COVID Shots Should be Mandatory

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I heard on the news this morning that over seventy million Americans have had at least one COVID shot, and now literally millions are being given each day.  But that does not mean that we are out of the woods because clearly we are not.  Thousands of new infections are still being reported daily, and "spring break," an event when young Americans typically rush to warmer climes - places like Florida and Texas whose state governors literally ignore all safety precautions and, in some cases, make setting safety standards illegal - is upon us.

I also heard a few days ago that there is one element of the population that is proving exceptionally resistant to getting inoculated - rural supporters of the last guy to live in the White House, the one who left in abject humiliation on January 20th.  Not only is he not openly encouraging his supporters to get vaccinated, some of his acolytes appear to be openly advising against it.  Every other living US President is encouraging people to get the COVID shots, but not Fat Boy.  He and his porn model wife sneaked around and got theirs, but then declined to pass that valuable advice on to his followers.

It was good enough for me, but clearly not for thee.

My first inclination is just to bow to this mass ignorance and let natural selection rule the day - just one more proof that Dawrin absolutely knew what he was talking about.  But unless this disease is pulled up by the roots and allowed to expire in the bright lights of reason and modern medicine, it will still be with us, mutating, and eventually come roaring back in some new form.  So while I respect a person's right to die from being willfully ignorant, I cannot respect their "right" to live life on their own terms if that lifestyle leads to the death of others who have been following the rules of social order.

I didn't like being marched down the elementary school hall for polio shots more than sixty years ago, but it was part of the price that had to be paid for the privilege of living in an otherwise free and open society.  As the gun nuts like to wail, "Freedom isn't free!"

The last guy to serve in the White Hosue sneaked around and got his shot.  He didn't want anyone else to know because he was taking care of himself but didn't want his successor getting credit for ending the pandemic..  But a vaccination program is about more than just protecting oneself.  The ultimate purpose of mass vaccinations is to rid society of the scourge of a disease - and that won't happen until everyone participates.

And if government has to get a little pushy in order to protect us from ourselves, so be it.

Maybe getting vaccinated against COVID should be a requirement for receiving the next stimulus checks.