ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
Sometimes doing what seems to be the right thing can have unintended negative consequences.
In the wake of new and significantly changed Health Department guidelines on wearing masks during the pandemic, announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, you’d think that the “mask wars” now should be over.
They’re not.
New guidelines suggest people who have received two Covid-19 vaccinations no longer are required to wear masks in indoor situations. But in trying to determine who’s gotten their shots and who hasn’t, we’re stuck with an “honor system” that leaves plenty to be desired.
Less than 24 hours after Whitmer and state health officials called off their dogs, I saw a post from a woman on Facebook threatening a lawsuit against anyone who insists she show proof she has been vaccinated. She cited the often repeated violation of her constitutional rights reason and HIPPA laws.
So those who want to be sure they’re not standing or sitting next to someone not properly shot up with Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson essentially is SOL if they want such health assurances. Some would say the simple solution would be to mask up regardless.
Indeed, when I visited Harding’s Market and Family Farm & Home, I saw a strange collection of people masked and people not masked. I felt a little bit like there’s a hidden ball trick going on, the question of who’s telling the truth and who is not.
An old friend and Townbroadcast columnist Phyllis McCrossin discussed this dilemma in her “Ramblin Road” offering this week and posted on Facebook about the store in South Haven where she works: “We require masks in the store. Many people saw the signs and left. Their choice. Many whined that they were fully vaccinated and complained about wearing masks. Others ignored the signs and came in anyway.”
Noting that most recent statistics report that only 39 percent of Michigan adults now have been vaccinated, she added, “I just found it interesting that far more than 40 percent are taking advantage of the no mask suggestion.”
Will there ever come a time when politicizing a health issue will become just a distant memory?
Or are we, as I have often suggested of late, going there in a handbasket?
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