The misguided vaccine choices of Jonathan Isaac
Jonathan Isaac is what’s right with this country, and what’s wrong with it.
He’s a generous, thoughtful and faithful person who also happens to be selfish and self-centered when it comes to public health.
These characteristics can be present at the same time, as evidenced by the Orlando Magic player’s contributions to the community and his stubborn refusal to protect that same community.
Isaac says he won’t get vaccinated for COVID. Give him credit for trying to explain his reasoning in a measured, respectful manner at a recent news conference. He didn’t duck questions or get defensive, which is more than we can say for a lot of public figures.
At the same time, Isaac refused to hold himself accountable for the potential consequences of his actions, which is a large part of the reason why Florida and the United States remains in the vice-like grip of an 18-month pandemic even though science has offered us a way out.
Isaac holds the mistaken belief that a public health crisis like this can be effectively dealt with by everyone making an individual decision about whether to be part of the solution.
“I’m not anti-vax, I’m not anti-science, I’m not anti-medicine,” Isaac said last week. “My mother has worked in health care for a long time. I just think it should be everybody’s individual right to make a decision on their own vaccination status without being pressured, bullied or forced into doing so.”
Asked by a reporter about the difference between taking a vaccine now and taking them as a child, Isaac responded: “When it comes to other vaccines I think it’s pretty simple that, really, taking any modern medicine, I think that too should be your free choice. If I had to take anything when I was a kid it would have been the free choice of my parents of whether or not to give it to me.”
Bzzzt. Wrong.
Florida law requires children entering school, from kindergarten to 12th grade, to have battery of vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and chickenpox.
It’s a long list, and it doesn’t depend on parents’ “free choice” to decide, unless they’re able to claim a legitimate medical or religious exemption.
We know that Isaac, who grew up in Naples, attended and played basketball at Barron Collier High School. So his parents would have been required to have Isaac inoculated as required in Florida, unless they cited an exemption.
“It really does come down to just believing in the free right of us as individuals to take it or not,” Isaac said.
Fair enough, but as an influential public figure in Central Florida, Isaac ought to come clean and acknowledge the consequences of his position against taking the vaccine.
For starters, he’s setting a rotten example, in stark contrast to Isaac’s otherwise admirable work in the community since joining the Orlando Magic. His charitable efforts strike us as coming from the heart, in contrast to what sometimes look like photo ops with other athletes. When the pandemic first forced schools to close he was there feeding kids who had been relying on school-provided meals to stay nourished.
Isaac must know that his refusal to get vaccinated might influence others, including people who are less hearty and youthful, and who may not weather an infection as well as Isaac apparently did.
Isaac’s previous bout with COVID, and the immunity that confers, is the key reason why he says he doesn’t feel the need to get vaccinated. He’s correct, in that studies show those who have had COVID maintain a powerful antibody response, even more powerful than the vaccine’s antibody response.
However, studies also show that people who have been infected are less likely to be reinfected if they get the vaccine. And in Oklahoma, one of the few states tracking breakthrough cases, the rate of reinfection among those with “natural immunity” has been twice as high for the dominant delta variant than for people who get a vaccine.
If Isaac gets reinfected, he’ll have to sit out games, which isn’t going to help his team or fans who came to see him play. There’s also a question about whether he’ll be able to compete against NBA teams where cities require proof of vaccination to attend large sporting events. More important, if Isaac is reinfected he has a greater chance of infecting others.
Isaac should heed the advice of another NBA player, the great Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who, in a scorching essay published on Substack, wrote that it’s “shocking and disappointing to see so many people, especially people of color, treat the vaccination like it’s just a matter of personal preference, like ordering no onions on your burger at a drive-thru.
“Athletes and other celebrities have a public platform to help alleviate this crisis and to save lives. To not take on that responsibility harms the sports and entertainment industries, the community, and the country.”
Isaac should heed the words of this older, wiser veteran and do what’s right for the community, not just himself.