In December 2020, then-President-elect Joe Biden told Americans that he did not think vaccines should be mandatory. Since then, he’s changed his tune.
Just last month, he directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency order for employers to develop and implement COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Some state and local governments have issued their own mandates. Many businesses have not only imposed requirements on their employees, but now require vaccines of their customers.
To prevent this madness, and the growing contempt for others it engenders, I introduced the Vaccine Passport Prevention Act. In the meantime, courageous Republican governors like Greg Gianforte of Montana and Greg Abbott of Texas have banned vaccine passports and certain vaccine requirements. Unfortunately, the rhetoric has become increasingly divisive, marginalizing the concerns of people who are skeptical about receiving a coronavirus vaccine.
Recently, a constituent asked about vaccine hesitancy: "If (they) are safe and effective, why shouldn't (they) be mandated like many other vaccines?" Many people who support vaccines, and have taken them, oppose mandates, but why are so many opposed right now?
Here are several of the most common objections shared with me.
Natural Immunity. The question of natural immunity accounts for a significant portion of objections. Normally, recovering from a communicable disease is recognized as imparting immunity. No vaccine required. Multiple studies, including this one from Israel (https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-vaccination-remains-vital), show that recovering from COVID-19 confers measurable protection against serious infection.