Vaccine passports

[bmw]

Looks like we're quickly on the road to vaccine passports. While it looks like the decision will be left to each individual state, and in some states, the governors will leave it to local businesses, there will no doubt be some states and some private businesses in other states where you will be REQUIRED to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to participate in certainly aspects of daily life.

What I find interesting about this is that it is Democrats who are pushing it and Republicans who are staunchly opposed. Why do I find this interesting, you ask? Because many of the same Democrats who favor this are also pro-choice on the issue of abortion - many of them to the point where the right to have an abortion is practically a sacred right that the government absolutely has NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER as to what goes on inside of a woman's body. Well, wouldn't this same logic apply to vaccinations? I mean, getting a vaccination is literally injecting your body with a foreign substance. Seems to me that anybody who is fervently pro-choice on abortion should be equally fervently pro-choice on vaccination, using the same logic.

[Honeyman]

You really don't see the difference?!?

Abortion cannot be transmitted person-to-person.

[Matt]

You really don't see the difference?!?

Abortion cannot be transmitted person-to-person.

A better comparison is the Patriot Act. How did you feel about that?

[bmw]

I think abortions are the PERFECT analogy. People who are pro-choice argue that fundamentally, absolutely NOBODY has ANY INPUT WHATSOEVER into what an individual does inside of his/her (in the case of abortions, her) body. And they furthermore argue that their right to do whatever they want in their body overrides the rights of the living being inside.

So to answer your question Honeyman - abortion takes the life of another living being. The difference to the extent there is one is that abortions kill another living being nearly 100 percent of the time. A non-vaccinated person, engaging in activities that would require such a passport, has well, well, well under a 1 percent chance of causing the death of another person by engaging in said activities.

[Lester The Nightfly]

Well by golly, if those fetuses are "persons" then every pregnant woman should be getting an extra $1400 in Covid relief funds right now regardless of where they are in gestation.

[bmw]

Well by golly, if those fetuses are "persons" then every pregnant woman should be getting an extra $1400 in Covid relief funds right now regardless of where they are in gestation.

I would have no problem with that. However, I would add the requirement that if a pregnant woman opted to take such a check, she thereby waives her right later have an abortion.

[Turkeytop]

Would it be mandatory to carry the passport and present it to authorities on demand?

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Looks like we're quickly on the road to vaccine passports. While it looks like the decision will be left to each individual state, and in some states, the governors will leave it to local businesses, there will no doubt be some states and some private businesses in other states where you will be REQUIRED to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to participate in certainly aspects of daily life.

Yep, and if you don't like it and are afraid of the vaccine, stay home.

[bmw]

Looks like we're quickly on the road to vaccine passports. While it looks like the decision will be left to each individual state, and in some states, the governors will leave it to local businesses, there will no doubt be some states and some private businesses in other states where you will be REQUIRED to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to participate in certainly aspects of daily life.

Yep, and if you don't like it and are afraid of the vaccine, stay home.

And if you don't wanna have a baby, don't have sex

[bmw]

Would it be mandatory to carry the passport and present it to authorities on demand?

The details haven't been worked out yet, so that is unknown. I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being a policy in a state like New York.

[Matt]

Maybe they could invent a cool star for us to wear.

[Rate This]

bmw... Other than dying the virus is no fun to have, and could cause unforeseen damage to someone. Long lasting side effects or damage are not uncommon. It’s not a wonder that folks would prefer you be vaccinated to be around you or include you in the group. You hereby waive all rights to make fun of liberals crying over something. At every turn you whine no matter what they do on this.

As for the abortion comparison... the individual choice to have an abortion or not has no repercussions on anyone but the mother and the fetus. It can’t be spread to hundreds of other people nor will it effect hundreds of other people. And with that your analogy is toast. You simply cannot plausibly argue personal choice when untold numbers of people could be inadvertently harmed or hurt by the choice you make. You can when the impact is on you and you alone or you and something which may or may not be alive but not for a virus or disease situation. No way.

The most delicious part of the whole thing is that PRIVATE BUSINESS GROUPS GOT THE BALL ROLLING MONTHS AGO ON THIS! The government is late to the party. They did not come up with the idea, the free market did. Yet another example of conservatives loving a concept until it doesn’t suit them, a situation occurring more and more often lately.

[bmw]

As for the abortion comparison... the individual choice to have an abortion or not has no repercussions on anyone but the mother and the fetus.

...and the entire immediate family - in particular, the father. But you're missing the point here. "My body, my rules" can't just be selectively applied depending on the circumstance. Either the government has power to tell you what you can or can't (or must) do inside of your body, or it doesn't.

It can’t be spread to hundreds of other people nor will it effect hundreds of other people. And with that your analogy is toast. You simply cannot plausibly argue personal choice when untold numbers of people could be inadvertently harmed or hurt by the choice you make.

As many as 1 in 3 Americans may already have natural immunity from having already been sick. And the studies I've read found that at least in people under the age of 65, natural immunity provides for 80 percent efficacy lasting at least 6 months after infection. This is nearly as good as vaccinated immunity. Why is this particular group excluded from an immunity passport? Moreover, we don't need a 100 percent vaccination rate to reach herd immunity. I could MAYBE see an immunity passport being used up and until a certain percentage of the population has already been sick and/or vaccinated (in which case I would also allow people who take an antibody test and show antibodies to qualify for such a passport), but I can almost guarantee that something like this will be permanent.

[zzand]

If you register your kids in school you are asked for their vaccine records so I don't a big difference in being asked to show the vaccine card you get with the Covid vaccine. I will put mine with the insurance stuff and if needed will show it. yes, it is a pain in the butt but so are a lot of things. Everyone still has the right to not get the shots or shot but if you come across a situation where you need the card then you have an issue. Just like parents who don't get vaccines for their kids. If the kid gets sick then they have an issue.

[MWmetalhead]

For those who hate wearing masks, the passport may potentially be a good idea.

If you have the passport (or can otherwise prove you've received the vaccine) - no mask required.

I think health insurers should have the right to charge higher rates to individuals who refuse to get vaccinated despite showing no ill effects to vaccines in the past. Obviously, there should be exemptions for the small group of folks who develop allergic reactions or other severe reactions to vaccines.

Well, wouldn't this same logic apply to vaccinations? I mean, getting a vaccination is literally injecting your body with a foreign substance. Seems to me that anybody who is fervently pro-choice on abortion should be equally fervently pro-choice on vaccination, using the same logic.

For years, many in the anti-vaxx crowd were Hollywood liberal types, naturists, etc.

Many abortion advocates believe an unwanted child is likely to suffer an abusive upbringing, and I think there is some validity to that argument. I still strongly dislike abortion nonetheless. If you lack the resources to raise a child or don't want to raise a child, use contraception or give the child up for adoption.

I never understood why some holy rollers on the right so adamantly fought against contraception use "back in the day." Higher contraception use = lower risk of unwanted pregnancy (and presumably, lower risk of abortion).

Getting back to the passport question, I will say this:
If, say, 75 percent of the adult population gets vaccinated this spring or by early summer, and the adult immunization ratio remains near that level moving forward, then frankly, there really won't be much reason or need for a passport.

I think it makes sense to monitor immunization rates for a while - perhaps through the remainder of 2021 - before appropriating large scale funding for implementation of a national passport system. Ultimately, it's something that may prove unnecessary.