Beyond free speech: Anti-vaccine protesters temporarily shut down vaccine site in Los Angeles

From The Washington Post, “Anti-vaccine protesters temporarily shut down major coronavirus vaccine site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles” by Meryl Kornfield, 1/30/21:

“One of the largest vaccination sites in the country briefly shut down Saturday afternoon because maskless, anti-vaccine protesters blocked the entrance, officials said.

“For nearly an hour, thousands of motorists in line to get a coronavirus vaccine shot at Dodger Stadium were stalled as about 50 people demonstrating against immunization efforts caused officials to temporarily close the site’s gates, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz told The Washington Post. The protest had no impact on the number of shots given Saturday at the site, which can vaccinate 8,000 people a day, Ortiz said.”

The temporary shutdown complicated the already stressful process of getting vaccinated with vaccines in limited supply and in high demand.

According to The L.A. Times, “Confirmed coronavirus cases in California have surpassed 3.2 million. More than 40,000 people — one in every 1,000 Californians — have died from complications of COVID-19. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s official death toll stands at 16,647 after 316 fatalities were confirmed Saturday [emphasis added], along with more than 6,900 new cases.” Variants of the coronavirus that make the virus more transmissible continue to spread in L.A. County.

The protests were organized on social media and "...advised participants to 'please refrain from wearing Trump/MAGA attire as we want our statement to resonate with the sheeple. No flags but informational signs only.'"  The protest, however, was not only about the COVID vaccine, but had the purposeful effect of spreading disinformation about a wide-range of conspiracies - “This is a sharing information protest and march against everything COVID, Vaccine, PCR Tests, Lockdowns, Masks, Fauci, Gates, Newsom, China, digital tracking, etc.”

Meanwhile, “Following demonstrations by anti-mask groups at shopping malls, grocery stores and homeless encampments, the Los Angeles City Council earlier this month bolstered restrictions and subjected some violators to financial penalties.”

I trust the will of the "sheeple", more than I trust the politically motivated exploitation of people with unfounded fear and disinformation.

If you don’t want to wear a mask, don’t wear one, but then don’t go into places such as private businesses that require masks to protect their customers and employees. If you don’t want a vaccine, don’t get one, but don’t get in the way of people who want to get vaccinated to prevent themselves from getting sick or worse from COVID and to prevent the spread of the virus that has caused the worst pandemic in 100 years.  

The Barker boys, Danny and Ian, live in a group home with four other severely and profoundly disabled residents, all of whom are medically vulnerable to the worst effects of this virus. They all received their second Pfizer vaccine last week without adverse side effects. It is troubling, however, that many of the staff chose not to get vaccinated because of fears that it might hurt them in some way more than the virus. The demand for vaccines is generally high and eventually I expect that many of the staff will change their minds.