Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Dear Gov. Ivey re controlling COVID

Dear Gov. Ivey,


In that piece, I discussed the political war erupting over vaccine mandates, with the Republicans seeking to prevent vaccine mandates and the Democrats advocating in favor of vaccine mandates. I said that the political war over mandates was threatening debilitation of the our economy and threatening another year's disruption in the education and socialization of our children.

Since then I have been charging you, AG Marshall and ALGOP legislators in Montgomery with 
nonfeasance, malfeasance or moral depravity for doing everything you and they can to prevent vaccine mandates in Alabama. See Nonfeasance, malfeasance or moral depravity (link https://al6thcongdist-ihaveuntiljan13.blogspot.com/2021/10/moral-depravity-letter.html).

I started drafting this email to you on December 7th in reaction your December 3rd letter to OSHA. I did my drafting publicly at https://al6thcongdist-ihaveuntiljan13.blogspot.com/2021/12/dear-gov-ivey-re-controlling-covid.html. After I send you this email, the text of the email will be public at the aforesaid link.

Your December 3rd letter
On December 3rd you wrote to OSHA a letter expressing your opposition to the federal, large company vaccine mandate. 

Your letter said your administration encourages vaccination as being safe and effective against COVID-19. 

To explain your opposition to the mandate your letter said this:

“. . .significant percentages of Alabama’s workforce have not received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Given all the efforts to educate and persuade Alabamians of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, I can only conclude that many Alabamians have profound – and sincere – medical, religious, or other reasons not to take it, In light of this data, I believe that enforcement of the ETS may lead many Alabamians to quit their jobs and leave the workforce – in the middle of a substantial labor shortage, no less – or to seek work at businesses not covered by the mandate Such disruption would interrupt people’s careers and threaten their livelihoods and the well-being of their families. Such disruption would also damage the productivity and bottom lines of businesses statewide.”

Also, your letter said that the mandate would increase vaccine skepticism in Alabama but your letter did not say whether you thought there would be more or fewer vaccinations in Alabama if the mandate was imposed, compared to if the mandate was not imposed.

I continue to condemn you

A. The political war 

I think you are more fighting the political war than acting in the best interests of the health and welfare of Alabamians, and that is why I charge you with moral depravity in your absolute opposition to any vaccine mandates in Alabama.
In support of said charge against you, I believe the political war has some truths that politicians grasp better than the voters, but that the voters will probably eventually grasp, and that could lead voters to be persuaded about my charge against you.
COVID, by itself, has caused great disruptions in the United States and is a detriment to good performance of the economy, adequate functioning of hospitals, and meeting the educational needs of our children.
The political war over vaccine mandates and other measures to control COVID adds significantly to these disruptions.
The truth that should not be lost sight of regards which side has what political motivation in the political war.
I think it is fairly the case the Democrats want not to have disruptions and chaos stemming from COVID, because they think that will hurt their chances in 2022. 
On the other side, I think it is fairly the case the Republicans' chances in 2022 are helped by there being more, rather than less, disruption and chaos stemming from COVID, and that may be attributed to them as their motive in carrying on the political war over mandates and other measures to control COVID. 
You are in the best position to know whether your motive in opposing mandates is political, and under that motive, you desire less reduction of COVID, more deaths and hospitalizations, and poorer performance of the economy to help the Republicans in 2022. 
Whatever you think about your motives, voters may grasp the foregoing truth regarding which side has what motive and be persuaded that your motive is political and, in acting on it, you have chosen for there to be less reduction of COVID, more hospitalizations and deaths, and poorer performance of the economy. 
This calls for close consideration of what you said in your December 3rd letter to OSHA. 

B. Why Alabamians are not getting vaccinated

There is uncertainty about why significant percentages of Alabama's workforce have not received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 
Widespread misinformation about the vaccines may be causing them not to get vaccinated, and if they were better informed they would get vaccinated. 
For many Alabamians, not getting vaccinated may be a political statement against Biden and the Democrats and in support of Trump and the Republicans. This gets accentuated by how intense the political war over mandates is, and the more intense the political war, the more there will be Alabamians who will not get vaccinated as their way to fight in the political war against the Democrats. Your opposition to vaccine mandates likely serves to increase the number of Alabamians who will not get vaccinated for political reasons. Your opposition to mandates probably represents a failure of leadership on your part in not telling Alabamians that they cannot and should not choose to not get vaccinated for political reasons.
Many Alabamians may choose not to do things that are for their own good, because it is inconvenient, or because they believe the good for them is insignificant, or because doing the good thing entails deprivation of a pleasure which they do not want to give up (e.g., even though smoking is bad for one's health, some Alabamians continue smoking because smoking is pleasurable).
Many Alabamians may strongly object to doing things the government tells them to do, such as wearing a seatbelt. You would appear to believe that there is a significant number of unvaccinated Alabamians who would eventually choose to be vaccinated, but, if there is a government mandate, they will not get vaccinated (i.e., such Alabamians would count as a reduction of vaccinations if there is a mandate compared to there not being a mandate).
Some Alabamians, as your letter says, may have sincere medical or religious reasons for not getting vaccinated. The federal large employer mandate has a COVID testing option instead of being vaccinated.

C. Effect of mandates 

1. Generally

More vaccinations mean less COVID, fewer hospitalizations, fewer deaths, less burden and cost on the health care system, less chance of dangerous COVID variants, and better performance of the economy.
If vaccine mandates would increase vaccinations in Alabama, and not decrease vaccinations, there would be the aforesaid benefit in Alabama of less COVID, fewer hospitalizations, fewer deaths, less burden and cost on the health care system, less chance of dangerous COVID variants, and better performance of the economy..
I believe vaccine mandates would increase vaccinations in Alabama. 
Only you know whether you genuinely believe that mandates would decrease vaccinations in Alabama. If you profess such a belief, some may conclude that you are misrepresenting what you believe to hide your political motive that you want less vaccination, less reduction of COVID and poorer performance of the economy to help Republicans in the 2022 elections.

2. Federal mandate
The effect on individual Alabamians and on the Alabama economy if the federal large company mandate was imposed and the extent to which Alabamians would quit their jobs if the federal mandate was imposed depends on the reasons these Alabamians are not getting vaccinated.
If Alabamians are not getting vaccinated because of misinformation about the vaccines, the federal mandate may overcome that misinformation and cause them to get vaccinated.
If Alabamians are not getting vaccinated for political reasons, they may decide that such political reasons are not sufficient reason for them to quit their jobs, and, as a result, they may choose to get vaccinated.
If Alabamians don't like doing things the government tells them to do, they may not like getting vaccinated because the government tells them to get vaccinated, but they may do what the government tells them to do about getting vaccinated just as they may fasten their seatbelts as the government tells them to do.
That leaves the reason of choosing not to get vaccinated, and thus quitting their jobs, for religious or medical reasons. The federal mandate has a testing option in lieu of getting vaccinated, and they may choose that option rather than quit their jobs.

D. Judging you

You may genuinely believe that you are acting in the best interests of the health and welfare of Alabamians, and that any vaccine mandates will hurt the Alabama economy and health care system more than having no vaccine mandates, be they federal, state, local or private. Part of what supports your belief is your own perception about your leadership as Governor and that you would not be able to persuade Alabamians to get vaccinated as required by one or more mandates. 
Your belief will eventually get measured against the experience of other states showing that mandates work.
You are in the best position to know your motivations and beliefs.
Voters may eventually, all things considered, be persuaded that you are acting for political motives and not in the best interests of the health and welfare of Alabamians.
I believe you are acting for political motives and not in the best interests of the health and welfare of Alabamians.

E. Omicron [added 12/17/21]

Omicron should be concentrating your mind enormously.
Today you don't know whether there will be a tidal wave of Omicron infections in Alabama in January.
Today you don't know whether Alabama hospitals will get overwhelmed this winter.
Today you don't know how worse unvaccinated and unboosted Alabamians will be affected by Omicron compared to vaccinated, or vaccinated and boosted, Alabamians.
Today you don't know how waning immunities from vaccines and waning immunities from previous infection will make Alabamians vulnerable to infection in 2022.
Today you don't know what you will do as Governor and leader of Alabama if COVID gets very bad for Alabama this winter or later in 2022.
Today you don't know how much worse the political war over mandates and other measures to control COVID will get if COVID gets bad this winter. Your current stance in that political war weakens your ability to do anything in the nature of mandates or other measures if COVID gets bad this winter.
At a minimum, it would seem you ought to have a press conference addressing the Omicron situation and what Alabamians may need to prepare for this winter. Not having a press conference is, I think, ducking your responsibilities as Governor.

F. Capitol Journal [added 12/17/21]

Last Friday Don Dailey said on Capitol Journal he hoped to have you on tonight's Capitol Journal to talk about your opposition to the vaccine mandates.
I am using the prospect of that tonight to finalize and send this email to you now.



12/17/21 4pm The above email was sent to Gov. Ivey using her office email contact form and the below confirmation was received back.
Form Submitted Thank you for contacting Governor Kay Ivey. Your request has been received.

12/26/21

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