Vaccine Passports: Communism or Common Sense?

 

I'm planning to get my vaccine the moment I'm eligible. I've spent too much of my undergraduate career cooped up in my room, away from my friends, away from some of the parts of college that make it fulfilling. Besides, it would be selfish not to get the vaccine, right? Why on earth would I risk transmitting the virus to Grammie the next time I go in to give her a hug? No, I'm sold on it; vaccination is a nonnegotiable for me.

The sticky point is when others get involved. Sure, I think that others should get the vaccine. I hope that they do get the vaccine. One look at the mounting COVID death tolls is enough to turn my stomach. Why risk not vaccination yourself and adding to the toll? But, can we force someone to vaccinate themselves? 

I go back and forth on the issue. However, I've seen numerous people griping on social media about being turned away from places of business for not complying with COVID regulations. I'm fine with that. I believe that persons are entitled to personal freedoms until the point where they encroach on the rights and safeties of others. If you turn someone away from your bakery because they have blue hair, that's silly. Blue hair isn't going to hurt you. If you turn someone away because they are choosing to not comply with the health code, and because your ailing grandmother lives with you at home, and anything that you pick up at the bakery will be transmitted to her after you close up and head home...I think that's an entirely different animal. 

Thus, I'm okay with the idea of vaccine passports. We already require certain vaccinations to enroll in and attend public schools. However, vaccine passports can be prohibitive if not handled correctly. What if a low-income family wants to vaccinate themselves, but lacks the means to travel to a vaccination site? What if the cost of vaccination is an impediment? What if they. can't get off work?

In matters of public health and safety, I'm a-okay with the government stepping in and making things more accessible. Like we're seeing in Oklahoma, efforts by indigenous groups to provide free vaccines, drive-up testing, accessible testing sites, etc. all make for a more inclusive public health effort. This is vital. Otherwise, we risk letting people fall through the cracks.

Ultimately, I think that—because it's a matter of personal safety—vaccine passports are not an extreme measure. I'm suggesting that we conduct stop-and-frisk missions on the street to make sure that people have their tax card on them, but if a public school wants the 4th grade class to have a vaccination? Probably not outlandish.

The solution to the anti-vax sentiment is not to bastardize the demographic, but to alter the narrative surrounding the matter. COVID shouldn't be political, yet it is. Both sides of the aisle are guilty of exploiting the pandemic to demonize the other side. Matters of public health and safety transcend partisan politics. By actively combatting misinformation that surrounds COVID and vaccinations, we can work towards a society where the concept of a vax passport isn't a political attack, but simply an effort to ensure the safety of loved ones.