It's true that there’s nothing at all he can do to compel or force Americans to get vaccinated. What he — and his Administration — can do is devise and implement plans and programs to educate citizens in the benefits of getting vaxed, encourage and incentivize them to do so, and enlist the help of health care professionals and community leaders to help spread the message. The Administration can and has encouraged States and employers to offer incentives to get the jab.
My employer is on-board with that last one. They add four hour’s pay to your check if you get vaccinated, whether you actually had to take time off or not.
One of my former employers used to enlist the help of private nurses working on contract to come two days every year to administer flu shots. It was done cooperatively with our Health Insurance carrier and helped to keep illness — and, of course claims — lower. I suspect that some companies are now teaming up with their insurance providers to do something similar now that workers and people of any age are eligible for the COVID shot. I know many hospitals and long-term care facilities have done so.
Another important part of the Administration’s plan is to have competent and highly visible staff craft and put into action serious and sustained PR campaigns to educate and to essentially coax citizens to do it.
As you may know, Dr. Fauci and the current Director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky have been making appearances at all kinds of events and doing interview after interview in all kinds of media to help the cause. And many other staffers in Biden’s Administration are doing that sort of thing, too. It’s a very big effort and it’s helping.
I hate to have to say this, but it’s entirely possible that the vaccine holdouts are going to keep us from achieving herd immunity and thereby keep COVID alive in the US. It’s too early to see if that’s the way it’s going to go, but it will not surprise me if that’s the unfortunate outcome.
On a personal note, I got vaccinated ASAP and was one of the first to get it done by showing up at one of Florida’s four FEMA mass-vax sites. It was the one in Orlando. It seemed kind of special that I got stuck by an active-duty tech in the 101st Airborne Division at a site sponsored by an “arm” of our Government.
So to sum up, the government can’t do anything to make people get themselves vaccinated. But the Biden Admin is doing absolutely everything possible to educate and encourage Americans to do so. And that’s why there have been over 200 millions shots in arms in the US so far.
The whole thing is a perfect example of the good our Government can — and with President Biden providing real leadership — can and will do! Thank you, FEMA. And thank you, President Biden.
"Bulldog Ben" Basile
© 2021 Ben Lawrence Basile
