This commentary is by John Bossange of South Burlington, a retired middle school principal.
We may ride through this latest Omicron tsunami with fewer and fewer infected and dead Vermonters, but it could have been different in our small state if we had a governor who ordered a temporary statewide mask mandate to offset those who refused to get vaccinated or wear a mask. 9
So far, over 95,000 Vermonters have been sickened with the virus, and we know that figure is much higher because people who self-test tend not to record their data with the state or their doctor. Tragically, 500 Vermonters have died so far. Life in our brave little state did not need to get this bad.
In Vermont, 101,486 adults over age 18 have chosen not to get fully vaccinated. That’s 22% of our adult population. Nationwide, our 78% of fully vaccinated adults is commendable and certainly a point of pride. However, with so many unvaccinated adults moving around in our small state, Vermont has plenty of locations where variants can incubate and spread.
We’re still averaging over 1,500 new cases each day. Getting vaccinated combined with wearing a mask would certainly help lower that number.
Given the recent surges we have experienced in our state, one must now begin to wonder why 101,486 Vermonters are still not willing to make a temporary sacrifice of their own interests and beliefs for the benefit of others. Why do they remain unvaccinated and push back against wearing a mask?
The heartbreaking and tragic stories are all too common. Innocent children have become sick; parents have died, leaving a family without a mother or father; and too often a grandparent or a senior citizen has died, cutting short their well-deserved “golden years.”
Do these facts bother the unvaccinated or those who continue to resist wearing a mask in public indoor places? Does it concern them that 85% of our hospital ICU beds are filled with the unvaccinated, stressing the capacity of our medical community?
If watching fellow Vermonters struggle to breathe and die does not bother them, then I consider that attitude to be inhumane and immoral.
Today, though, the more important question is why Gov. Scott has continued to rely on “personal responsibility” regarding the wearing of masks in all indoor facilities. We know he cannot force someone to get the vaccine. But why does he allow Vermonters to choose not to protect themselves and others with a mask?
Clearly that choice has not worked. For a small state, our Covid numbers are staggering. What’s been the issue with ordering a temporary month-to-month statewide mandate requiring us to wear a mask to help slow the spread of this horrible virus? What world is he living in? Who is he listening to?
By not taking a stand, Gov. Scott has forced towns to create their own mask mandates, which has put incredible and unnecessary pressure on local officials. Local school boards have been under the same pressure, as they try to navigate their way through the school year. When we have a governor who will not lead and cover the backs of local leaders, and continues to use “personal responsibility” and “local control” as a reason not to step up, we will continue to see confusion and deep frustration with the leaders in each of our communities.
Need some proof? Just attend your next local school board meeting or selectboard meeting, and listen to those who are unvaccinated or those who cite their “personal freedoms” as a reason why their town officials cannot mandate mask-wearing or a proof of a vaccination card for selected indoor activities. How much easier and clearer it would be for selectboard members, city councilors and school boards to fall back on a governor’s directive to wear a mask. Most importantly, our environment would be a lot safer for everyone in our communities.
All Vermonters should be alarmed by the continued sickness and death of our family members, neighbors and friends, our overcrowded hospitals filled with unvaccinated Covid patients taking up bed space from other patient needs, our exhausted and discouraged medical professionals, our collapsed economy and job force, and the 78% of us who live in fear every day of contracting the virus.
All of this largely the result of 101,484 unvaccinated citizens and those who refuse to wear a mask. I’m done listening to people challenge the science or explain their conspiracy theory about vaccines and mask-wearing. If this were a world of just letting an individual make a personal choice for whatever reason, that would be tolerable. But we socialize in stores, restaurants, churches, theaters, bars, coffee shops, and in our homes. By our very nature, we need to see each other, touch, and converse. For close to two years now, we’ve been denied most of that life.
Today, I’m far more concerned that the self-centered interests and beliefs of the unvaccinated and mask resisters have been able to silence the “common good” interests of our communities, and so far, that has aligned perfectly with Gov. Scott’s belief in personal choice and individual responsibility.
This consequential marriage between the cult of the unvaccinated and mask resisters and the governor’s tepid response has created a tsunami of Covid-related sickness and death, with no realistic end in sight.
Make no mistake about it. The type of irresponsible, personal behavior exhibited by a minority of Vermonters, combined with the governor’s lack of courage to shut them down and show much-needed leadership, will cause more unnecessary suffering in the weeks and months ahead.
It does not need to end like this. Vermonters deserve better and, if directed, Vermonters would be willing to make the temporary sacrifices and pull together to soldier our way through this crisis. When will the governor stand tall and lead the way?
