In this past week, fears about the Delta variant have multiplied. The CDC announced that people who have been fully vaccinated should receive booster shots, starting in September.
New data shows that the nostrils of vaccinated people can house the virus in the same fashion as un-vaccinated people, which helps explain why Delta is spreading so quickly.
New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans are requiring patrons to show proof of vaccination or a negative test in order to enter restaurants, as well as other indoor spaces. More cities are expected to follow.
A number of cities and counties have re-imposed mask mandates, some indoors, some outdoors, too. Mask mandates are being initiated and discussed by school systems, although some governors have tried to ban them.
The response to the Delta variant raises the question of what the restaurant industry and other food purveyors should do regarding vaccinations, not just for customers, but for their staff, too.
The Vaccine Dilemma
As the aunt of a doctor, and the daughter and niece of medical staff members and researchers, there’s no question where I come down on the coronavirus vaccine. I got one as soon as they were available. My 93-year-old aunt preceded me.
My family does not mess around when it comes to disease. I’ve had relatives and good friends who battled polio. I caught meningitis when I was six years old. I’ve been hit with whooping cough, and shingles, for which I was too young to get the vaccine.
I’ll admit I was nervous about the Covid vaccine when the race to develop one was on, but as people stepped up and got their shots, with very few breakthrough cases, my hesitancy went away.
I don’t mind telling people I’m vaccinated. I also will ask someone with whom I’m in close contact if they are vaccinated, and I especially feel that way about those with whom I’m doing business. They can always refuse to answer, and I respect that.
However, I’ve had a surprising number of restaurant and other business owners explain to me why they haven’t gotten vaccinated, and why they don’t think they have a right to make their employees get vaccinated.
Reasons for avoiding vaccines
The personal reasons range from, “This vaccine has been rushed” to “If I haven’t gotten sick already, I’m not going to get sick” to “I’m not going to have the government tell me what to do” to “I’m afraid of shots.”
I was momentarily gobsmacked when someone with whom I’ve done business for years said that neither they, nor other generations of their family had gotten vaccinated.
I didn’t want to lecture them or get in a fight, so I went in another direction. “I worry about you, being around all these people,” I said, gesturing to nearby customers. Their response: “I hope I don’t find out the hard way.”
That bothered me, not only because I care about them personally, but because this person and their family are in contact with dozens, if not hundreds of people a day. Unfortunately, they’ve lost me for now. I don’t feel I can buy from them any more. (I plan to check in soon and see if anything has changed.)
But some owners are looking at it from a more philosophical perspective.
They don’t feel they have the right to impose a vaccine requirement on their employees. They feel that should be a matter of personal choice. They are trusting employees to figure out that a vaccine will protect them and the people around them, of course while observing mask protocols.
There’s another factor at play here, too. Everyone is short staffed. A vaccine requirement could result in fewer job applications, the reasoning goes, and it also could prompt some staff to quit.
Too, vaccine side effects could cause some people to take sick days, at a time when everyone’s presence is needed.
With everyone so burned out, these owners feel they simply can’t add vaccination to the growing pile of responsibilities and risk it becoming a tipping point.
The duty to customers
As a customer, and as someone who remembers every moment of my two weeks in hospital when I was a sick child, I appreciate all the businesses that are requiring staff vaccinations.
It makes me trust that establishment. It also allows me to make a choice of where I spend my money. It eliminates the mystery of “are they, or aren’t they?”
I worry about the uncertainty of going into a place that has made vaccinations optional. At the very least, I think that place owes it to customers to be transparent.
Just as it informs them about mask policies and other steps, I would like places to say, “We are encouraging, but not requiring staff vaccinations. Right now, XX% of our employees have been vaccinated.”
Then, customers to can make informed decisions on eating inside versus getting carry out or delivery, or going elsewhere.
In these times, public health trumps personal comfort levels, just as other considerations for the public good have trumped personal choice throughout society, and throughout history. We have seatbelt requirements, drunk driving restrictions, helmet laws, and bans on smoking.
Business is a series of choices. Owners decide what kinds of products they’re going to sell, figure out the sourcing for those products, set prices, design packaging, establish hours and myriad other policies.
Vaccination now joins the group.
For Brit Box Fans, A Treat From Mary Berry
With all options we now have for streaming services, I’ve stuck with a couple of basics — Netflix and Amazon Prime. But recently, Amazon Prime teamed up with Brit Box, the service that focuses on British shows.
I wandered around its listings and found a program you might enjoy: Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets. It’s a series of four shows that first aired on the BBC in 2017. (You can find them on YouTube, too.)
In each episode, Dame Mary visits a famous country house in Britain that just happens to be open to the public, such as Highclere, where Downtown Abbey was filmed, and Scone Palace, in Scotland.
She meets the lord, lady and often the matriarchs of the manor, who all seem delighted to host her.
Dame Mary gets a tour, goes and does something countryish, like fishing and stalking deer and wandering through gardens. Then, she cooks or bakes.
The programs always include a scene of a grand party that the hosts just happen to be throwing while Dame Mary is visiting. The Scone episode includes scenes of her taking part in Scottish reels.
Lest it seem like only a marketing opportunity for the country house in question, Dame Mary’s recipes look as delicious as those she oversaw on The Great British Baking Show.
I was fascinated to see how easily her scones come together and there’s a beautiful venison Wellington, in case anyone gifts you with venison during hunting season.
I saw some criticism that the show was like a low-rent British Bake Off, but I actually found it interesting to visit these grand places, and it isn’t sugar-coated.
There’s a discussion of race relations among the aristocracy in one episode, and a conversation about an LGBT earl and the community reaction he received in another. One of the properties fell into deep disrepair, and the aristocrat is up front about the extensive efforts he has made to keep the place going.
So, if you’d like to arm chair travel or see Dame Mary in tartan, enjoy the show.
Short Stories From One Of New Orleans’ Best Writers
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You
By Maurice Carlos Ruffin
I’ve had the fun the past few years of becoming Twitter friends with Maurice Carlos Ruffin, who I think is one of the best writers based in New Orleans today.
His debut novel, We Cast A Shadow, was set in a city that closely resembled New Orleans of the future.
His new book, The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You, reaches into New Orleans’ past, all the way up to today. It’s a series of short stories set over 154 years of city history, with a fascinating cast of characters. He got a rave review last week from the New York Times that delighted his fans as much as it did him.
As he explained to Susan Larson on WWNO-FM, “The stories always come as an idea first. What if this young man is going to a party and working as a caterer, and it’s his first chance to recognize a world beyond his own? Then I begin to listen to the voice, and it can seem like a séance, or listening to my ancestors, or talking with my friends.”
The link for the book goes to Blue Cypress Books, which is holding an event with him this week in New Orleans. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @mauriceruffin.
An Essay That Resonated
I was surprised and honored to be mentioned by Fred Hiatt, the legendary Washington Post Opinions editor, in this story about Voices Across America. In the article in Editor & Publisher, the industry trade publication, Fred shouted out my essay about restaurant employees’ decisions not to return to their jobs.
I’ve enjoyed being part of an effort to increase the diversity of topics and writers. Clearly, my essay resonated with Post readers. It drew nearly 3,000 comments and was the most-read article in the entire paper the day it ran.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
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Please stay safe: wear a mask if your local authorities recommend that you do so, and encourage everyone you know to get vaccinated. See you next week!
I live in San Francisco and have received emails from a handful of restaurants I go to regarding the city's new mask mandate for customers. A few of these have mentioned having fully vaccinated staff. Given the risk of breakthrough viruses (a good friend who lives in another city was affected by this), I will do more business with the restaurants that have fully vaccinated staff and do less with those that don't.