It's Your Fault

Nobody in their right mind wishes ill on another person. That’s even more true at a moment when our nation is mourning the 800,000 U.S. lives lost to a virulent disease, a grim benchmark we will reach this month, potentially this week. The toll is monumental. Nobody deserves to get COVID-19, nobody deserves to be hospitalized for it, absolutely nobody deserves to die from this terrible virus. Every single case, new or old, that leads to serious illness or death is a tragedy. No exceptions.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, late last week in an interview with Colorado Public Radio, was frustrated with his constituents and a rising infection rate. “Everybody had more than enough opportunity to get vaccinated,” he said flatly. “At this point, if you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s really your own darn fault. … Those who get sick, it’s almost entirely their own darn fault.”

Nobody wants anyone to get sick. But if you’re in the hospital with COVID-19, and you’re not vaccinated, it’s your fault. Can both of those statements be true? Is it fair?

Polis’s point was that treatments have advanced, certainly, but the best way to very nearly guarantee that you won’t become part of the growing number of fatalities from the pandemic is to be vaccinated. It truly is that simple.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 471 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the United States. No, the vaccine does not widely cause blood clots. No, the vaccine does not give children heart problems. No, the vaccine does not mess with your DNA. You don’t know a single person who was seriously ill from the vaccination; you almost certainly know someone who was very sick, perhaps mortally, from COVID-19. Afraid of what we don’t know about the vaccine? Think about what we do know about a virus that has killed 5.3 million people worldwide. Which is more frightening to you?

So those who choose not to be vaccinated and then get seriously ill deserve a full measure of compassion and sympathy — and also must accept some responsibility. That’s not unfair. You’re not evil, you’re not awful. You’re just, to a large degree, responsible for your own fate. And, likely, others’.

It’s a stark point that comes as Governor Kathy Hochul enacted a new mask mandate on Monday: New York State businesses that don’t limit access by proof of vaccination must require masks on employees and customers alike indoors. More than 80 percent of adult New Yorkers are vaccinated heading into the holiday and winter season, when a surge is expected. It’s not enough — and it’s probably close to the high water mark.

The reason: People are tired of the pandemic. They are sick of masks. Those who haven’t gotten the vaccine, and either have or have not gotten sick, are tired of being told what to do. They won’t be convinced. Politics have been part of the equation all along. Misinformation muddies the waters.

So here’s some clarity. Vaccines and boosters are safe and provide a remarkable level of protection against even the newer variants that are sending numbers soaring. Masks are a buttress against that protection. If both were more prevalent than they are, we truly could celebrate the end of the pandemic. But it continues, because there are people who refuse to take sensible steps to protect themselves — and others.

The mask mandate is unfortunate, but it’s also necessary in a public health emergency. Levels of “pandemic fatigue” are meaningless in the fight against a faceless virus. The virus doesn’t care about mandates and politics. It just wants to live. It wants more victims. The only way to kill it is to take those victims away, even as too many are willing to volunteer to help keep it alive and spreading.

So, protect yourself: Get vaccinated, and wear a mask indoors in public. If you don’t get vaccinated, and you get sick, we all sincerely hope you get well.

But you have to live with a tough reality: It’s your fault.