Are Vaccines That Bad?

Published in The Sankei News
(Japan) on 23 September 2021
by Yoshinari Kurose (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Eric Stimson. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
As the delta variant of COVID-19 spreads, wearing masks has again become obligatory at restaurants in Washington, D.C. That being said, there’s no problem at all with removing your mask while eating.

These sorts of regulations widely vary among cities. When I recently visited Dallas, Texas, I could enter businesses without a mask, even though masks are required due to the severity of the delta variant.

On the other hand, in the eastern city of New York, even small restaurants require you to show photo ID and proof of vaccination to eat inside.

Regulations are uneven because policies regarding the coronavirus are being entrusted to the judgment of each state and local government.

As a result, serious incidents have occurred, such as the incident this month when female tourists from Texas suddenly punched an employee several times in the face at a New York restaurant after they were asked to show proof of vaccination.

People who oppose getting a vaccine such as these tourists assert that mandating proof of vaccination infringes on individual rights. Many of them tend to be fervent supporters of former President Donald Trump.

One of my friends, a former high-ranking Republican official, shakes his head. “It’s the same as if they said they wouldn’t wear seatbelts in a car because they don’t want to be forced. It’s crazy.”


新型コロナウイルスのデルタ変異株の蔓延(まんえん)に伴い、ワシントンの飲食店でも店内でのマスク着用が再び義務付けられた。とはいえ、食事中はマスクを外しても全く問題はない。

こうした規制は都市によってだいぶ違う。最近出張した南部テキサス州のダラスでは、デルタ株の深刻化を受けて店内でのマスクを義務化したものの、外していても入店できた。

一方、東部のニューヨークでは、どんなに小さい店でも顔写真付きの身分証とワクチンの接種証明を提示しなければ店内で食事をとることを許されない。

規制にばらつきが出るのは、ウイルス対策がそれぞれの州や自治体の判断に委ねられているためだ。

そのせいで今月、ニューヨークで店の従業員がテキサス州から来た観光客の女性数人に接種証明の提示を求めたところ、いきなり顔を数発殴られるという、笑えない事件も起きた。

ワクチン接種や証明提示の義務化は「個人の権利を侵害する」というのが彼女らに代表される「反ワクチン派」の主張で、傾向としてトランプ前大統領の熱心な支持者が多い。

共和党を支持する元米政府高官の友人は「連中は強制されたくないから乗車中にシートベルトをしないと言っているのと同じだ。正気の沙汰でない」と首を振るのだった。(黒瀬悦成)
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