Murphy’s vaccine debacle (Opinion)

While Gov. Phil Murphy is touting his "rollout" of the vaccine for COVID-19 as a huge success, a few weeks in only around 200,000 New Jerseyans got a jab. Of those, only about 50,000 got the second shot. This is out of a state population of 9 million people. Yet, even the governor's own "fake" metric of "infection rate" shows a decline.

Most people who test positive never even have symptoms let alone get sick enough for care. People who do die from COVID are overwhelmingly over the age of 70 with compromised health and co-morbidities like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Numbers of deaths have been inflated since the outset of the pandemic by state counts including ours. Even numbers of positive tests conflict with each other when comparing counties to the state.

So we have a disease that impacts a very small percentage of society, we have false counts on infections and deaths and we have a governor that continues to change the metric needed to reopen the state. States like Florida and Texas are open for business and focused on the protection of the vulnerable group by allowing hospitals and doctors to distribute vaccine doses and making sure there are medical facilities available if someone is ill. It's working fine. For everyone. Even in Alabama, after winning the College National Championship, celebrated as normal Americans flooding the streets.

COVID is long over as a potential public health threat. Everyone gets it, like a cold. And unless you are in a targeted group, you will almost certainly be fine.

As you know, the governor, plying on your irrational and unfounded fears, set up a tier system to allow people to get a vaccine distributed by the government. Did you know that the media is considered essential and in the top tier? Even though I was qualified and could have been vaccinated already, I refused. I'm a younger, healthy person and COVID is simply not gonna kill me. Nor am I going to be a super-spreader, unless I get sick and have symptoms. In that case, I'll stay away from my 78-year-old mother-in-law who now lives with us. BTW, she's skipping the vaccine, too.

But for many seniors who want to get the vaccine, the governor has actually made the process more difficult. They are requiring everyone to register online through the government site, which crashed last week as it rolled out. But even when you register, the government bureaucrats are not asking for ID, so there are people lining up, getting the vax, claiming to be in the selected tier. By contrast, the elderly in Florida are being vaccinated because the governor there decided to let the medical professionals handle the distribution instead of government bureaucrats. After the health commissioner botched protecting the elderly in our nursing homes, why is she still employed let alone in charge of a vaccine rollout?

But there is no opposition from the Republicans in Trenton. Murphy does what he wants and they apologize and beg for a few minutes of his time. All the violence in our cities, during the day with gangs and drugs and on weekends at festivals, all ignored. Antifa thugs marching in cities, leading to riots, arson, looting, murder, all ignored as the government pretends that it's "mostly peaceful". Try saying that about Trump rallies, you'll be canceled, too. Try challenging the governor, even the so-called opposition won't stand up for you.

So what do we do? We look at reality and fight back. Our First Amendment rights cannot be taken away by a complicit State Police superintendent nor a governor on a power trip. We have rights. Time to use them.

As far as the vaccine, there should be a criminal investigation and lawsuit from anyone who passes from COVID while standing on the "bread line" created by the governor's failed plan to distribute the vaccine.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.