As pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies announced the completion of clinical trials testing the vaccine against COVID-19 and received emergency use authorization, all states started introducing it. Like any other vaccination, the shots against the SARS-CoV-2 are voluntary. Although many people in the United States received their vaccinations, the U.S. has not attained herd immunity yet. This issue is of national importance because population health and the country’s development are at stake. Therefore, many employers and educators support vaccine mandates for staff and students in educational institutions (Kurtz 1). Indeed, almost 60% of educators claim that vaccine mandates should be applied to schools (Kurtz 1). However, the recent enforcement from the White House was blocked by district judges in forty states, preventing vaccine mandates for workers (Hals). One of the judges argued that these decisions “should be done by Congress, not a government agency” (Hals). Notably, the mandate will not force people with absolute contraindications to be vaccinated. Thus, the government should introduce vaccine mandates to create protection for those who are ineligible because this virus damaged the economy and killed millions of people worldwide.
President Biden’s administration decided to enforce this legislation because of the growing concern about the new coronavirus mutations. It mutates and becomes more contagious and dangerous for human health. In fact, the government is concerned about the new omicron variant that became more infectious than alpha and delta variants (Hals). The fear is that it may result in a second global lockdown, which will harm the economy and result in a surge of mortality from the consequences of this infection (Hals). If the government wants to prevent the rise of COVID-related deaths and help businesses enter the recovery phase from the recession, this mandate should be implemented to reduce the incidence of this disease.
The coronavirus that caused this pandemic continues to take thousands of people’s lives daily across the world. About 77% of schools reported converting from remote to entirely in-person learning (Kurtz 2). It means that children, teachers, and their families are at higher risk for infection. Hence, obligating people to receive vaccination can reduce the viral spread, protect the health of citizens, and help schools remain open.
The opponents of the mandate claim that regular testing is sufficient for those who are reluctant to vaccinate. However, COVID-19 testing is not obligatory in organizations with at least one hundred employees (Hals). Moreover, according to Kurtz, “district policies on testing, masks, and vaccinations are anything but uniform, with approaches varying considerably by region” (1). It appears that people cannot rely only on masks because social distancing is no longer strictly regulated. Consequently, the vaccine mandate seems to be the most effective measure to stop the pandemic.
In summary, the vaccine mandate seems critical to achieve collective immunity in the United States and allow all aspects of people’s lives to return to the pre-pandemic level. Nevertheless, the recent enforcement of the President’s administration for the COVID-19 vaccine mandate was blocked by district courts in most states. They claimed that wearing masks and regular testing is sufficient to reduce the viral spread. However, since social distancing and protective wearing are no longer controlled, vaccination should be obligated to people without contraindications to protect them from severe disease. Lastly, the mandate can help preserve the current recovery stage across the U.S. and diminish death from this virus and its mutated variants.
Works Cited
Hals, Tom. “Courts Block Two Biden Administration COVID Vaccine Mandates.” Reuters, 2021, Web.
Kurtz, Holly B. T. “Educators’ Support for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Is Rising Dramatically.” Education Week, vol. 41, no. 7, 2021, pp. 1-2. Gale in Context. Web.