How about an early valentine for Dr. Valentine?

Walt Disney Co. Cisco. United Airlines. Google. Walgreen's.

I've been saying for a while that corporate America is going to to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting of saving us from the anti-vaxxers by requiring employees to get vaccinated. When faced with the option of keeping your job or getting the jab, I'm pretty confident that a lot of the "principled" opposition, hubris, and idiocy will fall away. I'm also sure that plenty of other organizations are in the wings, ready to go with employee vaccination mandates, but waiting for the FDA to give the full greenlight on the vaccines, which will remove the wiggle room that some holdouts have been exploiting.

So, go corporate America!

The Feds are requiring employees to be vaxxed, or follow stringent testing, distancing, and masking rules. Many state and local governments are following suit.

I'm amazed that every healthcare institution hasn't done this as well. Many have, of course. And it looks like "mine" - Mass General Brigham - will be doing so only after the FDA has granted final approval for one of the vaccines. Personally, I can't imagine being treated by a healthcare worker who hasn't been vaccinated but, regrettably, there are plenty of them out there. 

I did see that, as of June, the AMA says that 96% of physicians are. (Amazingly, fewer than 50% of nurses are vaccinated, and the rate is even more dreadful among aides.)

Anyway, at least one physician is turning the tables on his patients. Dr. Jason Valentine of Mobile, Alabama, has put a new policy in place. As of October 1, his patients are being told - via signs up in his offer - to be vaxxed or be gone.

"First day of these signs in my rooms," he posted on Facebook. "All 3 unvaccinated patients on my schedule asked where they could get their vaccine today. No conspiracy theories, no excuses. Just where do I go. If they asked why, I told them covid is a miserable way to die and I can't watch them die like that."

Valentine said he was mailing a letter to patients explaining his decision and posted a copy online.

"We do not yet have any great treatments for severe disease, but we do have great prevention with vaccines," he wrote. "Unfortunately, many have declined to take the vaccine, and some end up severely ill or dead. I cannot and will not force anyone to take the vaccine, but I also cannot continue to watch my patients suffer and die from an eminently preventable disease." (Source AL.com)

Bravo, Dr. Valentine. And a very Happy Early Valentine's Day to you!

I'm sure there are those who would argue that this is wrong. That no physician should be this judge-y. Or refuse to treat patients in need. I'm sure people will be making the 'what next' argument: Can a doctor stop treating a smoker in danger of lung cancer or COPD? A patient who keeps non-stop donut eating even with Type 2 diabetes? An alcoholic nearing liver failure? A motorcyclist who won't wear a helmet? (First they came for the anti-vaxxers...)

But that argument goes only so far.

First, we're all of us human. Including - get this! - physicians. And physicians need to be able to forgive us our trespasses, and provide us with the best advice and healthcare they can. If we're hellbent on destroying our bodies, that's on us, not on the dear and glorious physician.

More important, all of the above situations are pretty much "do no harm" to anyone other than the person destroying their body. Admittedly, a smoker still puffing away in the house is endangering everyone else who lives there with their second hand smoke. And a drinker who's a driver, well... But mostly the collateral damage is interpersonal, emotional: watching someone near to you get sick and maybe even die because of their lifestyle (hate that word!) choices.

Not getting vaccinated is different, of course. You're not only jeopardizing your own health, you're jeopardizing the health of family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and complete strangers. Not to mention physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers. 

The only situation I can think of that's at all comparable would be a physician back during the AIDS epidemic, when AIDS was a death sentence, refusing to treat a patient in a high risk category who continued to have unprotected sex - especially if they did so without disclosing their health status. The situations aren't fully analogous, of course. Most of the time, sex involves consent. There's no consent involved when someone with covid sneezes on you in the grocery store.

Anyway, the more stands that are taken on getting vaccinated, the better. I'm all for vaccine passports (legitimate ones, anyway) on/in planes, boats, trains, restaurants, movies, and concerts. Vaccine requirements for high school and college students (and teachers and staff). And, once the vaccine for kids is approved, for all schoolchildren. Any and all employee vaccination requirements. Bring it!

And I'm hoping more doctors follow Dr. Jason Valentine's bold move. 

Something's got to wake these knuckle draggers up before they kill us all.