New Brunswick’s COVID Grocery Store Ban

New Brunswick’s provincial government announced updates to their COVID-19 vaccine passport system. Grocery stores now have the authority to ask for your papers.

But if you want people to get the COVID vaccine, should you ban them from your grocery store?

I get it. Unvaccinated people will get the shot because they need to eat. But in reality, this doesn’t always happen. Unvaccinated people get more resentful. And why wouldn’t they? Vaccination is but one of many ways of combating the virus. Suppose you already had the disease. Don’t you have antibodies stronger than the vaccine can provide? The largest peer-reviewed real-world study suggests this.

But if they can ban you from the grocery store, of course, they can ban you from the weed shop.

Cannabis retail wasn’t even considered an essential service by many provinces. Proof of vaccination has so far been at the discretion of cannabis retail owners. So long as you’re not a gym or dine-in restaurant, the mandate hasn’t reached that far down… yet. New Brunswick’s grocery store rule change leaves the option open for owners. Masks, of course, are mandatory in all indoor public places.

But alls well that ends well, eh? Not quite.

This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. So they say. That’s what justifies continued restrictions. But the facts don’t match the narrative.

Unvaccinated people aren’t the only ones lying in hospital beds. Booster shots are necessary. Vaccine efficacy wanes over time. Boosters are part of vaccine passports in several countries.

There are also problems with the vaccine trial data.

There are plenty of reasons an individual might decide against the COVID-19 vaccine. If this concerns you, ensure you stay vaccinated with all the boosters. But also, make sure you eat right and get plenty of sunshine and exercise. If you have access to a sauna, even better.

As for New Brunswick’s grocery store restriction… like its cannabis restrictions, what is to be done? A majority of Canadians support these restrictions. At least, that’s the sense from the polling. In reality, it might be tougher to pull off another March 2020-style lockdown.

Of course, no thought is given to either small business owners or cannabis consumers. Deemed non-essential, one’s lot in life is decided by the state.

Why have people become like this?

People need cannabis for their physical and mental health. Why would you force someone to take a new-tech medicine for a contagious disease? Perhaps you think I’ve already answered the question. The keyword being “contagious” – and I understand. It’s like driving a car. Your stupidity can get me killed. So you need a license. And you breathing on me can get me sick. So you need to be accountable for your actions. So we can both agree. A simple fundamental principle society can live with is non-aggression. As in, “first, do no harm.”

But follow that to its logical conclusion, and you’d have to do away with the entire state apparatus. So how are proof of COVID-19 vaccination mandates either effective or ethical?