The power inherent in a vaccine passport

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Columnist

In our the edition, The Louisiana Weekly called for vaccine passports, and Mayor LaToya Cantrell has paid heed to that request. Starting August 16, a VaxxPass or negative COVID-19 test will be required to enter a public space in Orleans Parish. Her contention – that local hospital beds are full because unvaccinated residents from other parishes can come into our public spaces and end up in New Orleans ICUs – contains far too much truth with which to be argued.

It’s equally undeniable that too many of Orleans’ own citizens, including a disproportionate percentage of African Americans, resist the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, instituting a passport mandate may be the only means to force people to stop self-terminating out of apathy. Moreover, it may be our only escape from a perpetual mask mandate.

A curious reaction has come from local conservatives, though, who argue that such an ID constitutes an infringement of liberty – and discriminates against minorities without the resources to access proper paperwork. In other words, Republicans, who have been arguing for a photo ID for voting for years now, object to essentially the same requirement to go to a restaurant, a mall or the Superdome.

Such utter hypocrisy might be amusing if it were not so tragic. Essentially, COVID-19 has allowed the GOP to win the ID argument for everything, including voting most likely, and conservatives won’t accept the fruits of that victory?!?

Whether they realize it or not, progressives are in the process of conceding the entire argument on identification for voting, as well as gathering in a public place, in order to have ubiquitous vaccination of the population. If one needs a passport to enter a restaurant, it stands likely that a citizen will need legal identification to vote. Why is it so hard for conservatives to support such a position which they have long advocated?

Mayor Cantrell did what she had to do to ensure that people stop dying in our city. Nearly one in every 15 people reported to have died from COVID in the United States since the beginning of August lived in Louisiana, according to numbers from the La. Department of Health and national numbers compiled by The New York Times. Put another way, the Pelican State has reported 354 COVID deaths since August 1, while the number of deaths in the United States during that time is 5,444. Louisiana constitutes 6.5 percent of the COVID deaths in the U.S. since the start of August – 1 in every 15.3 – despite the fact that the Pelican State constitutes only 1.4 percent of the total U.S. population.

The mayor swallowed her pride and conceded a major political position of the Left to save lives. Why is it so hard for the Trumpite right to accept that victory – and just get vaccinated in exchange? Why is it so hard for many African Americans to save their own lives as well?

This article originally published in the August 16, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.