Vaccine Mandates: Seeing Both Sides
January 20, 2022
Ever since the first COVID-19 vaccine was launched in December of 2020, there has been a big debate over whether vaccines should be mandated for school and work. Throughout the country, people have had split opinions on the topic.
In November of 2021, California became the first state to mandate vaccines for all healthcare workers. In the following months, other employers began mandating the vaccine. In October, Washington State football head coach Nick Rolovich was fired to due to his unvaccinated status. Rolovich is now suing the school over the termination. In September, President Joe Biden announced his plan to mandate vaccines for certain big named companies. The Supreme Court would later block the vaccine mandate however, they allowed mandates to be set for certain health care workers.
Some Americans claim the potential mandate violates their personal rights. Other Americans say mandates should be exclusive to health-care workers only. People feel as if the mandate violates their freedom in a country where personal rights are a focal point. As of January of 2022, 64% of Americans are fully vaccinated, while at least 76% of the population have received a minimum of one dose.
Others believe the vaccine should be mandatory for all American citizens. According to the Morning Consult, out of 2,200 Americans surveyed, 68% were in favor of vaccine mandates and another 72% were in favor of mask mandates. According to a separate poll conducted by the Axios-lpsos, 60% of Americans were in favor of vaccine mandates. The numbers alone show a majority of the surveyed population believe in vaccine mandates.
A solution for this problem is very unlikely, as efforts by President Biden to pass vaccine mandates have reached a standstill at the Supreme Court. A potential solution would be to mandate vaccines for health care workers while keeping the vaccine optional for other Americans. Healthcare workers are the ones in close contact with sick patients and therefore are at a high risk consistently.
Despite the efforts from both sides, it seems as if a potential vaccine mandate is not likely by the government although private businesses such as Nike have already implemented mandates to their workers.
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