OPINION:
In late August, Delta Air Lines announced that all its unvaccinated COVID-19 workers would have to pay a $200 monthly health insurance surcharge, and if they contracted COVID-19 they could be docked for taking sick leave.
The $200 monthly fee for unvaccinated workers enrolled in Delta’s health care plan “will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian wrote in a letter to employees. He said the unvaccinated could cost the company as much as $50,000 a person to help cover hospital stays.
Never mind, the fatality rate of COVID-19 in the United States is 1.7%, which means 98.3% of Americans who contract the virus survive, according to data compiled by John Hopkins. That accounts for all deaths, even among those with underlying conditions and the elderly. Excluding the high-risk, the survival rate is close to 100%.
Never mind, no one really knows the long-term effects of these vaccinations. A study in Israel found the Pfizer vaccination is associated with an increased risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, especially among young males. The National Institutes of Health just greenlit a study to evaluate how COVID-19 vaccines impact a woman’s menstrual cycle after several women reported irregular periods following the shots.
Never mind those who have already contracted the virus, have natural antibodies, are immune, and don’t want to get the vaccination.
According to Delta, their decision to charge the unvaccinated more is an economic one, all about lowering their health care costs. If this is the case, the company should look into other punitive measures to control its workforce.
For starters, Mr. Bastian should require all his female employees to be put on birth control, it’s cheap, widely available, and FDA approved, just like Pfizer’s vaccination. A report by research firm Truven Health Analytics places the cost of having a baby at anywhere from $30,000 for an uncomplicated vaginal birth to $50,000 for a C-section. These costs obviously don’t include paid parental leave, which drives up an employers’ spending beyond health care. Delivery is the No.1 reason why women are hospitalized during their lifetimes.
Obesity should also be studied. Employees with a high body-to-weight index should also be charged more for health care. An analysis of COVID-19 mortality data found obesity to be the second greatest predictor of hospitalization and high risk of death after age. It’s also the root cause of other expensive health care issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
Yet, the tagline from the Left, especially on these two issues – women’s reproductive health and obesity – is it’s “my body my choice.” Obesity has been normalized. Fat mannequins now don plus-size clothing in department stores. Cosmopolitan ran an issue with an obese cover girl declaring, “This is healthy! 11 women on why wellness doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all,” and just commenting on a person’s weight can get you labeled “fatphobic.”
And God forbid if you take any “choice” from women’s reproductive rights. Women should be allowed to take whatever birth control they want. It should be mailed to their homes at a low cost without an in-person physician meeting, abortions should be on-demand, at any stage of pregnancy, and if a woman decides to have the child, it should be paid for by the state, with help from private businesses, from the cradle to the grave.
So why are the left and “woke” corporations so happy to politicize COVID-19 vaccinations? Why does “my body my choice” no longer apply?
The answer is simple: They view COVID-19 as a cudgel they can wield at their political opponents that they can use to scare the rebellious proletariat into submission and ultimately expand their governmental control.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at the Washington Times.
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