Homer: Well, I admit it looks bad, Flanders, but haven't you heard of "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"? [gets hit on the head with a rock].
Todd: Got him, dad!
As the pandemic grinds on, it’s become increasingly obvious to me that many people are uncomfortable with the idea that individuals might have different underlying risk tolerances for managing COVID exposure.
At the outset of the pandemic, people who were cautious about COVID were quick to judge those who were less so. Given the lack of vaccines and effective treatments at that time, COVID-cautious individuals did have a strong case because infectious individuals did impose real negative externalities on strangers by interacting in public spaces without appropriate precautions. On the other hand, many people had no choice but to take calculated risks for various reasons (for example, no remote work option, caregiving, grocery delivery too expensive, etc).
Now that vaccines are widely available, positions have shifted. Many of the same COVID-cautious individuals who were quick to judge those who were less cautious are now proclaiming that the pandemic is effectively over and that we should all “return to normal.” Oftentimes, these statements are accompanied by assertions that any vaccinated individuals continuing to take precautions are irrational. This reasoning does not consider whether the people continuing to take precautions have good justifications for doing so, including but not limited to the following:
Being a parent or caregiver of a child under five years old;
Being immunocompromised (or close contacts who are immunocompromised);
Concern over potential long COVID (absence of evidence is not evidence of absence);
Concern over potentially contracting COVID, even if it does not lead to hospitalization or death (I had a severe case of the flu just prior to the pandemic that did not result in hospitalization or death, and I would not wish it on anyone);
Concern over contracting COVID and transmitting it to strangers in public spaces who may be less protected (immunocompromised, unvaccinated, etc), or who, in turn, transmit it to others who are less protected ;
Concern over new variants that increase risk; and/or
Many other good reasons that I couldn’t ever imagine.
We’d be all better off if there was less moralizing from all sides that impose one-size-fits-all, personal risk tolerances for COVID.
Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views, opinions, or official policy of my employer.