January 4th – Starting from December 13, 2020, the first batch of 2.9 million doses of coronavirus vaccine in the United States were shipped to the states, followed by protests against the unfair distribution of vaccines.
On January 3rd local time, Colbert I, a columnist who won the Pulitzer Review Award. King) in a comment in The Washington Post questioned whether it is fair for congressional staff to prioritize the coronavirus vaccine. Are those MPs who will hold demonstrations on January 6 really more important to society than firefighters, postmen and salesmen?
“Is this fair?” This is a sentence often asked by Earl Warren, the 14th Chief Justice of the United States, who usually leans forward and throws the question to lawyers who present the case in the debate.
The question comes to my mind in the face of the policies thrown by the U.S. capital of Washington in response to the coronavirus epidemic.
“Is this fair?” The first question to be talked about is, who has the privilege of prioritizing the coronavirus vaccine? Secondly, Trump supporters will hold demonstrations in Washington on January 6, which will inevitably pose the risk of the spread of the epidemic.
Previously, Washington Mayor Muriel E. Bowser) and U.S. Congressional doctors have formulated a similar vaccine priority policy, but in a city where the mortality gap between whites and blacks on COVID-19 is so large (after US media reported that in Washington, the death rate of blacks is six times that of whites), the vaccination priority policy is ridiculously wrong.
Washington’s vaccine-priority vaccination policy 1A program first considers frontline workers in the pandemic because this group “may be exposed directly or indirectly to the source of infection” including frontline medical workers, hospital emergency rooms, dental or pharmacy staff, among others. The 1A Program Working Group also covers groups such as home care, pension institutions, mental hospitals, etc. in Washington, covering about 115,000 people.
At the same time, more than 1,000 staff members of the U.S. Congress have been granted the same privileges. The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate began to receive vaccination against the novel coronavirus in early December 2020.
Two staff members of each house of the Senate and two staff members were given priority vaccination. After that, four staff members of each committee, including the chairman of the committee, will be given priority vaccination. The U.S. Congress believes that these staff are “essential to business continuity”.
So isn’t Washington law enforcement, security personnel, teachers, nursery teachers, shop assistants, public transport drivers, postal workers? They are placed in Plan 1B after Plan 1A, and must wait until 115,000 people in Plan 1A complete vaccination and the vaccine supply is guaranteed to have sufficient access to the coronavirus vaccine.
“Is this fair?” Are those congressmen who will protest in Washington on January 6th really contribute more to ensuring the normal operation of society than mailmen, firefighters and salesmen? However, ordinary people in Washington have to stand outside the cordon line and wait, hoping that they will not be exposed to the deadly virus before the vaccine is fully available.
In addition, the residents aged 75 and above in Washington are also included in the 1B plan, and a total of about 110,000 people in the city are classified into stage 1B.
Given my age and health, I am one of them, and hopefully I am the last person at this stage, because I am not important to the city except my family.
On January 6, Trump supporters will hold a demonstration in Washington, D.C. On that day, the Senate and the House of Representatives will hold a joint meeting to certify the results of the electoral college’s vote and announce the official results of the presidential election.
If social distancing and wearing masks are thrown behind the head, as in previous political events, the scene will be full of shouts, shouts and coughs.
It can be predicted that Washington’s staff in charge of police, emergency management and public security will be on the scene, facing angry protesters and exposed to the risk of viral infection. Is it fair?
