Today, there is conflict in every facet of our lives. But when it comes to something as important as a worldwide pandemic, why would people disagree? Covid-19 is a virus that started in Wuhan, China in 2019. It quickly spread throughout the world, so there had to be a solution. One of those solutions presented was the Vaccine. It was rolled out quickly and has shown to be effective in aiding the prevention of the spread. The problem is shown when the question is posed; should it be mandatory or not? The vaccine presents us with a great option for immunity, but should we have to get it? Businesses, workers, the Government, and the general public are all affected greatly by this dilemma. They all have their own view on this dilemma and I will explain each side to the story. The covid vaccine was proposed to be mandatory by President biden for workers across the country. Many businesses followed suit and made the vaccine mandatory for their workers. This brought about many concerns for the validity of the vaccine and people began to argue. The vaccine was developed in a short amount of time, therefore there was not a long period of testing done. That is the main argument people present when on the side of having the vaccine non mandatory. The people that want to make the vaccine manditory say that it is necessary to be mandatory in order to stop the spread and avoid more people getting infected. This belief has been shown to be mainly prevalent in places such as New York which require a vaccine card to be presented before entering any establishment. Another factor to this situation would be the dynamic between each of these stakeholders. Employees and businesses go hand and hand in this situation, and same goes for the Government which is the main cause for the situation itself. Companies may want their employees to get the vaccine, but the employees could oppose this decision. One of the main stakeholders that I presented before was large businesses. The reason that Large businesses are greatly affected is because the vaccine mandate is mainly directed towards them. Many of these businesses have to decide whether to make it mandatory and lose workers and cause some opposition, or ignore it and face persecution from the populus, and the risk of having an outbreak. The rule presented for these companies by the government was “Private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job.” This rule was made to be instated on January 4th, 2021, so we have seen the effects of it so far. One major event was the southwest airlines mandate for the vaccine. This was heavily protested by the By the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. This organization represents around 9,000 of the southwest airlines pilots and opposed the new ruling. “Companies covered by the new mandates still risk losing workers to smaller companies that are exempt from them, especially at a time when many businesses are struggling to fill job openings and workers are quitting in record numbers.” Companies also have to examine the risk management that can come with requiring the vaccine. The more of their employees that have the vaccine, the less they have to worry about losing workers due to being sick and not able to go to work, and they do not have to worry as much about a spread in their workforce rendering many unable to work, and possibly some deaths. Most companies cannot afford employees taking two weeks off due to having Covid. Therefore many companies are going in the direction of a mandate because of how many benefits it can pose compared to the consequences. Employees of these large companies are another stakeholder. They are mainly affected by having to make the choice of getting the vaccine and keeping their job, or not receiving the vaccine and risking losing their position. Many workers were in contempt with the vaccine mandate and got vaccinated almost immediately. But, as mentioned before, some did not support it and decided to protest in order to voice their opinion. Recently “A Kaiser Family Foundation survey last month found that 37% of unvaccinated workers say they would leave their job if they were required to get jabbed or submit to weekly tests”. This number of unvaccinated workers stating they would rather quit than get vaccinated shows that some really do not trust the vaccine and could risk losing their job because of their distrust in the vaccine. The overall numbers seem to be low for the amount of people quitting for this reason alone. That 37 percent study is somewhat misleading because it does not account for the number of workers that are already vaccinated. In an article by HRExecutive, they estimated that around 70% of companies saw no change to employee turnovers, and the other thirty percent only saw a five percent or less change to their employee turnover. These numbers make light that most workers do support the vaccine and have no problem with the new rulings. Employees are given a choice to support the company they work for and keep things running smoothly if a vaccine mandate is presented. Or the unvaccinated to stick to their beliefs and hurt the company they work for by not receiving the vaccine. The government is the main decider in whether this vaccine will become mandatory or not. At the start of 2021, President Biden working with OSHA, detailed a “requirement for employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis.”(white house website.) When deciding to implement a plan as impactful as a vaccine mandate there are major effects that the government will have to consider these include but are not limited by; opposition from the populous, requirement for safe vaccine testing and proven results, coordinating with distribution companies, and many other effects. Distribution and testing for the vaccine has gone terrific with no major problems except for the early lack of vaccine doses. By this point, anyone can get the vaccine with ease. This decision was received well by most but there was some backlash by the populus. This backlash was mainly conveyed by Conservatives in the southern region of the United States. The government has also seen opposition from many state and local governments such as “A federal court in Texas… blocked the Biden administration's vaccine requirement for federal workers,” This has been copied in many other states relieving the mandate to gain support from the local populous. As mentioned before, the general American public is another group affected by this mandate. While no mandate has been made for the public, there are still some limitations presented to those who decide to avoid the vaccine. One great example would be in New York where most, if not all, retail stores require a vaccination card to be presented upon entry. The rule goes as follows; “People 5 and older participating in the below public indoor activities are now required to show proof they have received two vaccine doses, except for those who have received the one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.” This was New York’s way of convincing the populous to get vaccinated without requiring them too. As a result, over 75% of their population has been vaccinated by now and most seem to have no problems with this. On the other hand, anyone traveling to the state has to get the vaccine in order to enjoy any of the local retail. This also goes for citizens who have been vaccinated that now have to in order to get groceries, go to restaurants, stay in hotels, or any other activities involving human to human contact. The General public also is greatly affected because their voice is not heard easily in this situation. These laws were voted on, but it is difficult to voice the minority in this event. Some have shown to be outraged because of this factor, but the overall effect of this is minimal. In my opinion, I believe that this vaccine should not become mandatory. The reason being is because I believe when it comes down to a choice regarding your own body, the choice should be up to you. The vaccine is something that I have not personally received, but I may be planning to get it soon. I would like to have that decision instead of someone else making it for me. Many of my friends and family support the idea that I have, and that may be because I am from a conservative location and family. Nevertheless, my point is that when it comes to many other situations like this one, the choice is normally up to the person. That is due to the fact that it is because most people would like to have control over what goes into their body, whether it is due to health issues, or just personal opinion. In an article that I came upon when researching this topic, the author stated “ When one person’s choice might harm others, it can be ethical for that choice to be limited. That’s why we have speed limits and stop signs; both limit your right to drive as you might wish, but they are necessary for public safety.” This is a great argument made by the author, but I do have some problems with her statement. I think the argument of ethicality is perfect for this dilemma, but my belief is opposite of hers. A law such as a speed limit or stop sign is meant to keep the general public safe from each other's mistakes. Not everyone is a great or respectful driver, so these rules must be there. When it comes to something being injected into my own body, the question of ethicality should be up to me, the person who is putting a substance they know very little about into themselves. Freedom is a word that most, if not all, Americans hold very dear to themselves. It is what our country was founded on. So, shouldn’t I have the freedom to choose in this situation? To conclude, this vaccine mandate has many supporters and opposers. Companies, Employees, Government, and the General populace are all affected by this in unique ways. The coronavirus spread has slowed greatly in the past year and this could be due to the mandate, but the main takeaway that I have seen is people are willing to get the vaccine regardless of a mandate or not. Therefore, having it mandated seems to cause more problems than solve in my opinion. Works Cited Basu, Malini. “Southwest Airlines Workers Protest Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate.” Wfaa.com, 18 Oct. 2021, https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/southwest-airlinesprotest-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/287-14a0e66d-feec-4536-991d-894b7074e0c6. Feuer, Will. “37 Percent of Unvaccinated Workers Say They Would Quit Job over Mandate: Survey.” New York Post, New York Post, 28 Oct. 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/10/28/37-of-unvaccinated-workers-would-quit-job-over-mandatesurvey/. GOV, NYC. “Covid-19: Vaccine.” COVID-19: Vaccine Key to NYC - NYC Health, 2022, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines-keytonyc.page. Mayer, Kathryn. “How Many Workers Have Quit to Avoid Vaccine Mandates?” HR Executive, 6 Feb. 2022, https://hrexecutive.com/how-many-unvaccinated-workers-havequit-to-avoid-vaccine-mandates/?eml=20211209&oly_enc_id=1905D8423578I8F. SHRM, SHRM. “Vaccine Mandate For Companies.” Scribd, Scribd, 2022, https://www.scribd.com/document/515493157/12531-URL. White House, Statements and Releases. “Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Announces Details of Two Major Vaccination Policies.” The White House, The United States Government, 4 Nov. 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statementsreleases/2021/11/04/fact-sheet-biden-administration-announces-details-of-two-majorvaccination-policies/. Wise, Alana. “Federal Court Blocks Biden's Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers.” NPR, NPR, 23 Jan. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/01/21/1074815838/federal-court-blocksbidens-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-workers. Wynia, Matthew K., et al. “Why a Universal Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate Is Ethical Today: Health Affairs Forefront.” Health Affairs, 3 Nov. 2021, https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20211029.682797/full/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20 the%20harmful%20effects%20that,strategies%20for%20limiting%20its%20spread.
