Is vaccine booster season baby! That wonderful time of year when radicals like me who “trust science” and “believe in medical experts” get to shine.
That’s right, the The Food and Drug Administration has just approved the new vaccine against COVID-19 Monday, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make a final call to the new Tuesday shots. By the end of the week, me and my fellow reality-based bosses might be hitting the new hot streak, doing that classic counterculture thing where we follow public health advice in order to keep ourselves safe and to our fellow citizens.
CHAT!
The COVID vaccine is the one thing former President Trump did right
Personally, as part of the “I appreciate your blog post, but I think I’ll just listen to an actual doctor” community, I celebrate the arrival of a modified coronavirus vaccine that protects against newer variants.
I also celebrate my annual opportunity to thank former President Donald Trump for one thing, and one thing only, that he did right: launching the federal Operation Warp Speed effort that led to the remarkably rapid development of the original vaccine.
This celebration is made more entertaining by the fact that many Republicans wholeheartedly disown it the medical miracle this happened during Trump’s one term.
GOP’s COVID Mask Mandate Has Misplaced Fears: Widespread COVID mask mandates are not a thing, no matter how much Republicans fear it
Even Trump doesn’t understand why his voters don’t like the vaccine
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate facing off against Trump, recently discouraged people from taking the new photos, alongside your state’s anti-vaccine surgeon general and saying, incorrectly, that the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 is “probably negative.”
In more than half a dozen Florida counties, the local Republican Party has done it absurdly declared the vaccine a biological weapon.
Beyond COVID: Florida’s anti-mandate mask and vaccine law puts senior communities at risk
Trump was recently asked on Fox News whether the COVID-19 vaccine worksand he said, “I don’t really want to talk about it because, as a Republican, it’s not cool to talk about it because for some reason, it’s just not.”
LOL! I love vaccine season.
My radical view this time of year: MORE VACCINES, PLEASE!
Once the CDC intervenes on the new coronavirus shots, I will look at the recommendations and follow them unruly. Then when I get another appointment, I’ll be waiting in line thinking about all the other great shots I’ve gotten: measles, mumps, and rubella; poliomyelitis; hepatitis B.
And, of course, the annual flu shot, an ever-wild celebration of preventive medicine. I love going to the pharmacy and flying my freak flag helping to mitigate the spread of viruses.
Opinion Alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top topics, delivered directly to your device via the USA TODAY app. Don’t have the app? Download it for free from your app store.
Sometimes when I’m talking about how a healthy society requires a shared set of facts and respect for people who are experts in their fields, I hear people who support former President Trump (except on the vaccine) and politely suggest . : ” WHY DON’T YOU GO FIND YOUR 16TH FAKE JAB COVID WOKEN LIBERAL SHEEP?!?!”
To which I say: “Yes, please! Where do I sign up?”
Happy vaccine season to all of you celebrating. (And rest in peace to those who don’t).
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
You can read various opinions of ours Board of Collaborators and other writers on the opinion coveron Twitter @usatodayopinion and ours daily opinion bulletin. To respond to a column, send a comment to [email protected].
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: We already have a new reinforcement of COVID here. Why doesn’t the GOP endorse the shots?
