While some governors are flexing their mask muscles to address, whether in reality or appearance, the concern for the next variant of Covid, Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, has taken a very different approach to masks.
All hail Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who liberated himself from the “forever COVID” mentality that has gripped far too many lawmakers.
Ever think you would see “all hail” a Dem in the New York Post?
“The emergency is over,” Polis said in an interview. “Public health [authorities] don’t get to tell people what to wear; that’s just not their job.
“There was a time when there was no vaccine, and masks were all we had and we needed to wear them. The truth is we now have highly effective vaccines that work far better than masks. Those who get sick, it’s almost entirely their own darn fault.
As of now, the availability of vaccinations is ubiquitous. And there’s no shortage of masks for those who choose to wear one. So if people, given the information available about the risks one assumes from choosing against being vaccinated and choosing not to wear a mask, why mandate masks?
“Just to put it in perspective, of the about 1,400 people hospitalized, less than 200 [or 16 percent] are vaccinated. And many of them are older or have other conditions,” Polis added. “Eighty-four percent of the people in our hospitals are unvaccinated, and they absolutely had every chance to get vaccinated.”
This is the political equivalent of “play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” Of course, 16% of vaccinated people being hospitalized is nothing to sneeze at. And then there are children under 5 for whom the vaccine isn’t yet available, even if their risk is low.
But the other side is that Polis has decided not to turn the state into the mask police, and more importantly, not to turn businesses into the mask police on behalf of the state.
Contrast one Democratic governor’s strategy with another’s: New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took office when now-disgraced Andrew Cuomo scurried away from the governor’s mansion. She instituted a statewide indoor mask mandate that went in effect Monday, forcing all businesses to either check people’s vaccination cards or require them to wear a mask while inside, even in private offices. Fines could be as high as $1,000 per violation.
The authority of some aspects of Hochul’s mandate are dubious, and the efficacy of requiring businesses to go to war with customers and employees should they refuse, for whatever reason, or just take umbrage at their handling, presents the potential for some serious problems.
Is Polis right? Is it time to treat people like adults and live with the consequence of their choices while others go about their lives without the state telling them what to put on their faces? Or is this a reckless approach, which not only allows the people who make poor choices for themselves to serve as incubators for those who tried their best to make wiser choices. Bear in mind, 16% is still a significant number of people, and they didn’t ask to be infected.
And as variants keep arising, and the effectiveness of vaccines developed for the last strain remains a question as to the next gen, should those who dutifully get boosted suffer for other people’s choices, not to mention the ICU beds, equipment and medical staff that are eaten up and won’t be available for the rest of human medical needs because of people that don’t seem to care about the pandemic and just keep going on as if everything were normal?
*Tuesday Talk rules apply.