From “The Scratching Post”: Interview with a gadfly

By Ken Marks

[Originally posted on The Scratching Post, May 13, 2021. Republished here by permission of the author.]

It’s been a long time since this blog hosted an exclusive interview. The Covid pandemic probably has had a lot to do with that, as it has a knack for shutting things down. But now interviews are back, and coincidentally enough, the topic of this one is the Covid pandemic. The interviewee is a highly placed official in the CDC who insists on concealing his identity. He acceptance letter was signed “M. A. Gadfly,” a whimsical pseudonym.

    We met at the offices of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I was led to a small conference room and was shuffling through my notes when a head peered into the room. “Hi, Ken?” I nodded and stood. “I’m Murray,” said the head.
    He was wearing pale blue jeans and a dark blue, silk shirt with a glorious burnt orange plumeria decorating the front. My preconceptions of him were shattered.
    Mr. Gadfly, hi. I’m delighted you agreed to this interview. The Scratching Post is in your debt for giving heft to our modest journalistic efforts.
    Please, Ken, it’s Murray, and the debt is mine. I’ve been stoppered up for more than a year, watching the criminal ignorance of the Trump Administration and lately the burlesque posturing of the Biden Administration. I’m desperate for an outlet, somewhere to howl and rant. You, Ken, are my outlet. (His eyes twinkled.)
    Murray, I think anyone with their head on straight has been aggrieved by the tragic void that was Trump Covid policy. But I’ve yet to hear anyone from the medical community go after Biden. Am I correct that you’re prepared to take some shots at him?
    You are. Both administrations can be faulted. My criticisms of each differ in kind and degree. Biden’s errors mostly register as gaffes, bobbles, and thoughtless knee-jerks. Trump’s errors were monstrous cases of ignorance, apathy, and despotic arm-twisting. If you don’t mind, I’d like to focus on Biden. His miscues haven’t had much exposure. Trump’s disasters are well documented and, frankly, I’m just done with him.
    Fine, Murray. Are your criticisms of Biden politically based, medically based, or both?
    Both. Let me start with the medical component. According to current stats, 35% of Americans have been “full vaccinated” against Covid. How should we interpret that phrase? I can think of only one interpretation: you can’t get Covid, no way, no how. If it were nevertheless possible, what on earth would the word “fully vaccinated” mean? “Mostly protected, maybe”? That would be absurd and a repudiation of medical science. It’s like the old saying about being pregnant — you are or you aren’t. There’s no in-between.
    That doesn’t mean the vaccine’s protection is forever or that the virus can’t mutate into a form beyond the vaccine’s ability to contain it. There are platoons of immunologists with an eye on these matters, and I’m sure they’ll sing out if the status quo begins to fade. That time may come eventually, but it makes no sense to curtail human activity and wait for it.
    So, what are you saying? Biden should declare victory, like Trump wanted to do at Easter last year?
    Well, pretty much, yes. Biden should call in his medical experts and say, “I want us to jump in the water with both feet. That means no more insistence on wearing a mask, anywhere. No more avoiding crowds, vaccinated or not. We can all resume our 2019 lifestyles without qualification. Now, if you disagree with me, you have 3 weeks to talk me out of it. And you’d better have a damn good argument. Otherwise, I’ll declare victory in 3 weeks and a day.”
    My God, Murray! Surely, the vaccines will fail in some people. And the unvaccinated, with a collapse in social distancing, will be much more likely to get Covid from each other and from the vaccinated!
    Ken, that reaction is hysterical. First, of all the people infected by Covid, about 0.00001 percent had been vaccinated. The odds of a bullet-proof vest not stopping a bullet aren’t nearly that good. Second, it’s hard to imagine the unvaccinated becoming more irresponsible than they are now. If anything, the knowledge that all the rails are down should encourage some to get vaccinated. Third, there is a growing body of evidence that the vaccinated do not transmit the disease. The optimism of May, 2020 was as incredible as the optimism of May, 2021 is credible, and for one simple reason – we now have vaccines. They flip everything.
    What about the political ramifications of “declaring victory”? Won’t both parties call Biden a flip-flopper?
    Ah, I planned to get to that. The answer to that is the same as to much else in politics. It depends on how you spin it.
    I have a queasy feeling that you’re going to spin spinning.
    Indeed I am. Why must spinning always be pejorative? It doesn’t necessarily mean lying or distracting. It can also mean communicating more effectively by using clarifying rhetorical devices. I think Socrates was a spinner, in the best sense. If Biden likes my advice, he only needs to point out that a sensible person changes his thinking when the facts change: we didn’t have a vaccine then and now we do. Instead, Biden and his spokespeople have for months played the “they said black so we say white” game.
    But won’t your plan in Biden’s mouth strike many progressives as a betrayal?
    Some, for sure. But many more conservatives will have a positive reaction. “So, Joe now supports real freedom. I can go where I please, mingle as I please, live as I please. Free again!” They’re simpletons, but they’ll become simpletons in Joe’s camp. Declaring victory would actually be an act of political healing .... How’s that for spinning?
    You’ve convinced me, Murray, at least for the next 15 minutes, or until the Murray Effect wears off.
    C’mon, Ken, cut me some slack. Maybe it’ll get stronger.
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Commentary posted on the original publication:

Neil P. Hoffmann: I’m assuming this is intended to be funny or satiric. But some might consider this a serious proposal because it is not so far from CDC’s currently liberalized and confusing guidelines. Since we’re all puzzled by the real guidelines to some degree, this proposal, while certainly hazardous to the health of those who haven’t been vaccinated, including children, has the benefit of not being confusing, just deadly. I guess you think that’s funny. Why am I not laughing?

Ken: The proposal is serious, written in a genial tone. No sarcasm was intended.
    The behavior of the unvaccinated is no more deadly with my proposal in effect than with today’s Covid policies, especially as the unvaccinated happily lie about vaccination. They are determined to eschew protection, whether it be social distancing, a mask, or a vaccine, and it’s as futile to beat an indifferent horse as a dead one.
    I don’t want them to die, but they’ve made their bed and will lie in it, no matter what.

Neil: Just because the CDC guidelines are confusing and somewhat illogical doesn’t justify smart people being plain stupid. Ken, you are not being logical. As you say, only 35%+ are fully vaccinated. That leaves 65% not fully vaccinated. How does it make sense for everyone to behave as if they were vaccinated?
    The unvaccinated person may be infectious and without a mask which puts another unvaccinated person, even one wearing a mask, at risk of infection and illness. This could be a child or someone allergic to the vaccine who can’t take it. I have two friends in that category. Including Paul Clark.
    “The behavior you propose is certainly irresponsible and also contrary to CDC Guidelines for the unvaccinated.
    Your response expresses bad judgment and bad science. This is not about beating a dead horse. It’s about protecting the 65% who haven’t been fully vaccinated. Most of us.
    You obviously could care less. The fact that you can’t understand the CDC definition of “fully” vaccinated is symptomatic of where your head is.
    657 Americans died yesterday. The pandemic is not over.

Ken: I’ll do my best to offer you some logic:

• By the time Biden’s 3-week study is done (suggested in my post), the 35% who are vaccinated will be 45%. That leaves 55% unvaccinated. I’d say we were getting very near the “hard core” unvaccinated. You continue to ignore the question, How do you make the hard core soft? Answer that question and perhaps I’ll listen to you. If you can’t answer it, you’ve got nothing.
• Of course an unvaccinated person puts another unvaccinated person at risk! That is the terrible truth that underlies being hard core. The only solution is getting vaccinated, which isn’t going to happen. I don’t see an alternative to vaccination in your comments.
• Presently, it’s not possible to propound a national guideline that will make the world safe for Paul Clark and your other friend. Perhaps a vaccine variant will be produced one day that they can take.

    So far, I’ve seen nothing in your comments that demonstrate my irresponsibility, bad judgment, or bad science. Please step up with something substantial.

Copyright © 2021 by Ken Marks Ken Marks was a contributing editor with Paul Clark & Tom Lowe when “Moristotle” became “Moristotle & Co.” A brilliant photographer, witty conversationalist, and elegant writer, Ken contributed photographs, essays, and commentaries from mid-2008 through 2012. Late in 2013, Ken birthed the blog The Scratching Post. He also posts albums of his photos on Flickr.