As the Delta variant surges here in the States and around the world, I am seriously rethinking my adventure to Portugal in October. The CDC Level 4 travel advisory is still in place for Portugal due to the increasing case load there. However, of greater concern to me is what is happening here in the States. As I’ve stated previously, the worst-case scenario is to successfully get to Portugal and then get trapped over there due to a shutdown or restrictions for returning to the US. I have already cancelled two trips.
I cancelled my trip to go hiking in Scotland, both due to the COVID situation and I came to my senses and realized that hiking across the Scottish Highlands by myself on the cusp of winter was probably not the most brilliant idea I’ve ever had. They moved my deposit to another trip next year so it is still on the agenda but, hopefully, I can find some other fool to go with me and then we can do it in the spring or summer when the weather risk is not so great. I was also scheduled to attend a class reunion back in Miles City in September and just pulled the plug on that as well. The vaccination rate in Custer County is quite low and I’m sure there won’t be a mask in sight as the crowds gather for this event. I decided it was just not worth the risk as the Delta variant will no doubt be having a field day in such a ‘target rich’ environment.
Unfortunately, this fall and winter is shaping up to be a replay of last year with surging cases, reimplementation of mask mandates (probably won’t happen here in Montana!!), and all of us, vaccinated or not, having to take precautions once again and alter our plans. It is particularly frustrating since it didn’t have to be this way. We, collectively, had the power to solve this problem but have chosen not to – at least the 90 million people in this country who have refused to get vaccinated.
The people who refuse to get vaccinated seem to fall into two categories. There are those who listen to the misinformation and refuse to get the vaccine because “they don’t want to be guinea pigs,” thinking that the vaccine is unsafe. That argument simply defies logic. Hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine have been administered and the number of adverse reactions is smaller than miniscule. You are far more likely to get struck by lightning than to have a severe adverse reaction to the vaccine. The “I don’t want to be a guinea pig” excuse makes absolutely no sense when you simply look at the numbers.
The other group talks about their rights regarding both wearing masks and getting vaccinated. I’ve seen anti-mask and anti-vaccine protestors carrying signs along the lines of, “My body, my rights”. I find it extremely ironic that many of these people are the same people who are adamantly against abortion. If a woman has the ‘right’ to refuse to participate in basic public health measures that are clearly effective in stopping the spread of a virus that has killed over 600,000 Americans, why don’t they believe women have the right to take control over their own reproductive health and decisions? A woman’s decision to have an abortion has absolutely no effect on the health of the rest of the population. A person’s decision to refuse to wear masks or refuse to get vaccinated has consequences for the entire community in which they live. How does that make any sense whatsoever?
It doesn’t and that’s the problem. The decisions regarding public health have become so politicized that it is pointless to try to inject any logic whatsoever into the equation. I saw an interview with a Republican politician recently where the reporter asked him if he was vaccinated and he refused to answer by saying, “I don’t want to take sides.” “Take sides!” How the hell is protecting yourself, your family and your community ‘taking sides’? It just indicates the politicization regarding this issue.
I guess the bottom line is that I will go to Portugal for my reconnaissance trip but I may have to adjust the timing. We’ll see. I’ll wait a little while before I make a final decision given that things seem to change fairly rapidly.
In order to leave all of this nonsense behind, Jordan and I are going golfing today. She wanted to learn to golf so I hooked her up with the pro at one of the local courses for a lesson. I haven’t swung a golf club in years so I’ll spend a little time on the driving range. After all of that, we’ll hit the short executive course which should be very amusing. But I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun and that’s what it’s all about.