COVID surge due to lack of leadership

We can’t change history, of course, but what if Florida had been blessed with serious, thoughtful leadership on the handling and defeating of COVID-19?

Perhaps our state would be in the same condition as Vermont, where more than 80 percent of the population has been vaccinated and they are able to move about freely.

Wouldn’t that be real freedom? Freedom that’s the result of living in a community that followed science and got vaccinated. Certainly, this is far from the false freedom of being told not to wear a mask.

What could make more sense than to require all cruise passengers be vaccinated, so we would have the freedom to enjoy a cruise without fear of COVID-19?

We could have all school children over 12 be vaccinated for the upcoming semester, so they could be free to attend school having the same protections we now require against other diseases.

We could require vaccinations before entering restaurants and businesses, so we could go about our day free from the fear of contracting this dangerous virus.

We also could require all airline passengers be vaccinated before landing in Florida. Let’s not forget that vaccinations have been free, widely available, safe and effective for months.

Almost all new COVID-19 cases are among people who are unvaccinated. This is a question of leadership.

As French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have written, “There are no bad regiments, only bad colonels.”