President Biden Tests Positive for COVID and Baseball Drops the Ball

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PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

You have probably heard the news that President Biden recently tested positive for COVID-19. It is reported that his symptoms are mild, and that being vaccinated and boosted likely has a role in how relatively well he is reported to be doing in isolation. I have not heard any speculation about how he might have gotten infected.

Around the same time, Major League Baseball finished its All-Star Week. However, that followed 2 episodes of players from 2 different teams being barred from going to Canada to play games because they were not vaccinated. Not helping their team is by no means the biggest problem. After all, it is only a game. But their decision puts them and others they encounter at more risk. Given that they are role models for some, their influence is more general, likely conveying a message that the known preventive measure of vaccination is not necessary.

At a time when we have a particularly infectious variant, having 2 different public messages further exemplifies our undue societal divisiveness. We are all in the game of life, and thereby need to convey and follow the same public health strategy. We in psychiatry can be pandemic All-Stars if we do our part to help with this messaging. It is the ethical way.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who has specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry. A prolific writer and speaker, he received the one-time designation of Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. He is an advocate for mental health issues related to climate instability, burnout, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism for a better world. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times™.