Stupidity versus the virus

The COVID-19 vaccine has become so polarizing that some people in Missouri are getting inoculated in secret for fear of backlash from their friends and family who oppose vaccination, a doctor told CNN Wednesday.

Some are wearing disguises. Others are begging doctors and nurses to keep their vaccination a secret from their loved ones.

I’m not sure which is worse:

• Those unable to stand up to the stupidity and judgment of their anti-vaccination friends and family.
• The anti-vaccination friends and family who would apparently make life difficult on these people who are simply following the guidance of doctors, public health officials, and scientists and trying to remain alive in the pandemic.

I tend to think the former. If your loved ones are going to make life difficult for getting a potentially life saving vaccine, they just don’t love you as much as you thought.

To hell with them.

Either way, it sucks to be surrounded by uninformed, conspiracy-minded fools, particularly in a state where the virus is surging to record levels and hospitals have run out of ICU capacity

The media is now full of stories of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and their family members who are publicly regretting the decision to bypass the vaccine and are now paying the price with severe illness and death.

Daryl Barker of Branson, Missouri, who is hospitalized with a severe case of COVID-19, told the Associated Press:

“I was strongly against getting the vaccine. Just because we’re a strong conservative family.”

Here’s the thing:

That first sentence and that second sentence do not actually correlate in any way. It’s a weird combination of sentences. Bizarre and incongruous.

Viruses don’t care about your political beliefs. Science doesn’t work differently depending upon your voting record.

Even more incongruous, I’m quite certain that Mr. Barker, like nearly every American, has already been inoculated against the measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, Hepatitis, and many more life threatening diseases. I’m also certain that his children have been inoculated against these diseases, too.

Were his parents left-wing radicals when those vaccines were pushed into his arm years ago?

Was he a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party when his children received their inoculations?

We live in a country where nearly every human being has already received more than a dozen vaccinations in their lifetime, but when it comes to this particular vaccine, your political beliefs cause you to ignore or forget all of your previous inoculations and stand opposed to this one.

We live in a country where costumes must be worn in order to conceal your decision to get vaccinated lest your friends and family turn against you.

We live in a country where some people can only become convinced to receive the vaccine after it’s too late.

We need to be better.

We need to stop being so goddamn stupid.