Why are people refusing to get COVID 19 vaccinations?  I used to say I was baffled about this but, after some thought on the matter, I actually understand.  I don’t agree but I understand because I know seemingly intelligent college educated non-Republican people who refuse to take the vaccine. They distrust what they are being told. I get it.

Distrusting people in authority is a rite of passage that most adults go through eventually. There are only so many lies, half-truths, and obfuscations you can listen to before you realize they are giving a version of the truth, a truth that will probably go on public record and be remembered.  But probably not the complete truth. I expect it.  I listen to the person’s spiel and then read in between the lines for the real meaning. In the end, I only have best guesses.

Even people who I vote for and generally support are suspect. Again I expect it. People will say one thing but I know what they really mean but they have to say it this way because if they were completely truthful they would go down to defeat in the next election. A good example of this is the position most Democratic politicians took on gay marriage 30 years ago. They all, quite sensibly, opposed it.  As a gay man, I accepted that position because I realized that any Democrat would be committing political suicide if they supported gay marriage.  Despite this craven surrender to political expediency, which should make their positions at least a little suspect, I believed that these Democrats would do very little to stop gay marriage. It turns out I was right. It also confirms, how can I say this in the kindest possible way, that they are less than truthful. And these are the people I am voting for.  They may be a liars but they are our liars.

Richard Branson, the billionaire astronaut, recently got caught in a lie that had absolutely no effect on his reputation.  When he flew into space, he made this big deal about riding up to the space station on his bicycle.  The problem is that he actually didn’t.  The bicycle ride was filmed on a different day than the flight into space.  He flagrantly lied about his arrival while also being caught pretty brazenly manipulating his public image so that we can have a better version of him, something that would capture his playful billionaire self, something, however, that wasn’t exactly true. A big falderal occurred when the lie was caught.  But now, a few weeks out, does anyone remember his little slip of the tongue? No. They do, however, remember Branson went into space and seems like a regular fellow. It’s the image he wants to convey and we are basically all right with his public relations manipulation.

But shouldn’t Public Health officials be exempt.  Maybe but then why? I believe, for the most part, they are telling me the truth.  I believe that their recommendations are sound and I will follow them. However, I have to admit that I don’t believe everything they tell me. When they say that people who have had COVID19 should get vaccinated, I am a little doubtful about it.  I thought that was the whole point of the vaccine – to trick my body into believing it has already had COVID. I would think the actual disease would be as effective if not more effective in doing this.  Health officials reply with some type of blah blah about variants and antibody durability.  OK, but wouldn’t the vaccine have exactly the same problem? It is painful to listen to health officials justify vaccinating recovered COVID patients. They look uncomfortable and give me the perception that they are lying. I would be much happier if they said the only way we can be sure that everybody is safe from COVID is to get 300 million plus people COVID antibodies.  The best way to do that is through vaccination. There is very minimal risk to getting the vaccine and if you get one we know you are safe.  Your name can be checked off the list, so be a pal here and get your vaccine. But instead they awkwardly respond with unconvincing scientific blah blah that leaves me doubtful about what they are saying.

There is this conundrum about our present situation.  We like to think of ourselves as independent thinkers. I won’t just let someone tell me what to do. I will ask questions, make sure I get the facts straight. I won’t blindly listen to some authority figure I barely trust.  I would like to say that I did a thorough investigation of the COVID vaccine, but the only investigation I did was half listening to the nightly news and finding out the address of where I could get my shot.  I did what I was told to do. You might say this is a public health emergency. We need to act quickly in order to prevent deaths, just get the damn vaccine and stop making our lives difficult.  Yes, this is true but it is true in any emergency. Which means all a politician has to do is declare an emergency. Who decides what is an emergency?

This is where it gets scary. Don’t worry though I certainly will be there to ask the challenging questions.