Beginning in August in France, citizens who wish to visit cafés will have to "show a "health pass" that certifies they've been vaccinated or recently tested negative for the coronavirus."
According to this NPR post, this has led to many people suddenly becoming eager to get vaccinated.
Apparently only 37% of the population of France is fully vaccinated at present.
One wonders why there is such disparity between countries. On the whole, Canadians seem pretty eager to get onboard. Despite a late start, we are about 50% fully vaccinated, and jabs are proceeding apace. Keep in mind that children (over 12) are still in the process and very few have yet been able to get both jabs. Our two grands are scheduled for August.
I haven't heard about needing inducements, such as cash or guns, to get vaccinated.
One wonders about the disparity between countries. We know that some Americans are resistant because they swallow conspiracy theories. But that begs the question about why they are so prone to such disinformation.
For some reason, this is largely connected to evangelicalism, but it has to be deeper than that. I was raised in evangelicalism but we seemed to prize education. I have known doctors and professors to have come out of the church of my youth, but somewhere along the line, a segment of American evangelicals came to value ignorance and anti-scientism. It is difficult for me to understand this; in fact, I don't.
We are resisting the implementation of health passes in this country, though, and I wish we weren't. However, I guess as long as we achieve high percentages of inoculations it won't matter too much.
===============================
After I wrote the above, it popped into my mind to see how states and provinces currently compare in terms of daily cases. You may recall that our provinces did well for much of the pandemic but shot up to near the top during the third wave.
Except for the Yukon. the worst province, Manitoba, would slot in after #29, Illinois. Ontario comes in after #49, Maryland. The only America states to do better are Maine and South Dakota, and I understand that South Dakota has done it by achieving herd immunity the hard way.
The hardest hit states seem to be in the south and then the Midwest. Seven of the worst 8 are southern states with Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma popping into the lower half of the top ten.
this is the link to the tracker
18 comments:
It should be common sense. Do all you can to bring the virus down. Pay attention to the experts.
Common sense is lacking in those prone to conspiracy theories.
Incentives aren’t required here either. Other than the incentive to save lives, including your own.
Although the conspiracy theory makes the news, I don't think that plays but only a tiny part in why people aren't getting vaccinated. The biggest reason is our independence streak. We (as a whole) don't like government telling us what to do, whether it be showing ID to vote or getting a needle jabbed into our arms. It rubs us raw to be told that we need to do something for the good of all and thus is doesn't get done. Probably a secondary reason between our independence streak and the conspiracy theory is ignorance of the fact that having had Covid doesn't make you immune from the latest variants of Covid. So many people I have talked to think that because they got Covid last year that they are now immune when they are in fact, not immune to the newest D variant.
Well said. The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one.
Glad you mentioned the mentality of evangelists. I have a son who is dedicated to his church, but he firmly has his feet in belief of the wonders of science. That is really a relief. He also has difficulty in what I call the "tea party" mentality...those who will just follow any loud and charismatic preachers. I'm glad that he learned how to discern the difference! I live in what's called the Bible Belt...perhaps on the buckle thereof, and frequently find neighbors talking about their perceptions of the Democrats, or any non-Trumpians. I sometimes smile and definitely don't engage in conversation.
I am embarrassed for the USA--so many ignorant fools refusing to get vaccinated.
The pass to show that you can travel sounds just too simple.
For the fully vaccinated people here, we just got the EU Digital COVID Certificate which will allow you to travel to any EU country. Currently 60% of the people are fully vaccinated, they are now working on the younger people.
It is really sad that there are those who don't plan to get the vaccine because of politics. Don't they realize that their leaders have gotten the vaccine?
It infuriates me how poor the US vaccination rate is! With the looming presence of the Lambda variant which appears to be able to bypass the vaccine, we are in for a world of hurt again and closures where population percentages of vaccinated folks are too low to quell the spread. Unfortunately, it is highly likely that any nation NOT at a minimum of 70% fully vaccinated will again have huge surges and need lockdowns and closures to try to reduce deaths this Winter..... more likely mid-to-late Fall.
PipeTobacco
As I a scientist I am all too aware of the anti science sentiment that is growing at pace. It saddens me to think that my expertise, gained over many years of training and practice is valued less than the opinion of "Uncle Fred" who learned all about x (pick any scientific topic) on social media.
I am infuriated by the situation and losing hope that we'll ever be back to "normal." Especially because of the variants.
South Dakota also is one of our least populous states per square mile. The worst clusters of covid happened in densely populated areas.
It seems we are trying to protect the unvaccinated adults? Why? We had our shots. I'm all for protecting unvaccinated children, but unvaccinated adults?
We have those conspiracy/misinformation believing people here in Hawaii too. I keep hearing these stories about people in Intensive Care who now regret not wanting to get the vaccination. It’s nuts. I don’t see why we can’t have vaccination passports and such here in the U.S. too. sigh.
We need help somehow. What a mess.
I never thought I'd be in such a scary situation here in the US. We have so many people who just won't accept facts. Wishing something was different does not make it so. There will be no "normal" for a long time to come.
There are still some crazy people who believe stuff about the vaccine. My o h my!
Post a Comment