We visited a friend’s 12,000 square foot house the other day in an all-white suburb of Boston (what I learned: don’t buy a 12,000 square foot house unless you want to pay about $75,000 every time it needs paint). After passing all of the Black Lives Matter signs put out by his rich white neighbors (they adore low-income BIPOC but will keep their one-acre zoning minimum, thank you very much!), we got on the state-run highway. During the 40-minute drive, every 5 minutes we passed a state-run sign urging us to get vaccinated. The person reading the sign, quite possibly a driver all by him/her/zir/their self, is told to visit a web site and begin a cumbersome appointment process, We also passed a couple of state-owned state-run rest stops in which health-promoting food, such as donuts, are available.
Wouldn’t it make more sense if the signs said “Get vaccinated right now at the next rest stop”? If the government wants people to do something unpleasant and, in the case of younger folks, quite possibly against their personal interest (since the median age of a COVID-19 death in Massachusetts was 82), why not make it easy? Add an incentive too: “free coffee, donut, and vaccine, next right”.
Given that the government itself owns these highway rest stops, why isn’t there a vaccine tent at every one?
(The Florida Department of Transportation runs similar signs, but the messages that we saw in April were all related to driving, e.g., “check your tire pressure” or “road work scheduled”, rather than coronapanic.)
In Houston, all those signs say “Free Vaccines at NRG Stadium Gate 16, noon-9pm, NO WAIT”
All you have to do is drive up and stick out your arm.
This all sounds reasonable (maybe the advert needs to have availability times and start/end dates)? The UK isn’t incentivising yet, and is aiming to get out into the community (black Caribbean, black African and Pakistani backgrounds having the lowest rates of vaccination):
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-reports-13-more-coronavirus-deaths-and-2-613-new-cases-as-16m-now-fully-vaccinated-12298501
Not sure if you have seen the graphs, but in April, the UK’s Winton Centre produced data on blood clot risks (against the ICU visits prevented) for young people with the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, and stopped recommending it to the under 40s:
https://wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/news/communicating-potential-benefits-and-harms-astra-zeneca-covid-19-vaccine/
If the vaccine were approved in the US, you’d probably have a similar cut-off (US rates would still be categorised low-risk at 1.2 cases per day per 10k https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areas=eur&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usnj&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usnd&areasRegional=ussd&areasRegional=usmi&cumulative=0&logScale=0&per100K=1&startDate=2020-09-01&values=cases).
The RNA vaccines (Moderna/Pfizer) are currently thought to be even safer for the young
(there’s also some risk explainers here from the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56665396)
You are “spot on” with this post. I’d prefer a hot dog with mustard, onions, and kraut with my vaccine (provided they are compatible!), but might take donuts (which are not as unhealthy for me as for others ;)! [As far as the 12Ksqft house: maybe it should come with a “never needs painting forever exterior”? (or: “if you can afford this house, you can afford to paint it”) I know they won’t be going with vinyl siding! I am stuck with that (for the time being) in my cozy living box (it came that way). The plus is that you can spray wash it off with a little detergent & water. Otherwise almost zero maintenance (or very little)!
Against personal interest of young people, no kidding. https://voxday.blogspot.com/2021/05/its-going-to-get-even-worse.html
Not to mention the suspected fertility issues.
If old people are scared let the old people get vaxxed. I think old people should collect all 4 vaccines.
Remember if you are vaxxed and afraid of unvaxxed people that makes you an anti-vax science denier.
“don’t buy a 12,000 square foot house unless you want to pay about $75,000 every time it needs paint”
Seven years ago, I got my 2000sf 2-story FL house (+ 2-car garage) painted for $700 by some 62 y/o guy I found on Craigs List. I did have to buy the paint.