Move over controversy over the COVID vaccine, and say hell to controversy over the flu shot
If vaccines are mandatory, should skin color be a factor for exemption?
Cornell University thinks so.
One of the amazing things we learned in 2020 is that the novel coronavirus can’t infect people who attend Black Lives Matter protests. Science!
Apparently the seasonal influenza is even more considerate, at least at Cornell University.
The Ivy League school offers a race-based exemption from its new mandatory flu shot, requiring only white students to get immunized before returning to the area.
Cornell started requiring flu immunizations this academic year for all students “studying in Ithaca” – not just those attending classes in person – enforced through the Behavioral Compact.
It’s not to protect students from the flu, the FAQ reads, but so that “medical services and other support resources can be fully available to serve students who may be exposed to COVID-19” (an infection that threatens very few of them).
So-called black, indigenous and people of color are welcome to tax Cornell health resources, however.
A Cornell Health page “especially for students of color,” highlighted by Campus Reform, explains why it’s giving a pass to nonwhite students:
We recognize that, due to longstanding systemic racism and health inequities in this country, individuals from some marginalized communities may have concerns about needing to agree to such requirements. For example, historically, the bodies the of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) have been mistreated, and used by people in power, sometimes for profit or medical gain. It is understandable that the current Compact requirements may feel suspect or even exploitative to some BIPOC members of the Cornell community. Additionally, recent acts of violence against Black people by law enforcement may contribute to feelings of distrust or powerlessness.
While the university “strongly recommend[s]” that nonwhite students comply voluntarily, because “long-standing social inequalities and health disparities have resulted in COVID-19 disproportionately affecting BIPOC individuals,” they will be granted an exemption if they cite their racial identity.
Cornell also offers exemptions from mandatory immunizations – not just the flu – under a broader “non-medical/religious” category in state law, but getting such an exemption appears to be more stringent than the easy opt-out for self-identified BIPOC students.
Healthcare workers fill out patient paperwork during a drive-thru flu shot clinic at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Shreveport recently completed a test run for distributing an eventual coronavirus vaccine, using a community drive-thru clinic for flu shots. Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images