Turn on the news today and you’ll likely hear that we are fighting a pandemic of the unvaccinated, according to Joe Biden. Coronavirus first appeared late in 2019 and took the world by storm last year. It sparked fear in the hearts of people and prompted worldwide lock downs as the death rate climbed. To date more than 680,000 lives have been lost to Covid-19 in the United States alone.
New health policies were created in the name of public safety and a slew of restrictions written in by executive order. Unfortunately, the effort to battle the world-wide health crisis has divided the nation even further and sparked a national debate in the name of health.
Vaccines have been made available to help protect against covid-19 and over 180 million people have been fully vaccinated to date in America. Unfortunately, people on one side of the great divide do not feel this is an adequate number. They are looking for a 100 percent vaccination rate in the name of stopping the spread of covid.
Covid Vaccine Modeled After Original Strain
Here’s the thing, though. Full vaccination does not guarantee protection against the coronavirus. Fully vaccinated individuals can still contract the virus and become mortally ill, though the chances are lower. They also continue to contribute to the spread of the virus.
An August report released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) based on data from Massachusetts showed that nearly 75 percent of new coronavirus cases studied occurred in vaccinated people.
This could be, at least in part, since the current vaccines are based on the original strain first discovered in Wuhan. There are now multiple variants spreading throughout the world, with the Delta variant being currently dominant.
Viruses change based on the way they circulate through a population. They rely on hosts, which are the cells of the body the viruses enter. It’s a natural progression that tells us covid-19 will likely not be eradicated with just a few vaccines.
The vaccines we have to fight the coronavirus are still relatively new. While they are serving their immediate purpose, it’s clear that something more needs to be done. However, vaccine mandates are not the answer.
The three available covid vaccines in the United States do have potential side effects, some of them serious. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that the benefits outweigh the risks of vaccination, although people should make that decision for themselves.
Federal Mandates Not the Answer
The Biden administration recently announced new vaccine mandates for federal employees, government contractors, and companies with 100 employees or more. Healthcare workers and teachers are also required to be vaccinated or face the possibility of termination.
Private companies who don’t comply with vaccine mandates face fines exceeding $13k. While the intention is understandable, the execution is incredibly flawed. American citizens are being forced to receive a vaccine in the name of health while migrants and refugees pouring in through the Southern border are not.
How is it that vaccine mandates are imposed on citizens of a ‘free country’ but not on the guests and resident aliens who are coming to stay? It doesn’t seem that these measures will do much in the way controlling covid-19 or keeping society safe. As a country, we cannot eradicate an illness that continues to pour in through the border daily.
Big brother is overstepping his bounds in the private lives of American citizens and many people have legitimate reasons for not getting vaccinated. For instance, my husband has a severe allergy to some ingredients listed in the vaccines making them extremely dangerous for him. Should he be punished because he can’t get vaccinated?
According to the current rhetoric, he would not be allowed to work for a large company or government contractor. The Biden administration should not be allowed to directly interfere with someone’s ability to support their family because of opposing views on vaccination or circumstances beyond control.
Vaccine Mandates Exacerbating Issues
The new federal vaccine mandate will likely cost thousands of people their jobs and those positions will need to be filled. This seems like a foolish move in an already tight labor market where teachers and healthcare workers are among the most important labor force. These are trained professionals who are not easily replaced.
Many hospitals are near capacity and some schools still remain closed. It seems that we should be supporting our educators and healthcare workers now more than ever. These are the people who are training our children and caring for our sick loved ones.
This is the time when we need to come together. Government mandates and forced vaccines that don’t prevent the spread of the virus are not the answer. Levying large fees against private companies and firing healthcare workers who choose to exercise individual freedoms will not make anything better.
America is better than this. We may have our backs against the wall, but we are not fighting a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We are fighting a pandemic of false rhetoric and the unknown. Covid-19 probably won’t be eradicated anytime soon and none of these crazy mandates are going to help.
