Response from Congressman Ed Case and my reply to him

September 29, 2021 Dear Mrs. B R: Mahalo for contacting me with your opposition to vaccination requirements and restrictions.   Let me begin by stressing that I do not support forced vaccinations and am not aware of any efforts by the federal government to force citizens to get vaccinated against their will. However, I do believe that vaccinations should be a condition of some activities where the higher risk of infecting others posed by unvaccinated people has wide consequences. COVID-19 is resurging across our country due in part because of the highly contagious Delta variant, In Hawai’i, the number of new cases and hospitalizations remains high while our vaccination rate is lagging. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that unvaccinated people were more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19, than those who were fully vaccinated. This data further highlights the continued efficacy of all three COVID-19 vaccines available to the public and the risk that unvaccinated individuals pose to themselves and others, especially if they mix in our gathering places whether school, work, travel or social. Across the country, states and localities are implementing vaccine verification initiatives to keep businesses, schools, travel and leisure attractions open while protecting public health and safety. This includes the City and County of Honolulu, which requires proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours from patrons and employees of bars, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms, museums and other indoor venues. Similarly, proof of vaccination is a recognized exemption under the Hawai’i Safe Travels program. I believe these are reasonable steps to protect public health that do not mandate vaccinations. To learn more about the “Safe Access O’ahu” program, visit https://www.oneoahu.org/safe-access-oahu. For those who choose instead to opt in for regular testing, I remain in close contact with state and local leaders, who have been working expeditiously with federal agencies and private partners to ensure widespread availability of COVID-19 testing in Hawai’i. For more information about locations offering free COVID-19 testing, visit our Hawai’i Department of Health’s website at: https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/testing-locations/. While none of us should be forced against our will to get vaccinated, we also have an obligation not to infect others, overload health care facilities and risk our economy and society. As the Secretary of Defense said in announcing that vaccines will soon be required for service in our armed forces, it’s not about you, as they will “protect your unit, your ship and your co-workers.” The science and statistics are very clear that the risk of infection, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 are all much lower in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated people. In fact, based on the most recent publicly available data from the Hawai’i Department of Health from the end of August, there have been 2,419 COVID-19 “breakthrough” infections identified in Hawai’i, of which 68 required hospitalization (3% of breakthrough cases) and 8 resulted in death (0.0009% of fully vaccinated population). The science and statistics are also very clear that the risk to one’s personal health from contracting COVID-19 are far greater than any minimal risk posed by vaccination. The CDC emphasizes that serious safety problems are rare and long-term side effects are unlikely. For more about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html. The bottom line is that although people don’t have to get vaccinated, they should, both for their own health and for the public health and overall functioning of our society. As we continue to work through this crisis together, please visit my COVID-19 website at https://case.house.gov/coronavirus for the latest updates of my efforts to help our state and to review an automatically updated fact sheet about COVID-19 prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This site includes a summary of resources available to assist with the impacts of COVID-19. Thank you again, and please continue to let me know of your views. Please also sign up for regular updates from me and my office through my e-newsletter and social media outreach at https://case.house.gov/contact.

With aloha, Congressman Ed Case (Hawai’i-First District)

MY REPLY

Though you are correct in that vaccination is not technically forced, the result ends up being the same. People are forced to choose between keeping a job or getting a vaccine or paying for the expense of getting repeated tests.
Get the vaccine or you cannot go about your regular life as you knew it. But hey, at least we can say you are not technically forced.
That’s exactly how discrimination against the Jew happened before WW2.

Then: you can’t work certain jobs if you’re a Jew.
Now: you can’t work certain jobs, unless you are vaccinated (or tested constantly which, let’s face it, is not sustainable)

Then: put your yellow star on so we all know you are a Jew.
Now: show your vaccine card so we all know you’re a “good” citizen.

Then: you can’t live in regular neighborhoods. We are going to move you.
Now: is this what is coming? In a month? In a year? The government will decide that non vaccinated people now need to be penned into communities to prevent infecting the rest of the population?

You missed the point of my original letter. No matter what the reason behind this policy, no matter how well intended it is, taking freedom away from American citizens is not only not okay, it goes against all that this country stands for.

I’m sure communists countries all think it’s for the best of their people that they have to tell them what they can and can not do.
I’m sure China thinks it is for the greater good to enforce censorship and control internet searches.
I’m sure Hitler and his followers believed the world would be better without Jews.

“We have an obligation not to infect others…” you say. I agree!
Science shows that wearing masks is a very good measure to prevent the spread of the virus. Science also shows that vaccinated people can still be carriers. Also, non vaccinated children (under 12) still can go anywhere and spread the virus. So… What gives?

“The bottom line is that although people don’t have to get vaccinated, they should…”
Again, I agree. But it is not the role of government to strong arm people into making that choice. Nor should they be penalized by being fired, or denied unemployment benefits (in NY) for exercising their freedom.

As leaders, you need to go back to our founding documents, our founding principles and make sure that policies align. That is the only way to make sure America is still America.

Unfortunately, from where I stand, it only looks like abuse of power. Right now, it’s about COVID. Who knows what else it will be about tomorrow.
My guess is that the policies make no mention of a COVID Vaccine Pass but just talk of a Vaccine Pass because later on, the same requirements will apply to other vaccines.
My guess is that the Health Pass was not dubbed a COVID Pass because later on other restrictions will be put on what citizens can and cannot choose regarding their own health in order to go to the movies or eat out.

I wish I could believe that this policy is only based on well intentioned motives. Unfortunately, there are too many red flags.

Can you point out where in our Constitution it is stated that our government is allowed to restrict its citizens’ freedoms to this extent? My understanding is that our Constitution was designed to keep the government in check, not the other way around.