Journalist and Dead Head Jim Roberts is just beside himself.
And wouldn’t you be, too, if you found out that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted cruise ship passengers to get sick?
Florida Gov. Ron De Santis seems to want cruise ship passengers to get sick. Says he will fine cruise companies $5,000 for each person who is required to show proof of vaccination before boarding.
Insanity.https://t.co/tAUyWo0pti pic.twitter.com/Byu8ZKmgAu
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 30, 2021
Sheer insanity! Jonathan Chait can tell you all about it:
Several Republican-run states have enacted laws forbidding private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. The reductio ad absurdum of this stance comes via Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is threatening to block a cruise line from resuming service if it requires passengers to be vaccinated. But the law DeSantis signed in Florida would impose a fine of $5,000 per person required to show proof of vaccination, and the governor says he will not back down.
Cruise ships are, of course, a well-known vector for the coronavirus. They inherently pack a lot of people into a confined space, and have terrifyingly high rates of infection. Aside from the public-health ramifications, it’s difficult to imagine cruises luring anything close to their pre-pandemic number of customers without being able to give them the assurance that their fellow passengers will be vaccinated.
The DeSantis position is that both the public interest in suppressing virus transmission, and the private interest of businesses in protecting their workforce and reassuring customers, are overridden by an even more compelling interest: safeguarding the rights of individuals who refuse to get vaccinated.
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Or maybe the DeSantis position is that people who voluntarily go on a cruise do so knowing that they’re at risk if they haven’t been vaccinated. It’s actually pretty simple and straightforward. Not sure why Jonathan Chait and Jim Roberts are so flabbergasted.
Unless, of course, they’re flabbergasted because Ron DeSantis has actually navigated the COVID19 pandemic relatively well and understands that we’re at a point where we should be trying to recapture some semblance of normalcy. And that includes not having to brandish proof of vaccination for the next 20 years.
I mean, the passengers could also just…get vaccinated https://t.co/evqQz4px31
— Emily Zanotti (@emzanotti) May 30, 2021
They could.
Do you also chase after parents who don’t get their kids the flu shot each year?
— Kerfuffle Actual 🧼🤲🤗 (@shoshido) May 30, 2021
I'm all for this policy. At this point, if you're not immune, the risk is 100% yours. If you somehow contract COVID while on a cruise, they should drop you off at the next port and it's on you to get home & treatment. https://t.co/IT2qsqUMDt
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) May 30, 2021
From a scientific standpoint, at least, Roberts’ outrage doesn’t make much sense.
Not to be outdone, the Gov. of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, blocks state agencies from requiring people to wear a mask or prove vaccination before entering a state building.
Madness.https://t.co/WVlWVi0SGN pic.twitter.com/6elPm7ojwX
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 30, 2021
Madness? Or just following the science?
If you’re vaccinated, why do you care? https://t.co/lKKUaVf49V
— Mulder’s Unapologetic Trailer Park Dispatches (@proteinwisdom) May 30, 2021
If you're vaccinated, what are you worried about? Calm down and think. https://t.co/9gBFNHhMeR
— Please don't suspend me again, I'm vaccinated (@jtLOL) May 31, 2021
Jim approves of show me your papers. Cause that always ends well. Get bent, Jimmy. The pandemic is over and people are aware of the risks. https://t.co/zUBkh5lPJX
— Joe (@JoeC1776) May 30, 2021
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