Trudeau, truckers, and science

Vincent J. Curtis

28 Jan 22 

Just before he began isolating himself, Prime Minister Trudeau declared that the truckers held ‘unacceptable views” and that he understood the science.  Trudeau is the guy who, despite being vaxxed, boosted, wearing a mask and testing negative, is isolating himself after exposure to his asymptomatic kid.  As science, that’s irrational; as politics it’s yellow.

It is now widely acknowledge that the vaccination does not prevent infection and does not prevent a vaccinated and infected person from spreading the virus.  Even boosted people famously suffer breakthrough infections, like Trudeau is hoping he has.  The only benefit now alleged for getting vaccinated and boosted is that infections are mild, and hospitalization less likely.  This vaccine in which Trudeau himself shows no faith is what he mandates on truckers.

Unvaxxed truckers entering Canada are expected to quarantine for fourteen days, while vaxxed and boosted truckers can sail on through.  But why?  The vaccines only limit the severity of the illness, they don’t prevent infection or spread.  So, to protect the Canadian public from truckers bring in and spreading the virus in Canada, both vaxxed and unvaxxed should be isolated because being vaxxed and boosted says nothing about one’s infection status and ability to pass on the infection.  Mandating a rapid test for all might make sense, but not mandating vaccination.  This is basic, rational reasoning.  And if a trucker entering Canada tests negative for the virus, regardless of whether he is vaxxed or unvaxxed – he’s not infected and therefore can’t transmit the infection.  An uninfected trucker has no virus to spread.  That too is basic rational reasoning.

If you want to argue about reduced likelihood of hospitalization, that has nothing to do with mandating vaccination of truckers because the mandate is about preventing importation, not hospitalization.  Besides, most truckers are under 60 years old, don’t suffer from multiple co-morbidities, and hence are unlikely to require hospitalization even if infected.

And let’s look at a trucker’s working conditions.  He’s alone in his cab for up to twelve hours a day, and will sleep in the bunk behind his cab.  When he drops off his trailer and picks up another, he interacts with few people, usually in wide open spaces.  The only places he might contact people in close quarters are in the customs offices – with other truckers – and in truck stop restaurants – with other truckers.  The opportunity for catching and transmitting the virus are limited.  It would be hard to come up with data that shows that truckers are a significant cause of importation and spread.  Truckers didn’t import and spread the Omicron variant.

The mandate, therefore, is irrational and cannot possibly be based on science.  There’s no data to support mandating that truckers be vaxxed or face quarantine.  There’s no rationality to support vaccination to prevent the spread, because, as we’ve observed and as Trudeau himself professes by his actions, the vaccines do not induce herd immunity and they lack endurance.  There being no rational or scientific basis for mandating vaccination of truckers, the only reason for mandates is the irrational demand that they conform to an ideological opinion as others have conformed.  Trudeau’s fear is that if they aren’t mandated his political weapon and control will be lost.

Prime Minister Trudeau found work in politics because he wasn’t good at teaching drama.  His claim of understanding the science better than others is sheer, self-flattering hooey.

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