At first it was easy to give up my normal life in hopes of quelling the surge of disease that spread across the country. Weeks went by— then months. Now, it’s been almost exactly two years since the email announcing students would be sent home, and I’m getting tired. Sometimes it feels as though, despite our best efforts, the memory of my pre-pandemic life just continues to fade as everyone asks, “Is this the new normal?” It doesn’t have to be.
I suggest that Northampton, like Los Angeles and New York City, mandate that indoor dining patrons show proof of vaccination because it will help both restaurant business and our economy as a whole.
Those who are vaccinated should be able to resume living the lives we left behind two years ago, without fear of infection. Where better to start than a place close to America’s heart: food?
Requiring proof of vaccination and thus prioritizing patron safety will increase customer turnout and promote local restaurants. Worries about transmission and infection will be greatly diminished if everyone in the restaurant is vaccinated and has some protection from infection.
So, patrons will feel more comfortable, but what about the hassle involved in presenting vaccination information every time you sit down to eat? Surely, restaurants would lose customers from the inconvenience; but there is a solution. Massachusetts plans on adopting a digital vaccine passport which eliminates the hassle of gathering your vaccination information every time. In other states, after entering your vaccine information into an app or website, the “passport” works like a QR code that is scanned before entry into buildings—just as simple as having to show your ID at the entrance of a bar or club (something that eligible patrons have never protested). There should be no shortage of customers due to inconvenience, meaning more customers coming through the doors and more prosperous restaurants. Additionally, the requirement of vaccination in restaurants will diminish cases of COVID-19 amongst restaurant staff, encouraging onboarding of more staff and alleviating the burden of those required to overcompensate for sick coworkers—all to allow these struggling businesses to stay afloat.
Not only will this help Northampton restaurants, but it will also help other businesses. By requiring proof of vaccination, the unvaccinated will have to get vaccinated in order to dine at their favorite restaurants. This rise in vaccination rate and therefore decrease in infection and transmission will encourage policy-makers to lift COVID-19 restrictions, allowing us to mend our crippled economy. Obviously, there are other options for the unvaccinated to get food from restaurants (take-out, delivery services and eating outside), but the overpricing of limited delivery services and the lure of a hot plate of food in the ambiance of a favorite diner seems like enough incentive. In order for our economy to recover, we need to increase vaccination rates so that our society can begin to open up again.
I ask the city of Northampton: how much longer are we willing to stand idly by and wait for things to change? Lifting COVID-19 restrictions to everyone is not doing anything to dig us out of the hole we’re in. Northampton should require vaccination for indoor dining in order to both promote the financial success of both individual restaurants and the economy in general. Let’s stop trying to “flatten the curve” and start trying to get back to baseline.
Breona Martin
