Vaccine opponents won't change their minds, so let's find a Plan B
I had my two COVID shots, one booster and I stand ready to get another one if and when needed. I am pro-vaccine. It makes sense to me.
However, we must recognize that, nationwide, the vaccine does not make sense to everyone, far from it. Twenty percent or so of the targeted population does not want the vaccine, for whatever reason, good or bad, legitimate or not, and they are rather obstinate about their objection to the non-stop instructions emanating from Washington.
What is the Biden Administration saying and doing about it? Same old thing, although the tone has a tendency to toughen with disbelief and exasperation. Suggestions, advices and recommendations are now turning into questionable mandates, scare tactics and threats. Yet, so far, the tough talk has not moved the needle. If nothing else, the “resistance” to the vaccine seems more resolute.
Those unyielding anti-vaxx people may be wrong, but they are not stupid. They know the risk of refusing the shots. They watch and read the news. Most of them know that about 5.5 million people died of COVID worldwide, including over 800,000 in the US. They just don’t want to follow the orders and pull up their sleeves. No means No.
I don’t know about you but I am getting a little tired of the war of words and menaces. As a reasonably intelligent businessman, I know that when you hit a wall, you find a way to get around it rather than break your skull trying to push it. Remember the definition of insanity: keep on doing the same thing and expect different results…
After long and grueling months of a failed strategy, it’s about time to work on a Plan B. I am not talking about abandoning the overall objective of mass vaccination to induce herd immunity, but trying to reduce the risks of getting COVID as well as its most severe symptoms/effects.
Some preventive actions are known to be effective, and new treatments and therapeutics are available today to successfully combat the virus. Common sense suggests that these alternatives, even if less potent than the vaccines, are better than nothing and far more likely to be used by those who refuse the real thing.
Time for stubbornness is over; there is more than one way to deal with the virus.
Alain Pinel is an author and real estate consultant who lives in Palm Desert. Email him at alain@alainpinel.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Valley Voice: Convincing vaccine opponents won't work. What's Plan B?
