Rob, what do you think of your ancestral homeland's approach to covid?
Vaccinated - live life normally.
Not vaccinated - you are locked down and can only leave home to work, buy food, or exercise.
People are lining up in droves there to get their shots.
I wish my city were as smart.
I thought you didn’t like mandates?
Originally Posted by jp1
They are not taking away people's livelihoods by forcing them to get vaccinated or lose their jobs. Temporary restrictions on mobility seem to me more palatable than permanently having something injected in your body that you don't feel comfortable with or landing up homeless because you can't work.
I think often of my mother's cousin, repeatedly raped as a young child, who to this day can't stand for anyone to touch her body and who is therefore anti-vax. She also suffers from bipolar disorder and is very paranoid. (And no, the abuse is not a psychiatric delusion - it has been confirmed by others.) I just don't get how you can force someone not comfortable with it to get the shot. Fortunately she is retired and doesn't face job loss.
But I get your point that being humble in the face of the virus and not thinking we can control it with mandates is the way to go, let it run its course. That would be my first choice.
What appeals to me most about Austria's approach is it eliminates the moral hazard of treating the vaccinated and unvaccinated the same. And that differentiation is getting people to get their shots.
So, you can still go to work and shop if unvaccinated. I doubt that the courts are going to allow it, but I might favor Biden's plan to requrie vaccination for workers in companies with more than a hundred emplyees. At least as a concept I like them both.
I think it's wonderful! I don't believe there would be that many unvaccinated in Austria to begin with due to social pressure and a different than American take on such things. Rob
Austria had one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe when the initial set of restrictions the OP commented on were adopted. Might want to reexamine your beliefs.
And Austria's was/is 5% higher than the current US vax rate. We're doomed. Coming soon to the US, the fifth wave. If only we could have the fifth dimension instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbCH5lnZ6sA
I'll look into this more mid week when I have a day off. I'll call my Cousin Astrid in Vienna and google and see if stories match. The Austria I know would not have many unvaccinated - but things including countries change, I'll give you that. Rob
Update on Austria: There is now a mandate that all Austrians must be vaccinated by February - I don't know what the consequences for refusal are but I can call my relatives and ask.
Now here's an absolute shocker - recently 40,000 Austrians protested ( a shocker in and of itself) against the mandate. Apparently they were chanting that they demanded their freedom. Huh? I honestly don't see a link between vaccination and losing freedom. Austria to.this day is very socialistic and you.have much more freedom from the economic low grade terror that most Americans have normalised by now - kudos to all participating in The Great Resignation, btw - but the price tag for this is expected conformity to society's norms. This is why I'm stunned about the Austrian protestors.
There is also an intense new lockdown. I am proud of Austria and my people for that - putting human life above money - given Austria's participation in the Holocaust I am happy to see this. But apparently Austria has changed a bit. Rob
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