“Over 99% of COVID-19 cases in Virginia have occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated.”
So sayeth, via an Arlington government press release, State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver. (His halo is quite as big and shiny as the sainted Dr. Fauci’s, but that just means there is always room to improve!)
But let’s get back to this quote, shall we? I presume it is designed to promote vaccination by proclaiming you safe if you have one, in peril if you do not.
Fair enough, but it’s a tad disingenuous. Actually, a LOT disingenuous, if you noodle it through – no Virginians were full vaccinated before the start of this year, so that statistic is pretty meaningless. Such gamesmanship with data is what we’ve come to expect, from all corners, over the past 16 months and counting.
But if his point is that if you’re vaccinated you’re not in significant danger, then why the heck won’t gub’mint at all levels leave the vaccinated alone? (Speaking as one fully vaccinated since April 23.) Why keep threatening a return of mask mandates, as set in motion by the CDC yesterday, along a host of other draconian measures to be visited upon those of us who have played along and done what we were asked to do?
The ball is now in the court of Gov. Northam. Time will tell how he plays this, and how the public reacts.
Up here, people will go along with anything, no matter how non-sensical, because that is what they have done from the start (sigh). In the rest of Virginia? That could get tricky for Democrats trying to hold onto statewide offices and the House of Delegates in November. Political? You bet your sweet patootie this is all wrapped up in political gamesmanship.
How ’bout we do the common-sense thing: Let the vaccinated go about their business – just leave us the [he]ck alone! – and let those who for whatever reason opt not to get vaccinated deal with whatever consequences arise.
Nah. Makes way too much sense.
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! Taking a dip into the archives, we find this Northern Virginia Sun article from this week in 1979.
Turns out the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, in a “what were they thinking?” moment, was considering making cat owners go through the same bureaucratic hoops as dog owners in terms of licensing and other rules.
Guess there weren’t many cat owners among the supervisors, because if cat owners were desirous of government intrusion in their lives, we’d have gotten a dog instead. (I love dogs, but my current on-the-go lifestyle doesn’t exactly make me a prime prospect for canine ownership. And Albert the Wonder Cat would just exercise his veto power, anyway.)
Not sure how this tale turned out, but I’m guessing supervisors decided that it was a fool’s errand to try and get cat owners to comply with the same rules dog owners had to. Getting an annual rabies shot is about all we are willing to put up with.
— Scott McCaffrey