One year ago, as most of the world went into lockdown, the entire experience seemed surreal. Rites of spring like March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day were canceled without warning.
Fast-forward to 2021. As America began vaccinations, several people I respect remarked that this undertaking was one of the rare instances where socialized medicine would be more efficient. Most of these folks weren’t big fans of national health care.
Now, however, it looks like they were completely wrong. The rollout here in America certainly has had its glitches. In the New Jersey-New York-Connecticut region, people who live two hours from each other have had to drive into each other’s neighborhoods to get the shot.
Disorganized as it has been, vaccines are going into Americans’ arms at as fast a rate as almost any other nation. It’s a stark contrast to Continental Europe, where meddlesome EU bureaucrats have wreaked serious harm on their citizens, haggling with drug companies over prices while establishing complicated protocols of little value, like one might expect at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Under ordinary circumstances, public health bureaucrats should negotiate tough deals with pharmaceutical businesses. These times, however, are anything but normal.
The inability of Eurocrats to see this reality is appalling. It makes one feel very lucky to be American.
We’re certainly not out of the woods yet. It’s not surprising many people are skeptical of a vaccine that was developed in record time. One year ago, many assumed herd immunity would resolve the pandemic before a vaccine would.
Still, it is alarming that many health-care workers are avoiding it. Half the citizens of France say they won’t get it, and many of the rest won’t take one that was manufactured in England. Go figure.
Like every other nation, we are far from perfect. How a public health crisis managed to become so politicized speaks to how divided we are. Feuds over mask mandates and lockdowns are a global phenomenon.
U.S. companies may have spearheaded vaccine development. But the scientists who developed it include citizens from many corners of the world, including many immigrants to America and, most notably, two Turkish scientists in Germany.
Ordinary mortals like the rest of us have used our imagination and learned to conduct business in creative ways that could have major implications for the future. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see where we are next spring. All indications are that it will be in a better place.
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