To watch RI political Twitter last week was to see a desire for outrage that around 1,080 students at URI (about one out of every 14 people in a classroom) has filed a religious exemption form from COVID vaccinations.  How could this have been permitted, the incredulous voices asked?  (Never mind that students who did so have to be tested twice a week.)

As I’ve said before, the approach to this shows that our society isn’t really reacting to a public health concern, but having political spats.  Notably, why is there no way to get credit for an antibody test for people who’ve already had the disease?  The anxiety of proponents of vaccine and mask mandates seems to derive most strongly from a fear that their government might lack the power to force people to do whatever the proponents might think on any given day will alleviate their own anxiety.