Tuesday, March 9, 2021

A Reasonable Lie?


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements.
😉

The COVID vaccine. It's in short supply. My over-75-year-old landlady gets her second shot today. While getting her first shot, she saw several younger people in line and wondered how they were eligible. (She wondered how to get Luisa and me in for ours.) They told her they were essential workers, but no one was checking, so if we were to lie...

What if the only way you could get the COVID vaccine was to lie about your eligibility? (And, for the sake of argument, I'm going to specify that you wouldn't be caught.) 

I'm not advocating lying, by the way. And I don't need to. See tomorrow's post for more about that.

20 comments:

  1. I don't think I would lie to get it because it would be taking it away from the ones who really need it first. Unfortunately I'm sure plenty of other would lie and take advantage of the situation.

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  2. No. I wouldn't even consider it. I read in FL a lot of people lied about being health workers, then contacted friends and they came too. They said they "forgot" their identification. Those administering the shots now will send them home to retrieve the ids. Younger people can also look healthy, but have invisible disabilities that make them eligible. We don't want to start accosting people in lines to explain their eligibility! Did your landlady really ask the younger people how they were getting it?

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    Replies
    1. Yup, she did. But neither my other room mate nor I considered it.

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  3. I wouldn't because it's still wrong.
    And I wouldn't because I hope to avoid having to get the vaccine.

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  4. Oh..Yes I could see lying but only if I knew the older people, health care workers and caregivers have been inoculated. I would hate it if someone healthy got the dose before me when I have physical ailments from my joints issues, my compromised immunity and my asthma since I have a third less the lung capacity than other people(apparently I have a sunken chest but you wouldn't know it). I am actually going to call Health Canada and see if we are eligible to be honest. Now, If I was a healthy, no issues and no older people around me, no I would not lie.

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    Replies
    1. I noticed you mentioned "sunken chest." Do you have pectus excavatum? My daughter did, and finally after years as a child of being told it was cosmetic, as a young adult they tested and found her lung capacity was affected. She was able to get surgery for it (Nuss procedure). The first doctor, when she was 5, actually told us as a teen she'd "like it" because it would give her cleavage!

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    2. I thought they were prioritizing those with health conditions, so I don't think you'd have to lie to get it before the healthier population. But, who knows?

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    3. I looked at pictures and I didn't have anything severe like that. The Dr just put his hand between my boobs and showed how it goes in quite fast and ends too short sort of speak. He showed me where it should be and I was surprised. Oh well...

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  5. Those two younger women in Florida who dressed up like "grannies" ...

    I get my second dose of Pfizer on the 20th. Most of my family has been vaccinated -- and no one had to lie. I don't think I could bring myself to lie..

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    Replies
    1. I don't think it'll end up being necessary. And I figured most of my readers wouldn't want to lie.

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  6. No, I wouldn't lie. I've been waiting patiently to be eligible so I can help my 90 year-old mom safely. Thankfully, yesterday I qualified.

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  7. Nope. I wouldn't lie even if I wouldn't get caught. I would know. I'm still waiting for mine.

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    Replies
    1. I hope your turn comes up soon. It's going pretty quickly, so it should.

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  8. I would wait, as my son has been doing (he's 30ish, but has a comorbidity allowing him to be vaccinated now in our state). I can't say I've been happy he's waited but he told me "I didn't want to jump the line" (although he wouldn't have been jumping the line.) But maybe it's easy for me to say, as I'm of an age that has made me eligible for several weeks now. Very fortunate. I got my second shot over the weekend.

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    Replies
    1. He's definitely not jumping the line if he's eligible. Hopefully he gets it soon.

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  9. Nope...I have waited my time, my age, my health...I have waited till its doable for me to get mine.

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  10. Wouldn't do it. Waiting for my turn and that's that.

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  11. I became eligible a lot sooner than I expected to, and even then felt kind of guilty about making an appointment, so I don't think I would have lied to get in earlier. I wouldn't want to live with that kind of guilt.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, it's kind of weird knowing you've gone when you hear of others who you think should have gone before you. But I've been reading that it's better to go when it's your turn rather than waiting. So they're not waiting for you to go and keeping others from going after.

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.