MA Re-opens Fully and Why We Shouldn't

Ok, elephant in the room time...

Baker has decided that we can stop all precautions meant to stem the spread of COVID-19.  This is because we have been driving down cases and because the vaccines are readily available.

Ok, except...

Past is prologue - we've seen cases drop and rise before.  We pushed cases down last summer to under 200 cases per day in MA and, while starting to re-open, saw the spread increase.  Past is prologue, we didn't close anything down until we saw cases way surpass the first wave's peak.

It's not all about those who choose not to be vaccinated... we still have kids who just recently were made eligible and have a month to go before they would be eligible to be fully vaccinated AND we still have younger kids who aren't yet eligible to get vaccinated at all.  Essentially you're saying that those kids can be damned because it's time to re-open.  Essentially you're saying you're fine with the kids that will die and the many more that will suffer long term effects from COVID-19.

But it's not just those that aren't eligible ... there are plenty of people in our community that are immunocompromised for one reason or another that is beyond their control and/or have health complications that prevent them from being safe for getting vaccinated.  Putting it on them to prevent spread to their families is just far too much an ask.  We as a community are supposed to defend them.  That's what the target of herd immunity is for.  By having herd immunity, not everybody has to be immune and instead just enough that the spread doesn't have sufficient outlets and therefore doesn't reach those remaining vulnerable.  By declaring that we don't care about reaching herd immunity, we are essentially saying we don't care about those that have no choice in their level of vulnerability.

But it's not even about people... by re-opening all the networks like a floodgate, by telling people it's safe now (which is exactly what you're doing by removing all restrictions and ending the emergency declaration), by pushing people to return to normal before we're ready, you're increasing the spread (both symptomatic and asymptomatic, between people who are not vaccinated, between people who are vaccinated, between anybody getting together anywhere).  The more you increase the spread, the longer the disease sticks around and the more impact it has on everyone....

But it's not even about the time that the disease sticks around... the more spread of the virus, the more chances for a mutation.  The more chances for a mutation, the higher the chance we'll have a dangerous mutation that the vaccines aren't as effective against.

But it's not even about the mutations... OH FOR THE LOVE OF BUSINESS it's not even about the mutations.  By saying everything is safe, by ending the declaration of emergency, you plant the idea that government no longer needs to help individuals and businesses.  We've returned to normal.  If businesses struggle because they are trying to keep their patrons safe, that's their business and they deserve to go out of business because of their concern for their community.  If businesses struggle because people don't go to them out of caution, because some people actually appreciate that we're not done with COVID-19 just because the government says we are, that's not the government's problem anymore.

It's not any one thing.  It's all of these things. 

Tell me again how things are looking up because cases are falling and I'll remind you that they fell last summer just as quickly without the vaccines because we were actually trying to fight the spread at that time... and that we're still below 50% fully vaccinated and that even if we had everybody who has received at least one dose get fully vaccinated today, we'd be at just 62% fully vaccinated, far short of the 70% minimum estimate that we'll need to reach herd immunity.

Tell me again how kids are safe from COVID-19 and I'll simply ask how many kids 12 and under each month you're willing to see get hospitalized and/or die from something that we know how to prevent and are just simply deciding not to put any effort into it anymore.  

Tell me again that the immunocompromised and vulnerable are just a small percentage and I'll tell you how I have friends that are immunocompromised, vulnerable, live with people of the like.  I'll tell you about how I love my family members who got cancer in years past and how it would be disrespectful to their memory to put others in their situation at greater risk because I wanted to see people in person without a mask.

Tell me again how it's just pockets where cases remain high and I'll point out that those places also are human beings who have been held up as essential workers for a year and your decision that 1) human beings can be neglected like that and 2) that essential workers don't deserve our protection ... I can't even.

Tell me again how it's safe because vaccinations are still ongoing so we'll get there eventually and I'll remind you of the mutations to COVID that have already come up and that there has been fear with each one that it may not be as well fought by the vaccines as they have been (thankfully).  I'll also point out... ok, then WHY DON'T WE WAIT UNTIL THAT HAS HAPPENED?!?  Why don't we wait till we've reached 70% fully vaccinated and see the drop off of cases to the point of it being a non-issue?

Tell me again how the government shouldn't provide for businesses and I'll point to our communities where plenty of businesses have already gone under and all of the small businesses still need our support rather than for us to turn a blind eye.  What we need now is not an end to the support but a re-doubling of that support.  We need to get people and businesses through till the point where things are indeed actually safe to re-open and then we need to help with that re-opening through further support.

... and this is still just some of the reason why this is not what we should be doing right now.

Stay safe. Stay sane. Stay informed. Stay outraged. 
But above all, please, please do what you can to keep others safe.