First of all, would you believe him?
Then, wouldn’t you want to know everyone you encounter there: at the hotel, at a restaurant, at the casino, at the pool, at a sports book, at a club, had either tested negative, or had recovered? How’s that going to happen?
Or that hospitals in Las Vegas had enough ventilators should there be a sudden pocket outbreak somewhere? That could happen. In fact, probably will from time to time in various places. But hospitals don’t like to keep a lot of equipment around that they have to maintain and that they don’t make a lot of money off of. Would/should the government force them to? Or would the Vegas hospitals use it as a selling point: putting up the number of ventilators available up on huge billboards along the freeway cutting through the middle of town (as they’ve done for years, advertising current waiting times at the emergency room)? Even then, wouldn’t you want to be sure you weren’t potentially bringing something back to your community with you when you came home? What about your employer? Would they want you right back at the office if you’d just traveled? Or would anyone back from vacation be mandated to self-quarantine and work from home for a period of time (if they had a job that would make that a possibility)? If so, would the government have to have a role in making sure that happened?
We remember when we first started traveling internationally, we had to carry a vaccination card along with our passport to gain entry into some countries. That became more unnecessary in recent years. But seems like that kind of thing might definitely be making a comeback. And we don’t just mean for international travel, which we assume will be very difficult or virtually impossible until there’s a vaccine. (And even then, countries are going to have to agree on international standard and how it will be verified.)
No, we mean right here in the U.S., where people might be compelled to prove their COVID-19 status in order to work in certain jobs, or maybe even to enter certain buildings. (Although it’d be challenged on the basis of civil liberties for sure.)
And again: who does this? And how? Who sets the standard for what type of test results are acceptable? And who monitors for people who may be cheating? Or worse, infectious?
If there is a pharmaceutical based treatment for Coronavirus, is everyone going to be able to get access to it like at the snap of a finger? When there is eventually a vaccine, how long is it going to take for everyone to get access?
One of the biggest problems right now is there still aren’t enough tests. “Everybody who wants a test” isn’t even close to being able to get a test. That has a lot to do with the fact that the federal government and testing companies playing catch-up. If you can even call it that, because they’re so far behind. And we’re going to trust those same people to develop a program to ensure there are enough treatments or eventually vaccines and they get distributed in a timely and efficient way? We’ve seen years lately when there’s been a shortage of flu vaccine for a time. And it was really hard to get the shingles vaccine when it first came out and demand was sky high. And demand for a COVID-19 vaccine is going to be even greater than that by a multiple of millions and millions. So this can’t entirely be left to the private sector.
Making sure those things–in the future–go right, will require strong will, skill, and coordination at the highest levels of government. Also lots of money from the government. And a firm, but deft hand. Except for throwing a lot of money at it (the bulk of which will go to private companies), can we expect any of that from the present administration?