Out of Touch with Reality

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 14 January 2022
by Karl Doemens (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Kirsty Low. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
In the U.S., more than 800,000 people are being infected with COVID-19 every day. Yet the Supreme Court has delivered a resounding slap in the face to President Joe Biden. A commentary.

The omicron variant is spreading like wildfire in the U.S. But in a venerable white columned building in Washington, reality is being staunchly defied. The Supreme Court has blocked the president’s requirements related to vaccination and testing at large companies.

On a political level, the blocking of the rules requiring staff at workplaces in the U.S. to be either vaccinated or masked and tested weekly represents a bitter setback for Joe Biden, whose COVID-19 policies are already looking increasingly weak. Now the Supreme Court has quashed his most important means of tackling low vaccination rates.

The court's critique that the government fails to consider the varying risk of infection in different industries may convince legal experts. However, in the reality of a global pandemic, in which even minimally invasive measures such as mask wearing and testing are discredited by right-leaning populist governors, it seems fairly out of touch. It can only be hoped that more companies follow the example of United Airlines and meat packer Tyson Foods in unilaterally mandating vaccination among their staff. These companies are not motivated by ideological reasons but pure necessity: As so many employees are calling in sick with COVID-19, many businesses are encountering problems.


Reichlich weltfremd

In den USA infizieren sich mehr als 800 000 Menschen täglich – dennoch verpasst der Supreme Court Präsident Joe Biden eine schallende Ohrfeige. Ein Kommentar.

Die Omikron-Welle donnert durch die ganze USA. Nur in einem ehrwürdigen weißen Säulenbau in Washington trotzt man tapfer der Realität: Der US-amerikanische Supreme Court hat nun die Impf- und Testvorschriften des Präsidenten für größere Unternehmen abgeschmettert.

Politisch bedeutet die Blockade der 3G-ähnlichen Regeln für die Arbeitsplätze in den USA einen herben Rückschlag für Joe Biden. Dessen Corona-Politik wirkt ohnehin zunehmend hilflos. Nun kassiert das Oberste Gericht seinen wichtigsten Hebel, die niedrige Impfquote zu erhöhen.

Die Kritik des Gerichts, die Regierung berücksichtige die unterschiedliche Gefährdung einer Ansteckung in verschiedenen Branchen nicht, mag juristische Fachleute überzeugen. In der Realität einer Massen-Pandemie, wo selbst niedrigschwellige Regeln wie das Maskentragen und das Testen von rechtspopulistischen Gouverneur:innen diskreditiert werden, wirkt sie reichlich weltfremd. Man kann nur hoffen, dass mehr Unternehmen wie die Fluggesellschaft United oder der Fleischproduzent Tyson in Eigenregie eine Impfpflicht für ihr Personal verhängen. Sie tun das nicht aus ideologischen Gründen, sondern aus reiner Notwendigkeit: Weil sich so viele Beschäftigten mit Covid-19 krankmelden, bekommen viele Betriebe Probleme.
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