PackPA2015 said:
GuerrillaPack said:
I know this should be obvious, but it bears repeating. There are very legitimate reasons for people to refuse vaccination. Many people, for example, are allergic to or otherwise know they can be harmed by vaccines. Other people have religious beliefs that prohibit them from taking vaccines.
People have the right to refuse vaccines. People have the right to decide what is injected into their own bodies. "My body my choice", right? People should be able to refuse them for ANY reason.
The CDC and government is now trying to classify people who choose not to be injected as akin to second-class citizens.
This is true. I have a personal example. Our lady that works in our lab has religious reasons to refuse all vaccinations including the one for COVID-19. She understands her risks working in a medical clinic. She is required by our hospital system to wear a mask during flu season since she does not receive the influenza vaccine. She enjoys it, because it gives her an opportunity to discuss her faith when patients ask why she has to wear a mask.
Now, clearly, not every interaction will go that way. The majority of the individuals who do not want the vaccine (at least in my area and from what I hear from other providers in other areas) are not typically the ones who are masking anyways so they are not exactly following the mandates in the first place. Now, the ones who decline for health or religious reasons, that is a different ball game. Not sure how you address it without there being somewhat of a divide, honestly.
As I mentioned in the past, my son's school (Wake Forest) will require all students to be vaccinated by the time classes resume in the Fall. The two exemptions are for health reasons (some people are not able to be vaccinated) and "documented" religious exemptions. Just saying your religion does not allow it is not enough justification. You have to submit paperwork to the university with documentation as to the reason it is not allowed.
His university can do this and it
is Constitutional. His university is a private institution and as a private institution, they can require it as long as you provide the exemptions I listed. If students do not like it, they are free to go to another school. Of course, my son is vaccinated. He got the vaccine a week before I did. The same thing applies to private businesses. They can require it, as long as they provide the exemptions I mentioned.
Personally, I am not afraid to catch the virus from an unvaccinated person. Encouraging people to be vaccinated has nothing to do with my fear of catching the virus from others. My reasons are more scientific and less personal:
1) The more people we get vaccinated, the less places the virus has to go. We know from the virology that limiting the virus's ability to find a home will limit its ability to mutate and if you can limit mutation, you can decrease the chance the virus will allude the vaccines.
2) Unvaccinated people who get infected have the potential to spread it to older people who also chose to not get vaccinated and it is the older population I am most concerned about getting infected.
We know from the science and data that vaccinated people are unlikely to transmit the virus to others. Additionally, we know the vaccines are extremely effective in preventing infection. Here is a link to a recent study, showing the effectiveness of the vaccine to limit transmission of the virus for vaccinated people:
Association Between Vaccination With BNT162b2 and Incidence of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Health Care Workers
