Vaccination Card Folly

Do Vaccination Cards Keep Us Safe?

Before I answer that question, I’d like to tell a personal story.  I took a single dose Janssen vaccine March 15, 2021.  I measured my spike protein antibodies on May 20 to make sure that the vaccine worked; my test was positive with an index level of 1.4.  Last Thursday, August 12, I measured my antibodies again.  They were negative.  I have a vaccination card that I can use to sit in a New York City restaurant, attend a concert at SFJAZZ, live on a university campus, or work at a hospital that has mandated vaccines.  Even if H.R. 4980 becomes law, I will be able to travel on an airplane in the United States.  Yet not even five months since my vaccination, there is no longer evidence of antibody-based immunity in my blood.

My story is another example of the folly of making universal vaccination the primary objective of the pandemic response.  Vaccine mandates by restaurants, employers, airlines, colleges, and entertainment venues are based on the flawed assumption that vaccinated people are safe, clean, and not dangerous to others.  There is undeniable evidence that breakthrough infections occur, that the vaccinated can spread the disease, and that vaccinated individuals can die of the disease.  It’s becoming clear that eradication is no longer possible.  

There is also mounting evidence that vaccines are associated with significant side effects that affect the health and wellbeing of individuals.  Expect more evidence to emerge.  We do not yet know the whole story.

I don’t have all the answers—nobody does.  Our understanding of both the virus and the vaccines are so far from complete that it’s impossible for anyone to make sweeping recommendations, no matter their position, no matter their intelligence.  But there is one thing we know for sure.  Clear objectives drive sound decisions.  Before we can win this war, we must agree on a sensible objective.

Our desired outcome should be keeping as many people alive as possible.  The life, health, and wellbeing of all individuals are paramount.  When we give primacy to vaccination status, we lose sight of our noble objective, and we divide people into uncooperating groups.   To the extent that vaccines further our objective, we should use them.  To the extent that early treatments further this objective, we should use them.  To the extent that therapies and treatment protocols have not been fully studied by science, we should fund studies publicly.  Although we can count on the free market to sponsor research when there’s the prospect of a large profit, wouldn’t it be a shame to overlook regimens that can keep people alive just because there’s no money to be made?  But we should never confuse any of these tools with our primary objective. We must allow people to make choices, and we must allow doctors to make personalized decisions in the best interest of individual patients.

Eradication is no longer possible, but survival is.  We must learn to live with the virus.  Have faith.  Have courage.