It’s 6 months from now in mid-September 2021, and my son Traylor has his first weeks of college freshmen year in Rhode Island under his belt.
Star Trek’s Mr. Spock once said “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.” While it’s my belief that sometimes the opposite is true – the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many – the Covid pandemic of 2020-2022 was not one of them.
Traylor’s college requires everyone on campus (students, faculty, staff and visitors) to carry proof of Covid vaccination, absent some compelling medical reasons (e.g. pregnancy, etc.). People who aren’t vaccinated must show proof of current Covid free-status with a seven consecutive day trail behind them, a similar protocol to what was initiated in college sports for men’s and women’s “March Madness” basketball” tournaments earlier in the year. As in New Zealand, everyone is contact traced with a phone app. People who miss a testing day start the entry process all over again, and the result of the protocol is that most people who can get vaccinated, do get vaccinated. Parents and guardians weekend will be held in October, but only for those who pass the vaccination/testing requirements.
Traylor’s college took this approach because it’s the best way to keep people safe – and the college fully open – and because they can. Colleges with low admit rates – e.g. think schools like Harvard (4.5%), MIT (6.7%) Cal Berkeley (16.3%) and Michigan (22%)- have plenty of takers for spots, so keeping the place as safe as possible given favorable economics was a no-brainer.
Most larger employers by September 2021 have taken a similar tact; vaccinations required absent a medical reason, stringent Covid testing protocols for those who can’t get vaccinated. While most Covid testing protocols are not as tight as the NBA mens pro basketball league (three times a day for folks who don’t vaccinate), or in the case of China, anal swabs, the result is the same – simpler and easier to get vaccinated if you can.
Requiring vaccinations was not most people’s preferred route but after a fourth wave of Covid infections hit the US in the May-July period as summer heat drove people inside, it was clear that “regular” life was forever threatened if you couldn’t make a place safe for everyone. While the Covid vaccines approved for emergency use in the United States are quite good, topping at 95% “protection,” the measles outbreak that (measles vaccines are 97% effective) that shut down Disneyland a few years ago is a textbook case why strong mitigation steps including a high degree of vaccination are important for dangerous viral infections, such as measles and Covid.
This latest Covid wave of infections that hit the United States this summer was another perfect breeding ground for Covid variants to continue to spread and the continuing pandemic was aided by politicians and communities that failed to contain with effective mitigation techniques such as masking, distancing, and reducing indoor capacity of buildings. So called “red states” were hit particularly hard since about 33% of people who identify as Republicans have passed on the being vaccinated.
Even with active vaccinations and a death toll at 700,000 Americans by June, things didn’t really change until late summer, both in Rhode Island where Traylor’s school is located, as well as the country as a whole.
The sea change in public attitudes (and some politician’s courage) toward required vaccinations shifted as the hunger of “normal life” became intolerable, Borrowing a page from the experience in Israel, events like restaurants, concerts, pro-sports, etc, became accessible only to people who could show proof of vaccination –“the Green Badge” in Israel’s experience. This green badge approach was similar to what’s existed in Africa and Asia for decades in the form of the World Health Organization’s “yellow card“, or the “Digital Green Pass” that the EU rolled out earlier in April this year.
In the private sector, workplace litigation costs soared for employers and public venues from Covid infections as many employees started coming back to worksites. The kicker for the change to require proof was US pro-football NFL and stock car racing NASCAR; while you can segregate the seating between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, it’s hard to segregate concession and merchandise stands between the two. Pro football and car racing fans faced the fact that valid vaccination was part of cost of attending in person events. Most everything of any note that required indoor attendance followed close behind.
The badging system initially was a bit of a s***show since the CDC cards were so easily forged, Google and Apple replicated their earlier work in contact tracing and came up with “wallet” cards that were hard for the average person to forge. Your phone became your access passport.
Not everyone and everywhere required vaccinations or strict Covid testing though, and so the country became pocketed with areas that were largely virus free and areas with a higher community spread. Earlier covid infection was no protection for many as the rise of variants meant modest protection from a virus that continued to have pools of humans in which to thrive; only vaccination afforded that safety net.
Some colleges who must fill student slots to financially survive and are less competitive regarding student admissions were less picky about Covid restrictions – my alma mater Willamette University comes to mind or a place like the University of Alabama (83% acceptance rate) that wants packed stands for its football games, meant that Covid like AIDS in the 1980’s was still lurking waiting to infect since community spread was still high.
As the eventual end of what had been a terrific waste of life and resources became apparent, the country finally ended up having a common standard to protect the people of the nation. So, I think, did the wisdom of Eldrige Cleaver, who said “If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.”
Take care and stay well; live long and prosper.
P. S. On April 6, Brown University – Traylor’s college – announced vaccinations would be required of students, staff and faculty for the upcoming academic year.
Life Back West is an occasional set of writings focused on ways people, teams and organizations can be both more effective (doing the right thing) and more efficient (doing the right thing well). More about my 30+ years of work coaching execs, start up and leadership teams can be found at the “About J. Mike Smith and Back West, Inc.” sidebar at the Back West blog.