The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

The U.S. Vaccination Program Falls Short

Jun 21, 2021

The states are opening up and telling us to return to normal, as if the pandemic were over. In many places, they are closing mass vaccination sites because too few people are showing up. But Covid is not finished with us. It keeps changing and spreading rapidly among the unvaccinated.

There are many reasons people are not getting vaccinated. Some people don’t understand the science, they are scared, and they don’t trust the system. Many workers, mostly low-wage workers, are worried about their job, getting the time off. And it isn’t just the time to get the shot, it is also the time to recover from the side effects. Some might have transportation or childcare issues.

These problems are not insurmountable. Bring the vaccine to people—workplaces, neighborhoods, churches, and the like. Give people paid time off from work not only to get the vaccine but time to recover as well. Provide more information, easy to understand, about the vaccine.

No, they don’t do anything. Then when people don’t show up, they shut the Covid vaccination sites down. They shut them down even when many people in several states aren’t even vaccinated. This is completely crazy and unacceptable. This policy will ensure that Covid is a permanent fixture on the landscape, like TB, diabetes, flu, AIDS and on and on.