Service of Who Decides–Doctors or Dollars?
March 7th, 2022
Categories: Government, Medical, Medical Care, Medicine, Pandemic, Vaccines
Excelsior Pass proof of vaccine Photo: epass.ny.gov
I feel increasingly insecure and cynical about who makes decisions that are crucial to my life and welfare because so many are not up to the specialists such as doctors and scientists, it’s the judgment or ultimatum of those who hold purse strings. For years I’ve shuddered at countless examples of insurance companies determining how long a friend or relative stays in the hospital either after a procedure or to recover from a disease. Insurance companies OK the medicines they’ll cover, consistently ignoring a doctor’s recommendations about patients’ requirements.
Now, with business interests–not science–to back it IMHO, NYC Mayor Adams has removed proof of vaccination and face covering mandates starting today, with the speed the Covid pandemic overcame us to begin with.
I was delighted to show my Covid-19 Excelsior Pass Plus proof-of-vaccination to the guard on the street in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art last week. Everyone was wearing masks inside. I felt relaxed while visiting my familiar picture friends and new visual acquaintances.
What clearer example do you need to illustrate that money, not science, is in charge when you read the first sentence in Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Sharon Otterman and Nicole Hong’s New York Times article: “The day after announcing that he planned to end New York City’s mask mandate for public schools and a proof-of-vaccination requirement for indoor dining, gyms and entertainment venues, Mayor Eric Adams smiled broadly as he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.” [I added bold.]
I still have my hopes pinned on Adams but I fear he’s being pushed by business to jump the gun to open up the city. I don’t blame him his mission and hope that it is not at the cost of the health of its citizens. Why can’t he do it one step at a time: Evaluate the result of removing the mask mandate and wait before lifting the one requiring vaccines.
Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay
Face coverings are still required on public transportation, in taxis, nursing homes–all health care settings– prisons, and homeless shelters.
According to The New York Post: “Private establishments such as restaurants, shops, museums, gyms and entertainment centers can also still require patrons and workers to mask up. For example, theatergoers are still required to be vaccinated and wear masks while attending Broadway shows at least through April 30.”
The Times reporters shared city data that 87 percent of adults are fully vaccinated and 56 percent of children 5 to 17. They wrote: “Asked about concerns that visitors from other places, particularly those with lower vaccination rates, could spread the virus, Mr. Adams said he was not worried: ‘We want tourism back. It’s a major economic boost for us.’”
So do we know what the vaccination rate is among tourists? What will the cost be if we end up back where we were at the height of Covid-19 or its super contagious, persistent variant?
“’We have been fooled too many times, and I would like to wait longer, at least until more of the world is immunized, or we have a good sense of where these variants are headed, because we absolutely do not know what the next variant is going to look like,'” said Dr. Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center. This might be in another month or two he told the Times reporters.
“Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, dean of the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health, said that ‘now is as good a time as any’ to lift mask mandates. But he was skeptical about lifting vaccine requirements at the same time.”
Have you ripped off your face coverings for good? Are you unconcerned about the vaccine status of others in restaurants and entertainment venues you plan to visit? Does the inconsistency give you pause where vaccines and masks are required to attend a Broadway show but not in other entertainment venues? Will you retreat to your home until you see how the lifting of major pandemic restrictions goes? Is your preference a prudent one, to experiment first to see whether there’s an uptick in the virus after removing one mandate before letting go of the second?
Image by Foundry Co from Pixabay
Tags: Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, Dr. Stephen Morse, Excelsior Pass Plus, NYC Mayor Adams
I’m still wearing a mask pretty much everywhere. It was strange though when I was out today to see so many actual faces. I’m going to wait a while before I stop. I believe the expression is “better safe than sorry!” Also I have so many pretty ones….why let them go to waste!
I have pretty much given up masks, but then I continued to travel even during the lockdown when I went abroad after the EU relaxed regulations for travel by spouses, those in civil unions, and domestic partners. I have been to movie theaters and a concert; attendance at sporting events has never been a priority.
I am fully vaccinated and wear a mask when one is required, but I personally am tired of the “science,” which has so vacillated between one extreme and the other, depending on which expert is speaking or looking at data, or which media outlet is doing the reporting.
Several friends and relatives have recently tested positive for Omicron; none spent any time in a hospital, including a dear friend in her mid-70s whose rheumatoid arthritis has invaded her lungs. I think at this point some common sense should prevail.
Anonymous,
I plan to keep on my mask though that protects others from me. I’m more concerned about being indoors in close quarters with unvaccinated people.
ASK,
You are a braver person than I am by far. I admire you. I think the back and forth by pundits and disagreement about how to control a virus we’ve never before confronted, the reversals and millions who refuse to be vaccinated have me being far more careful than most. I’ve been to restaurants, department stores and obviously grocery stores and as I wrote museums but wouldn’t yet go to a concert or play. It’s my loss.
Well said! I agree with you wholeheartedly – the virus is still lurking!
Most people in Fl. are not wearing masks. We avoid big crowds in town,
choosing small restaurants with less traffic. Since we know that fomites
can travel 30 feet, 6 feet separation has little effect. Most masks do not
protect you, but make you feel better in wearing them. We do not go to the
theater, ball park, or other crowded venues. Someone is making a lot of
money from the masks! Surgical masks are good, if you are dead serious to
wear one. Roll of the dice if you get Covid, even if you have been fully
vaccinated. It ain’t over til the fat lady sings!
BC,
That fat lady has yet to sing in NYC. Meanwhile, I’ll either go back to takeout or find restaurants that continue to ask to see proof of vaccination until we see how it goes. I hear the unvaccinated saying that they have a fake ID and that they’ve eaten all over town. Good for them. I trust most aren’t fooling themselves like a former boss who borrowed cigarettes and convinced himself he wasn’t smoking as long as he didn’t buy a pack.
Today my errands took me up and downtown, all within walking distance. Lots of NYers, young and old, were still sporting masks on the sidewalk, many the N19s we got for free from our drugstores.
This country is hopelessly ruled by the dollar, so its best chance to succeed is to be governed by those adhering to science/common sense, other than visionaries of fiction. Faery Tales are wonderful, but not when it comes to life threatening ailments. I will wear a mask if I see it as a good idea.