Another unfinished post, this one from August 2021. I realize I have several pandemic-related posts that I didn’t finish, for one reason or another. COVID-19 dominated public consciousness like nothing else in my lifetime, It still shows up in the headlines fairly frequently.

In many countries, the rate of people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 has been slowing. The herd immunity politicians talked about in 2020 seems farther away.

I’ve been thinking about that, and about the response to the pandemic in general. I’ve been mulling over why people are choosing not to be vaccinated when the risks from COVID are real.

I understand the scientific concerns, though I doubt there are all that may people who have really looked at the science behind the vaccines and then decided it wasn’t for them. Most of us probably don’t have the scientific background to make an informed decision one way or another. We need to trust the experts.

Which may be the problem. The experts haven’t been at the forefront of the battle against this pandemic, the politicians have.

In the US, there are people who dislike President Biden immensely, as there were those who disliked Donald Trump. I suspect that many would on principle refuse to do whatever one or the other was advocating.

The same probably holds true in Canada. Justin Trudeau put himself at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Daily media briefings for months on what was being done by the government. Now he is scolding those who have not been vaccinated, even though Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

Politicians are polarizing figures. That doesn’t change in a public health crisis, or emergency, or whatever you want to call this. If you don’t like Joe Biden, or Justin Trudeau or (insert your local leader’s name here), then are you inclined to trust them when they say you must get vaccinated?

Probably not. Instead you are going to wonder what their ulterior motive is. That may not be logical, but it is all too often the reality. Probably a large percentage of those Canadians still unvaccinated don’t trust the Prime Minister.

That won’t change, no matter how much he scolds or pleads with the public. Trudeau probably doesn’t understand that he is a polarizing figure. Or if he does, he dismisses those who dislike him as old fashioned reactionaries who have no place in progressive Canada.

Justin Trudeau is expected to call an election soon, two years before one is required by law. The theory is he can coast to victory based on his handling of the pandemic and the billions of dollars of free cash his government handed to Canadians. If he waits he risks the possibility or a resurgence of the virus or an economic downturn.

Trudeau’s popularity in 2024 is indeed much lower than it was in 2021. He did call an election and squeak out a victory, due in large part I think to the unwillingness of the voters to change governments during a crisis. He is a far more polarizing figure than he was then, with a government beset by scandal after scandal. And he has increased his attacks on those who don’t agree with his policies.

Those who wish to replace him as Liberal Party leader want him to stay on until the next election. The theory is that he has become so unpopular the voters want to punish him, and if he steps aside for a new leader those voters will instead punish his replacement. The Liberals just hope for an election sooner rather than later, in the hopes that they might save their party from elimination.

Do you think he understands his options?