I see a growing number of restaurants across the country are starting to require their would-be customers to provide proof of vaccination.
Multiple outlets reported restaurants and bars from coast to coast now demand proof of vaccination. The “no vax, no service” model seems to count on the COVID-19 vaccines as a huge safety net to stop the spread of the disease.
It’s happening in major cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and Atlanta, just to name a few.
It sounds to me like a nice marketing ploy. But I wonder if that might also provide a false sense of security.
Too many anti-vaxxers allowed COVID-19 to continue to spread. Worse, they allowed the virus time to mutate into multiple strains, including the more infectious Delta variant.
No one ever said that getting the COVID-19 vaccine would guarantee you couldn’t get COVID-19. The best news about the vaccine, depending on the variety, was that it seemed to almost completely prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death if you got infected.
No one ever said that getting the COVID-19 vaccine would keep someone who got COVID-19 from being able to spread it. I got the vaccine. But I could still get COVID-19. Presumably, I could still spread it someone else — either vaccinated or unvaccinated.
If I get COVID-19, I may not even realize it because of a less serious illness. If I spread it to someone else who took the vaccine, they may not realize they have it.
But if I spread it to someone else who refused to take the vaccine, they may not be so fortunate.
Requiring proof of vaccination may give a false sense of security.
“I just want to know that I feel safe and everyone else is going to feel safe inside …,” abar owner in Seattle told KING-TV.
Feel safe? Why would that make anyone feel safe?
A dining room with all-vaccinated diners is not a COVID-19-free zone.
If you’re unvaccinated, there is no such thing.
If you’ve vaccinated, there is no such thing, thanks largely to the unvaccinated.
Yes, I’ve said before that there are valid reasons that would prevent some people from taking the vaccine. All of the valid reasons involve some medical condition — from allergies to vaccine components to weak immune systems.
Those who refuse the vaccine because they don’t trust it because of “a lack of testing,” the “emergency use authorization” or some conspiracy theory are the problem. Their refusal gave the virus time to continue to run through the population. There will likely be additional variants that turn up. Viruses mutate; it’s what they do.
Yet many of the unvaccinated will cite the aforementioned emergency use authorization as a “valid” reason for not wanting to take the vaccine. They can’t explain their lack of logic on that position, however. The unvaccinated, who now appear to be filling hospital intensive care units thanks to the Delta variant, may face a treatment that is also covered by an emergency use authorization.
Would you rather depend on an EUA for a vaccine designed to prevent illness or an EUA on treatment designed to save your life when you’re already critically ill?
I support my local restaurants.
I don’t want them to have to shut down again. I’m doing my part by ordering takeout whenever I can.
But I’m not ready to dine inside those restaurants. There are too many unknowns and too many people allowing COVID-19 to continue spreading.
If I were asked to provide proof of vaccination, I could easily do so. But I don’t think I’d be any safer in a room surrounded only by fully vaccinated people. COVID-19’s still there. It can still affect anyone. A vaccine does not provide 100% immunity.
Would that it could do so!
