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Reply to "Erin Palmer"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]
Anonymous wrote:

DP, and while you are technically correct, I view that mandate as window dressing. First, I actually think there's no way the 5-11 vaccines move out of the EUA to full approval unless/until the vaccines get significantly better. Which is going to be hard because Covid is still mutating and the newer variants have been more vaccine-evasive. I think we are years from the pediatric Covid vaccines being able to meet the higher scrutiny vaccines get for this age group.

BUT even if they do approve give full approval to the 5-11 vaccine (the very earliest I think this could happen would be 2023 so we aren't even talking about the upcoming school year), no way DC enforces it. Fewer than 50% of this age group is vaccinated in DC, and many of them didn't get the full course (one shot only). Interest in boosters is even lower. [b]And the people vaccinating this age group are overwhelmingly white and higher income[/b]. DCPS is not going to refuse to allow a significant percentage of the city's highest risk kids to attend school over a vaccine. They might set up vaccine clinics up schools and heavily advise it, but there is zero chance the vaccine mandate actually gets enforced.

It was idiotic for the council to pass that legislation but fortunately, it is toothless and unenforceable.

1) The 16-17 YO vaccine is already in full approval. So we are just hoping that it won't be enforced now or in the future. We are banking on parents just not following the rules? I guess. Seems like a weird stance to take to hope that the government passes rules that no one will follow.

2) Regardless, it creates headaches for parents and schools. It's an example of how the Council likes to make life worse for parents and kids regarding covid school policies.

3) It also shows a tremendous lack of comprehension on the part of the Council regarding keeping kids in school. It does send the message that the Council doesn't care if kids stay in schools.

So, I agree that it was idiotic on the part of the Council, and it's a reason why I don't support Robert White, and why I would like someone running for Council to just say that the primary thing is to have kids in schools.[b] Not continuing with these dramas -- still going on -- to keep kids out of school.[[/b]/quote]

These two statements illustrate why the hard left progressives are the classic "limousine liberals" who espouse policies without understanding all the nuances of the issue.  There is long-standing, and not irrational, suspicion within low income minority communities regarding health mandates, since there is a long and sordid history in this country of low income minority groups being ill-treated in terms of health care experimentation.  Thus there is going to be huge pushback against a child vaccine mandate and the PP is right---city government should not create a situation which disproportionately impacts school attendance for low income minority children, who comprise the greatest number of DCPS students.  And to fall into line behind the WTU is just another indication of how much labor unions control the council's progressives.  The WTU has a corrupt history in DC.  The scandals of the early 2000s in DC were egregious, with the WTU president stealing MILLIONS in union funds in order to go on shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus.    I am a huge supporter of teachers but the unions make it extraordinarily difficult to adequately reward great teachers and to quickly remove incompetent ones.   Re the tipping legislation discussed above---there is a huge difference of opinion within the restaurant industry---and it is really restaurant workers who should be the most listened to constituency on this issue.  As written the legislation adversely impacts servers in higher end establishments---those folks don't want this.  So can't the Council actually craft legislation that would require a living wage for workers in the most low-wage sector segments of the tipped workers, while not making it apply to those for whom it would be detrimental?  The progressives are the left's equivalent to the right wing nut jobs who just want to "own the libs" on Twitter but have little interest in actually understanding issues and trying to reach consensus positions.[/quote]

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