections of vaccinated people do not lead to death or even hospitalization. But what about the other fifty percent? Ninety-nine percent of COVID deaths right now are those who were unvaccinated.
Hospital COVID patients are now expressing their regret at not getting the vaccine. And many are begging for it now. Dr. Brytney Cobia at the Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama wrote in a Facebook post: “I’m admitting young, healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections. 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.”
Are Americans finally going to do what it takes to end this pandemic? The Department of Veterans Affairs has just become the first federal agency to require vaccinations of all its front-line workers. Hundreds of colleges and universities have mandated vaccinations for all returning students.
But by the end of May 2021, twenty-five percent of health care workers and over thirty-eight percent of nursing home workers were still not vaccinated. The American Public Health Association, the American Pharmacists Association, the National Medical Association (which represents over 50,000 Black doctors), and 54 other groups are now calling for vaccine mandates for all health workers.
President Biden has just issued a mandatory vaccination mandate (or regular COVID tests) for all federal employees. The Pentagon is following suit for all military personnel. Will this encourage the private sector to do the same?
This wave of sanity is still in its early stages. So it’s unclear if these efforts will be enough. Former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who’s running for Arkansas governor, blamed the Biden Administration for vaccine hesitancies: “No one did more to undercut public confidence in the vaccine than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Biden doubted that the vaccine would be ‘real,’ while Harris said in her debate [with Vice President Pence] that she would not take any vaccine the Trump administration had a hand in creating.” Sadly, Sanders’ remarks reflect the partisanship that has fueled this pandemic. Biden and Harris made those comments while Trump was president. Their concerns reflected their distrust of any self-centered motives he might have had for rushing a vaccine’s development. In her debate with Pence, Harris stated she would be one of the first to take a vaccine endorsed by Dr. Fauci. But she voiced her concerns about taking one promoted solely by Trump.
Many still view mandates as intimidating. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, issued a statement in which he said, “In order for everyone to feel safe and welcome in their workplaces, vaccinations must be negotiated between employers and workers, not coerced.” While Henry A. Garrido, the executive director of District Council 37, New York City’s largest municipal employees union, tweeted, “If the Mayor wants to mandate Vax or weekly testing for City employees, he must first [bargain] over its impact.” I think we’re beyond pleading, offering incentives, or negotiating.
If we’d worn masks and gotten the vaccine, there probably wouldn’t have been a delta variant. And the worst would be over. Our ignorance and obstinance have resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans and millions across the world. I’d like to think we’ve learned something. But many are still suspicious, and their fear and disregard for “real” facts have made them easy targets for 21st-century shysters and political opportunists.
COVID really kills. Our morgues are full of proof. Let there be no more tearful goodbyes. No regrets. Get the shot.
Feel free to pass this poster on. It's free to download here (click on the down arrow just to the lower right of the image).
See the rest of the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here (click the down arrow on the lower right side of the image). Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.
Follow the history of our country's political intransigence from 2010-2020 through a seven-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.