Vax vs. Anti-Vax: The Political Boxing Match Around COVID Vaccines
I was a little bummed when the third boxing match between heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury was delayed. Initially slated for July 24, Fury's alleged positive COVID test has pushed the bout back to October 9. I thoroughly enjoyed the first couple of fights. It was a stark contrast of two distinct boxing styles. Tyson "The Gypsy King" Fury appears to be a tactician, letting his IQ and ring generalship lead the way. On the other hand, Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder is the hard-hitting brute. His right hook has helped him accrue 42 career victories.
As I wait for October 9 to come, I have my eye on another boxing match: Anthony "The Vaccine Vindicator" Fauci vs. Rand "The American Anti-Vaxxer" Paul.
Their verbal disputes over everything COVID-related have been worth every second of my time.
Rand Paul, Republican Senator from Kentucky, threw metaphorical punches towards Fauci in a committee meeting last week: "What studies do you have that people that have had the vaccine or have had the infection are spreading the infection? If they're not spreading the infection, isn't it just theater?"
Paul continued, "You've been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show. There's a virtually zero-percent chance you are going to get it."
Fauci replied with snarky quips, "You are not listening" and "Here we go again with the theater."
One of my most significant points of contention concerning COVID is the politicization of the virus.
From the moment our Democrat-dominated news media criticized President Trump for issuing travel bans from China and Europe, COVID became a political issue. Remember when Vice President Joe Biden condemned Trump one day after his administration enacted the travel bans?
Then came the tall tales of Trump firing the entire pandemic response team in 2018. They were proven "partly false" by Reuters.
When the virus spread, Trump was criticized for the lack of ventilators and other supplies to help combat COVID. So he put forth the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of necessary medical items. Then he was criticized because these items did not come from China. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker went behind the White House's back to buy supplies from China, where the virus originated.
When the Trump administration announced Operation Warp Speed to provide a vaccine to Americans, anti-Trump zealots over at NBC tweeted that a "miracle" would be needed.
I'd be remiss if I did not mention Kamala Harris' comment about the vaccines last year, "If Donald Trump tells us we should take it, I'm not taking it."
On and on, the COVID boxing match went.
What kind of people are we dealing with when politics supersedes health?
Well, it has always been that way.
According to a POLITICO-Harvard poll, most Democrats are in favor of federal vaccine mandates. In a Gallup poll about the acceptance of vaccination passports, 74% of patrons would approve of them in order to board a plane, and 59% support proof of vaccination to go to work.
It is primarily Republicans against federal vaccine laws. In 2018, GOP governor candidate Knute Buehler wanted weaker vaccine laws, "As a physician, I certainly believe in the benefits of vaccination but I also think that parents should have the right to opt out. To opt out for personal beliefs, for religious beliefs or even if they have strong alternative medical beliefs. And that has been beneficial. I think that gives people option and choice and that's the policy I would continue to pursue as Oregon's governor."
Governor Kevin Stitt (R-Oklahoma) disavows mandatory vaccinations on children. "I believe in choice. And we've got six children and we don't vaccinate, we don't do vaccinations on all of our children. So we definitely pick and choose which ones we're gonna do. It's gotta be up to the parents, we can never mandate that. I think there's legislation right now that are trying to mandate that to go to public schools, it's absolutely wrong. My wife was home schooled, I went to public schools, our kids go to Christian school, and that's back to a parent's choice."
This ideology is understandable. The federal government does not (and should not) have the power to mandate unwanted medical treatments. If a person does not want them or their children vaccinated, the decision is up to that individual. Everyone knows the health consequences of smoking cigarettes, yet nobody is pushing legislation to ban them.
Despite efforts by today's corporate-sponsored news to paint anyone right-of-center as an "anti-vaxxer", most Republicans are not against COVID vaccines. According to a poll conducted by Morning Consult, 60% of Republicans have been or are planning to get vaccinated.
Republicans are against the laws that usually accompany vaccine rollouts.
Across the board, vaccine hesitancy is relatively low. The Biden Administration says it has a goal of vaccinating 70% of Americans. That goal is well within reach, despite some resistance. So why is there all this hooting and hollering about "anti-vaxxers?"
It is another sucker punch being thrown in the vaccine boxing match. Democrats are deeply concerned about the midterms next year. Analytics, poll data, and conversations with everyday people suggest that a strong red wave is coming. People are witnessing the rising prices from food to lumber, critical race theory in K-12 schools, violence on the rise, the depreciation of the dollar, and a myriad of other issues affecting them. An elitist, progressive doctrine is overrunning today's Democrat Party. People are slowly realizing the economic, moral, and ideological decay that comes with this doctrine. Left-leaning outlets such as The Guardian and The Daytona Beach News-Journal have posted articles about Biden voter remorse. As a tactic to smear Republicans, Democrats and their media allies use COVID to scare undecided voters into continued support for the blue party.
Health should be a bipartisan arena, but Democrats and Republicans are punching it out anyway. It will be fascinating to see who wins this slugfest.
