Originally Posted by AVB-AMG

FYI, I now have mixed feelings about mandates for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. I think that the private sector, meaning any private companies, firms, cultural institutions, hospitals, Doctor’s offices, educational institutions, retail and hospitality establishments, and entertainment venues are all perfectly within their legal rights to impose mandates that their employees and patrons, guests and visitors all show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to be employed or gain entry and admittance. I recently attended a professional NFL football game where every fan of the 60,000 who entered the stadium, was required to show their CDC issues COVID-19 vaccination card as proof of vaccination. That gave me a level of comfort that I needed to attend, as well as the fact that it was an outdoor venue.

I am now concerned that with more States imposing vaccination mandates, as well as the Federal government that it could be a political disaster in the making, giving the Republicans one more issue to trumpet in the coming elections in 2022 and 2024. I am sympathetic to some of the arguments that the Federal government is overstepping its authority, even if they have valid, good intentions. While I do think that the U.S. armed services should be able to require all of their troops to be vaccinated, I am not so sure about local law enforcement offices and firefighters. It is a complicated, slippery-slope that has no elegant solution, since taking a hard line could very well lead to some unwanted consequences. Time will tell….

So, at this point, while we may possibly see a 5th surge of the number of people testing positive for the virus as we enter the winter months of 2021/2022, I do think that even with continued virus mutations, that our country will slowly evolve to the majority of our population either being fully vaccinated, (two shots, plus a booster shot), or those how have caught the COVID-19 virus and whose bodies have generated some natural antibodies against the virus. Yet even with that case, we will continue to have serious infections and deaths that probably could have been prevented with people choosing to become vaccinated. Another real concern that I have, which will only be learned in the coming months/years, is exactly what the detrimental effects are on one’s body and mind due to “Long COVID”, the lingering, long-term and/or after effects of having caught the COVID-19 virus.

AVB-AMG