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“The 360” shows you various perspectives on the main debates and debates of the day.
What is happening
The promising results of clinical trials of three coronavirus vaccines have brought new hope to end the pandemic. But a vaccine, or a combination of vaccines, won’t work if people refuse to take it.
Experts estimate that at least 60% of Americans will need to be vaccinated to prevent the virus from spreading to the rest of the population. The question of how to achieve this goal raises a number of logistical and ethical questions. Among the thorniest is the question of whether the vaccine should be mandatory.
A universal national immunization mandate is unlikely. President Trump has said he will not publish any, and President-elect Joe Biden has said the idea has merit, but will be difficult to implement. Individual states, however, have the legal power to make a vaccine mandatory. All 50 states require children to receive a certain number of shots to attend public school. Virginia’s health commissioner said in August he intends to issue a statewide warrant when a vaccine is ready. Some governors have said they will block any attempts to impose vaccinations.
No public official or scientist advocates the scenario posed by anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists in which officials go door to door to forcibly vaccinate American citizens. In reality, a warrant would likely be enforced with some sort of sanction, such as a fine, or as a prerequisite for access to a government service.
Why there is debate
Supporters of a vaccination mandate say it would be the best way to ensure that herd immunity is achieved as quickly as possible, which could save thousands of lives. Waiting for people to get vaccinated on purpose may not work, they say, given the high level of vaccine skepticism in the country. The enormous public good that will flow from collective immunity outweighs the small violation of individual liberty that comes with a vaccination warrant, some medical ethicists say.
Others are arguing for targeted vaccination mandates for certain groups most likely to contract and spread the virus, such as healthcare workers or personnel in the service industry. Some who support the idea of limited terms say it is better for the requirements to come from private companies than from the government.
The idea of a vaccination mandate faces opposition on several fronts. Some conservative and libertarian critics believe that demanding medical treatment is a violation of personal freedom. Others say that a vaccination warrant would be impossible to fulfill and could even cause a backlash that would make people even less likely to be vaccinated.
And after
The first coronavirus vaccine could receive US government approval in less than two weeks, although limited supplies mean decisions on vaccination mandates could come much later.
When the vaccine starts to become more readily available, it could spark a heated debate over the rights of individual companies to demand that their employees or even their customers be vaccinated. At least three major airlines, for example, have suggested they could require all passengers to provide proof of vaccination before they can fly.
Perspectives
A vaccination mandate would help end the pandemic
“To put this scourge behind us, I think our nation should, for the first time, demand that all Americans – or at least schoolchildren and workers in direct contact – be vaccinated against this coronavirus. – Lauren S. Grossman, Stat
Tough government diktats will only provoke backlash
“Evidence-based persuasion, which is the basis of good science, is our best hope for stopping COVID-19 and restoring the personal freedom that has been eroded by the government and societal response. – Zach Weissmueller, reason
A warrant would cause very little harm to individuals while providing enormous public good
“The less tedious it is for an individual to do something that prevents harm to others, and the greater the harm avoided, the stronger the ethical reason for making it mandatory.” – Alberto Giubilini, The conversation
Vaccines should only be required for certain groups
“Making something mandatory can often backfire. But you could say that if you are going to work in a home for the aged or have exposure to elderly people, it would be necessary. – Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates at Bloomberg
A campaign promoting the benefits of the vaccine would be more effective
“We already have enough public paranoia out there. It’s a task that calls for a public persuasion campaign – “This is how the vaccine works, this is how it can affect your body, this is why it is important that everyone gets vaccinated.” – Jim Geraghty, National Review
The best way to promote immunization is to make sure people have access to health care
“The current pandemic reminds us that governments cannot ignore poverty and social exclusion if they are to prevent and manage this virus, others undefeated and those yet to come.” – Julie Leask, Nature
Any sanction would disproportionately harm the poor
“By replacing a mandate with strong incentives and programs promoting the benefits of vaccines and providing resources that make it easy for people to receive them, we would avoid harming the poor and disadvantaged.” – Y. Tony Yang and Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, The Hill
Any mandate must be carried out by private companies
“Failure to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines are used would unnecessarily prolong the pandemic. Private initiatives creating narrow mandates that target those most likely to benefit from vaccines, alongside voluntary vaccination, will maximize public health while minimizing the threat to individual freedoms. – Joel M. Zinberg, Wall Street Journal
Supplies will be so limited, debating a vaccine mandate is pointless
“Request [COVID-19] vaccines will exceed supply for some time. This will be the case in all countries and could last for years, if not indefinitely, around the world. As such, I suggest everyone to forget about the population-wide mandatory vaccination. “- Director of University College London Genetics Institute Francois Balloux
There is no effective way to enforce a vaccination mandate
“Overall, our immunization schedule starts when we are kids, and we need to show proof of immunization to go to school. It’s a more complicated administrative way to have a vaccination mandate that applies to adults because there is no common point of intersection with the state or with a state agency like us. do it with the children. … The obligation to vaccinate people is only as effective as how to ensure that they are. – Joanne Rosen, expert in health policy and management
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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images
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