In a new op/ed, former White House Press Secretary and Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders urges citizens in her state to get vaccinated. There has been a noticeable uptick in vaccinations in states with high case and hospitalization rates amid the current Delta/Indian variant surge, including in Arkansas. The Steve Scalise effect is real. Sanders frames her argument smartly, in several ways: (1) It's not a harangue, (2) it provides good and useful context, and (3) it leans heavily (and rightly) into crediting the Trump administration and Operation Warp Speed for the development of these miraculously effective cures -- produced in record time, defying criticisms and doubts from various influential figures and 'experts.' It's a no-brainer for Trump alumni to brand the shots 'Trump vaccines,' or at least it should be. She makes a strong argument that will hopefully resonate with some hesitant Arkansans:
A few months ago, I decided to take advantage of President Trump's Operation Warp Speed and get vaccinated...Dr. Fauci and the "because science says so" crowd of arrogant, condescending politicians and bureaucrats were wrong about more than their mandates and shutdowns that have inflicted incalculable harm on our people and economy. They also misjudged the Trump vaccine plan, which rolled out just as safely, quickly, and effectively as the Trump administration promised. When the Trump administration initiated Operation Warp Speed in May 2020, the president stated that a vaccine would become available by December of that year at the very latest. From the moment he made his announcement, the "expert" class tried to undermine those statements with baseless fear-mongering. The New York Times ran an opinion piece claiming that whatever the Trump administration released would likely be a dangerous political stunt. CNN did the same. But no one did more to undercut public confidence in the vaccine than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris...
...Based on the advice of my doctor, I determined that the benefits of getting vaccinated outweighed any potential risks. I was also reassured after President Trump and his family were vaccinated. If getting vaccinated was safe enough for them, I felt it was safe enough for me. As a candidate for governor, I interact with thousands of Arkansans. Being vaccinated would not only protect me but others as well, particularly those at highest risk...As the number of covid cases and hospitalizations once again rise exponentially in Arkansas, information is emerging that I hope people will consider. Recent data demonstrates that those Arkansans who are not vaccinated are at significantly greater risk for serious illness from covid. In fact, 98 percent of covid patients currently hospitalized in our state and 99 percent of recent covid deaths were people who were not vaccinated. It's clear that the Trump vaccine works and is saving lives. The benefits of getting vaccinated extend beyond protection from covid. Many of our hospitals are now dangerously close to maximum capacity due to rising covid cases. Our heroic doctors and nurses who have stood on the front lines of the pandemic need the ability to treat patients with other serious illnesses and emergencies as well.
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She makes clear that she is against government mandates for vaccines or masks and emphasizes that she isn't telling anyone what to do. This is a responsible, non-judgmental, well-argued appeal targeted directly at conservatives and Trump supporters. And it makes the key point that hospitalizations and deaths from COVID in her state are almost exclusively affecting unvaccinated residents. Here's another searing example of a conservative strongly encouraging his audience to get their shots, having learned his own lesson the painful way:
A conservative radio host in Tennessee who had expressed unwillingness to be vaccinated is now hospitalized with Covid pneumonia and urging his listeners to get the shots. @jesus_jimz https://t.co/hgX890J6zb
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 25, 2021
“Phil would like for his listeners to know that while he has never been an ‘anti-vaxer’ he regrets not being more vehemently ‘pro-vaccine’, and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon,” the station said. In an update on Saturday morning, the station shared a message from his wife, Susan: “They say he is still not getting well,” it read, “please pray for me. I am at a breaking point.” ... “I’m not an anti-vaxxer,” he wrote [in December]. “I’m just using common sense. What are my odds of getting Covid? They’re pretty low. What are my odds of dying from Covid if I do get it? Probably way less than 1 percent. I’m doing what everyone should do and that’s my own personal health risk assessment. If you have underlying health issues, you probably need to get the vaccine. If you’re not at high risk of dying from Covid then you’re probably safer not getting it.” ... In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Mr. Valentine’s brother, Mark Valentine, said that seeing his brother in the hospital has “persuaded me to get vaccinated when I was previously not inclined to do so.” “Having seen this up close and personal I’d encourage ALL of you to put politics and other concerns aside and get it,” he wrote. “I don’t believe there is a chip in the vaccine and I don’t believe 5G is gonna trigger some sort of mass casualties or any of that stuff. The reason roughly half of the population hasn’t taken it is because they (formerly me) assumed we were being lied to for any number of nefarious reasons.”
Let's hope for a speedy recovery, and that his listeners take his family's importuning to heart. Meanwhile, there is good news on this front. The UK has been slammed with a Delta-fueled "case-demic" in recent weeks, but the decoupling of cases and deaths remains quite clear, and this is attributable to the vaccines and natural immunity (see similar encouraging data out of Israel and Florida). Many on the British Left slammed Boris Johnson's government for not further delaying their long-awaited national reopening and lifting of various restrictions. But Boris stuck to his guns and cases are falling precipitously, suggesting that this (final?) major wave could be ending -- very possibly with a similar trajectory in the United States to follow:
UK Covid cases tumbling.
— David Maclean (@GeordieStory) July 25, 2021
If calls pre-July 19 ‘freedom day’ to reverse the re-opening were heeded, the credit for these same falling case numbers would have been confidently attributed to NPIs. pic.twitter.com/ebkR4qkWvz
Vaccination prevented ~75% of hospitalizations in England's Delta wave, as determined by modelinghttps://t.co/EWtgB2Vjgx @FT @mroliverbarnes @jburnmurdoch
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) July 24, 2021
"@PHE_UK estimates...vaccines being used in the UK are between 91 and 97 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisation." pic.twitter.com/ZUz0Xuaa6f
As for "breakthrough" cases impacting fully vaccinated people, I tend to agree that it's misleading and even irresponsible for the media and others to highlight this phenomenon incessantly. These infections are almost entirely mild or asymptomatic because the vaccines are incredibly effective at preventing severe COVID. Needlessly feeding any perception that the vaccines "aren't working" because of breakthroughs is wrong. Relatedly, with people like Dr. Anthony Fauci now stating outright that there's an active discussion underway among public health officials about whether or not to once again recommend mask wearing for fully vaccinated Americans, I concur with these basic arguments:
It’s not just that most of the most vulnerable people are now vaccinated. It’s also that there’s no “just wait a couple months” argument. We have our key COVID-fighting tools and a new surge is no cause to look back on reopening. Life must go on. https://t.co/FZPY9cZpih
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) July 25, 2021
I Wore My Mask and I Got My Shots and Now You Will Leave Me Alone, by @jtLOL https://t.co/0ZkWkxsmUR
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) July 23, 2021
If I’m vaccinated, I’m not going to get sick. That’s the whole point of getting vaccinated. If someone else is unvaccinated and gets sick, how is that my problem? They should’ve gotten vaccinated. Why should I have to participate in an “honor system” or be subject to some sort of mask mandate, just because somebody else took a risk and is now facing the consequences? I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m vaccinated. If you want my opinion, you should get vaccinated. And if you don’t want my opinion, you should get vaccinated. That’s it. That’s all I or anyone else can do...I was a good boy and did what I was told for a year and a half. I locked down and socially distanced and wore my mask and got my shots. I didn’t get sick or make anybody else sick. And now you will leave me alone. I have had it with this crap.
Speaking of Fauci, I will leave you with Washington Post journalist Josh Rogin pushing back against some of the doctor's public arguments about the Wuhan lab, 'gain of function' research, and NIH funding:
Fauci is deflecting by attacking a straw man; nobody is saying the Chinese scientists are bad people. The fact is they can’t tell the truth or their government will jail them or worse. If Fauci doesn’t get that, he was even more naive about working in China than we thought. https://t.co/tNKXnRF2c3
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) July 24, 2021
Fauci’s evasive answer shows that the scientists in charge of US collaboration with the Wuhan labs failed to factor in the CCP and Fauci continues not to understand the risks of doing “open science” in a closed dictatorship that means us harm.
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) July 25, 2021
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