Will Children Be Sacrificed on the Altar of Vax Resistance?
There’s plenty of news about COVID-19, most of it good. Sadly, it appears as though children are about to be latest victims of the right wing rebellion against Big Government, or, as I like to call it, common sense public health measures.
The Centers for Disease Control’s authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 has led to a rush of parents seeking to get their young ones the jab. Twenty eight million children are eligible to get inoculated, and appointments at local clinics were quickly filled up.
Both Pfizer and Merck have announced development of antiviral medications effective in reducing the severity of COVID patients' illness, as well as reducing chances that adults get infected after they've been exposed to the coronavirus.
Merck’s pill has been approved for use in Britain, and Pfizer cancelled clinical trials for the pill and will seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, based on results showing their medication reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high risk populations.
Higher than expected job growth for October (with revisions increasing the numbers from August and September), and a continued increase in wages seem to indicate that the economy is rebounding from the impacts of the Delta variant. Despite the end of supplemental unemployment benefits, workforce participation remains diminished, meaning that the 5 million people who left the workforce didn’t hear the right-wing messaging about rushing out to get jobs.
MAGA-centric publications like The 74 are pushing a narrative about upcoming confrontations between parents and school systems, as vaccine mandates for students are embraced.
Although a Kaiser Foundation survey indicates 24% of parents are currently saying no to vaccinating their children, right wing publications are predicting massive resistance, with 50% non-compliance.
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1456639608305995777?s=20
In California, resistance to school vaccine mandates of any kind has been a hot-button issue for dedicated groups of activists, who’ve conducted a nasty campaign of threats against legislators who advocate for such measures.
From CalMatters:
In 2019, the acrimonious debate over a bill making it more difficult for parents to exempt their school-aged children from routine vaccine requirements ended with a protester literally raining blood onto the floor of the state Senate. During the pandemic, irate anti-vaccine protesters have been regular fixtures at legislative hearings. In January, two activists issued warnings to lawmakers — particularly sinister in the days following the storming of the U.S. Capitol — that a vaccine mandate of any kind would lead to armed political violence.
And there you have it.
Ask State Senator (and Physician) Richard Pan or Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez. They’ve been on the receiving end of threats for years as they’ve moved legislation blocking loopholes exploited by parents seeking a way around the state’s vaccine mandates.
The anti-vax movement in California and elsewhere has become a refuge for social narcissists who insist their internet search efforts make them qualified to make medical decisions, regardless of the danger posed to others.
This strong belief --we’re right, and the ‘others’ are evil-- enables some to consider violence as a means of dispute resolution. As San Diegans saw this week at the Board of Supervisors meeting, the mob mentality of anti-vax gatherings allows them to accept and even cheer things they otherwise should realize were wrong.
Given that school boards and public health officials are already targeted by extremist elements, it’s to be expected that they’ll be using children as hostages in their war on “wokeness.”
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