By JAMES J. KUROPATWINSKI
Los Alamos

As I come to the end of my first week of vacation, I have used this time as an opportunity to calm down with regards to the LANL vaccine mandate. I want to express my gratitude to various individuals, make a few observations and statements, and put forth a challenge.

First, I would first like to thank Triad management for recognizing my sincerely held religious belief and granting me a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate based on my belief that it is immoral to use cells from aborted human babies in the research, development, testing, or manufacturing of medicines. As a consequence of my position, I am enjoying the accommodation put forward – use of vacation.

These last few weeks were an incredibly trying time for my wife and I, but our love for each other and our faith has seen us through. The next few weeks will be spent rebasing myself with my faith, family and friends.

Next, I would like to thank State District Judge of New Mexico Jason Lidyard who heard the case brought forward regarding Triad’s mandate to be vaccinated as a condition of employment. I deeply appreciated him stating, “It is not that [the employees] circumstances are not compelling but that the law is simply not on their side.”

Further, Judge Lidyard stated it is within the police powers of the State to enforce medical mandates, and it is a natural extension for the employers to do so as well. He further went on to mention that workers do have a more fundamental right to which to avail ourselves, we have recourse to work with whomever we wish to freely associate. Specifically, “No one is sticking a needle into anyone’s arm as a result of the defendant’s policy. All that is being said is that if you don’t get vaccinated you must find work somewhere else.”

I have heard this sentiment from not a few colleagues as well. Since Free Association is a core concept of my sense of Liberty, I can have no argument; however, I will say I certainly felt like I was looking down the barrel of an (economic) gun coercing me to receive the vaccine or be terminated.

Moving onto medical experts of whom to thank, I thank Richard Skolnik for his fact-based columns in the LA Daily Post. For both the weeks ending October 4th and 12th, he stated 89% of adults in Los Alamos were fully vaccinated (Skolnik: COVID Update For Week Ending Oct. 4, 2021 link, Skolnik: COVID Update #3 – Los Alamos, We Have An Outbreak link). He re-iterated that vaccines are much more effective at reducing severe infection, hospitalization, and death as compared to the alternatives (i.e., the Merck pill) being developed.

I would like to note here that most people have an understanding that vaccines induce immunity or prevent disease, not mitigate the symptoms. (For this commonly held definition please see the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/terms/glossary.html#v). Of course, we have seen the authorities and ultimately Merriam-Webster change the definition of “vaccine” to better fit the new understanding, which strikes me as a bit Orwellian. Perhaps this is why a core group of people cannot come to the “social cohesion around public health” that Dr. Skolnik asks for in his June 20, 2021 column – we the people cannot even have a common understanding of words to help us communicate.

And lastly, I’d like to thank Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, Stephane Bancel, who just flatly stated, “Those who do not get vaccinated will immunize themselves naturally, because the Delta variant is so contagious. In this way we will end up in a situation similar to that of the flu. You can either get vaccinated and have a good winter. Or you don’t do it and risk getting sick and possibly even ending up in hospital.” (See “Moderna chief executive sees pandemic over in a year – newspaper”, Reuters, September 23, 2021 for the entire article). I greatly appreciate his acknowledgment of the reality of natural immunity, which I have not seen in U.S., N.M., or LANL policy. While he (like I) sees a very important role for vaccines, he (like I, and many studies) acknowledges natural immunity as an alternate.

From “10 days to Flatten the Curve” to:

• “get vaccinated … or … [end] up in a hospital” (Stepane Bancel)
• “If you want to work with the federal government and do business with us, get vaccinated,” (President Joe Biden)
• “… employees who have not presented vaccine cards as proof of vaccination … will be terminated…”, (LANL statement on October 15, 2021)

I see various officials eviscerating any sense of seeking a social cohesion we so desperately need. It seems to me various officials are preferring the “My way, or die: either from disease, or an economic gun” as being the preferred answer. We have seen this mentality play out in novels and in history and it typically does not bode well. There has got to be a more agreeable path forward.

So, I put forth the challenge already tacitly put forward by Dr. Skolnik back in June, let us seek to form a social cohesion, which takes into account natural immunity, alternate therapies, and several vaccines to protect the public health. I wish to extend this challenge to also protect private liberty. I pray we can craft a go-forward policy based on the entirety of the science and fully respectful of an individual’s conscience.