To my mind, that is not really a complaint at all — it is a solution, or at least part of one. Vaccines are not magic, and they have proved more effective at preventing hospitalization and death than they have at preventing transmission of the virus per se. But relieving pressure on health systems and reducing transmission, even modestly, is a very great benefit. It is also the most that most of us can do to help to mitigate the effects of the epidemic short of becoming hermits. The anti-vaccine stuff is pure superstition, tribalism, and performative self-harm. Its place in our public life should be down there with astrology and Tarot readings.

It is not as though such modest measures would be unprecedented in the American experience. When I was in college, young men could not apply for financial aid if they had not met their Selective Service requirement, i.e., registering for the draft. The requirement was enforced in other similar ways, a combination of nagging and disadvantage. I have never fought in a war, but my veteran friends assure me it is much more disruptive and unpleasant than receiving a free, safe, effective vaccination against a potentially deadly infection.

Allowing life to return to something like normal for the vaccinated while continuing to pressure and inconvenience the unvaccinated is probably the best and most reasonable step toward normalcy we can take at this time.