LeBron James called it “family talk.” Anthony Rizzo said it was a “life decision” he made for “personal reasons.” Kirk Cousins called it a “private health matter.” Aaron Judge told reporters, “I’m not going to get into that.” Professional athletes just keep coming up with new ways to avoid talking about the COVID-19 vaccine.
On the "public health stakes" of any professional athlete getting vaccinated are "very small" point, what about the idea that at least certain professional athletes are role models and (a) publicly stating they got the vaccine would encourage others to do so and (b) inversely, stating that they didn't get it or that it's a personal choice, discourages other to do so?
Not to mention professional athletes are in close quarters with many others (their teammates, coaches) far more frequently than a lot of folks, the unvaccinated are posing a serious risk to more people than most.
On the role model issue, I'm personally very skeptical of that logic. Are there really a significant number of people looking for vaccine advice from Kirk Cousins? I guess for a few megastars like LeBron James I could see them having some mild effect, but I'm very dubious of this; I think it entails a degree of projection onto the unvaccinated that is silly, something like "Oh, those idiots just need some jock to tell them it's ok."
And even if I'm wrong, these guys did not sign up for a public health role, and it's not really fair to just thrust it on them. In LeBron's case, it seems like he did in fact get vaccinated, but was uncomfortable providing a public endorsement of it, which I understand. Plus, in order for the "role model" logic to work, doesn't it have to look like a free choice for the athletes? If we simply pressure or shame athletes into all taking the vaccine, then who is going to persuaded by that?
I guess I agree with the last point, about athletes being in close quarters more frequently, but even there the public stakes of an individual getting the vaccine are still small. The Yankees were one of the first teams to hit the 85% vaccine threshold, yet have had multiple Covid outbreaks on the team since, while teams reportedly way below the threshold have avoided them. So there's a degree of luck or randomness to the risk that goes beyond the vaccination rates.
On the "public health stakes" of any professional athlete getting vaccinated are "very small" point, what about the idea that at least certain professional athletes are role models and (a) publicly stating they got the vaccine would encourage others to do so and (b) inversely, stating that they didn't get it or that it's a personal choice, discourages other to do so?
Not to mention professional athletes are in close quarters with many others (their teammates, coaches) far more frequently than a lot of folks, the unvaccinated are posing a serious risk to more people than most.
On the role model issue, I'm personally very skeptical of that logic. Are there really a significant number of people looking for vaccine advice from Kirk Cousins? I guess for a few megastars like LeBron James I could see them having some mild effect, but I'm very dubious of this; I think it entails a degree of projection onto the unvaccinated that is silly, something like "Oh, those idiots just need some jock to tell them it's ok."
And even if I'm wrong, these guys did not sign up for a public health role, and it's not really fair to just thrust it on them. In LeBron's case, it seems like he did in fact get vaccinated, but was uncomfortable providing a public endorsement of it, which I understand. Plus, in order for the "role model" logic to work, doesn't it have to look like a free choice for the athletes? If we simply pressure or shame athletes into all taking the vaccine, then who is going to persuaded by that?
I guess I agree with the last point, about athletes being in close quarters more frequently, but even there the public stakes of an individual getting the vaccine are still small. The Yankees were one of the first teams to hit the 85% vaccine threshold, yet have had multiple Covid outbreaks on the team since, while teams reportedly way below the threshold have avoided them. So there's a degree of luck or randomness to the risk that goes beyond the vaccination rates.