Raise your hand if you’d be willing to get on an airplane operated by a pilot who refused to comply with the FAA medical regulations for pilots? That’s what I thought. Not many of us would willingly get on a plane if we believed there was any possibility of the pilot not having a current FAA First Class Medical Certificate1. Such a certificate is required annually for every single commercial pilot under the age of 40 and every six months for every pilot over the age of 40. An EKG is REQUIRED at age 35 and annually for pilots over 40. There are certain conditions that must be met for a pilot to obtain a First-Class Medical Certificate. If they don’t pass the physical, they don’t fly. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our skies are safer for these government mandated regulations.
Why would anyone in their right mind think that any of these requirements are optional? When I get on a plane, I want to have some level of confidence that the people in the cockpit are healthy and not going to unnecessarily put my life and that of my fellow passengers in danger. If a plane crashes, that could wipe out 150 to 300 people instantly. There are reasons why medical clearances are required to operate aircraft.
The transmission rate of the COVID Delta variant is such that an infected, unvaccinated person can, on average, transmit the virus to 5 to 10 other people. And if each of those infected people transmit the virus to 5 or 10 other people you have quickly infected 25 to 50 people. The numbers can increase exponentially to quickly exceed the number of people killed in our hypothetical plane crash.
The health care workers, teachers, police officers and all of the others who work with the public or even in close proximity to others and refuse to get vaccinated are no different than a pilot who refuses to comply with the FAA medical rules and yet insists they are fit to fly. None of us would buy that! We wouldn’t fly with pilots who have not met their medical requirements and yet these anti-vax people think we should still to go to hospitals, send our kids to schools and interact with the police when they are putting our collective health in jeopardy.
There are Federal requirements for all kinds of professions. Most construction sites are required to operate under OSHA regulations. ‘Hard hat required’ is a sign familiar to most of us who have driven past a construction site. Why is that sign there? For safety! Commercial truck drivers are required to have a special license, training and regular medical tests to be able to drive semi-trucks on the highways. Why? Because untrained drivers and/or drivers who don’t meet certain physical requirements will put the public in danger. Nobody wants to be driving on the freeway next to a gasoline tanker truck driven by someone with minimal training, a learner’s permit and a history of cardiac problems.
There are government requirements all around us and which we all live with each and every day of our lives that are designed to improve public safety. I just don’t understand what the hell is so different about this vaccine. Well, that’s a lie. I do know what’s going on. It’s become a way to make a political statement. Period. The whole ‘safety’ issue has been debunked and proven to be hogwash given that millions of people have been safely vaccinated. I don’t recall seeing people walking down the streets sporting a third eye or missing a limb due to getting the vaccination.
How do you think the public would feel if pilots were given the choice to opt out of getting an FAA Class A Medical Certificate to fly a plane? I mean, pilots should be able to exercise their constitutional freedom to undergo a physical or not – right? So what if a few more planes crash and a few hundred more Americans get killed. At least these pilots were able to exercise their freedom. Right? Sound ridiculous? Of course, it is, but no more ridiculous than going to a hospital or a school staffed with a bunch of unvaccinated workers who are putting people’s lives at risk.
The bottom line is that if someone is unwilling to get on a plane piloted by someone who has not passed their FAA physical or has the requisite training, then they should get the goddamn shot and find another way to show blind allegiance to their political party or favorite talking head on TV that doesn’t put American lives at risk! It’s way past time to stop filling body bags to make political statements.