January 2022
So let me get this straight: back in the beginning of the pandemic, when no one was vaccinated and PPE equipment was in short supply, and we really didn’t know what we were dealing with, truckers were considered essential workers and allowed to freely cross the border, thus ensuring that our store shelves stayed well stocked.
Now two years later, when 83% have at least one dose and 77% are fully vaccinated, when we know that the current Omicron variant, while more transmissible, is less virulent (much like the annual flu), both the American and Canadian governments are dictating that only fully vaccinated truckers can cross the border.
Why have truckers suddenly become a health hazard? Truckers, for the most part, are the champions of social distancing. They have minimal contact with other people; they travel alone, or with one co-driver, sleeping in their truck, making the occasional stop for food, fuel or a bathroom break. At each end of their trip, shipping and receiving staff will load and unload their trailer.
In the instances where they have to interact with others, they can wear a mask and maintain distance, just like all of us still have to do, even after being fully vaccinated (something that should be optional by now), along with washing their hands, which we should all be doing regardless.
As with a lot of the things governments on both sides of the border have been doing throughout this pandemic, this makes no sense, and after two years, is becoming increasingly frustrating. We’ve all made sacrifices, yet we are no further ahead.
It’s time to drop the vaccine mandates for truckers, and for that matter, the rest of us too.