That their approach deployed these with the common good in mind (achieving herd immunity) and with good intentions (ending the pandemic as quickly as possible) does not alter the fact that such approaches were deeply misguided and represented deeply disturbing trends in public policy. Public pronouncements in the name of science could not be questioned, and behavioral outcomes could be achieved by any means necessary.
Coercive covid vaccination mandates rested on several unproven postulates, which mainstream opinion took to be axiomatic and unassailable: (1) the vaccines were safe for everyone; (2) the vaccines were necessary for everyone; therefore, (3) any vaccine hesitancy is a public relations problem that must be overcome.
The “needle in every arm” goal was set in advance; the only deliberation permitted was about the most efficient means toward this predetermined end. Any scientist, physician, or policymaker who broke ranks to question one or more of these axioms was at best a nuisance or at worst dangerous — someone to be ignored as backward or dismissed as a threat to public health. People who asked inconvenient questions were labeled with the dismissive “anti-vax” epithet, a term that functioned to exclude them from the realm of reasonable discourse.
Some of the vaccine propaganda would have been laughable if it wasn’t
so clearly displaying sanctimonious contempt for its audience. Consider
a televised public service announcement from Ohio’s Department of
Health: a friendly immunologist clears up misinformation about what’s in
a covid vaccine by explaining, “There are just a few simple
ingredients: water, sugar, salt, fat, and most importantly, a building
block for protein. … That’s less stuff than a candy bar or a can of
pop.” ...<<<Read More>>>...