The World has faced many adverse impacts of Covid-19 in almost all sectors of life. And now, when the vaccine has finally been developed at a record speed by several companies in the world, there is a debate on whether it should be mandated or not. The following essay outlines the several dimensions of this issue and proposes that for public health and safety, this vaccination requirement can have a positive result.
It is evident from history that there have been many outbreaks, such as the Covid-19 in history, with their impacts a lot more severe than the current pandemic. And as soon as the vaccines were developed against those diseases, they became mandatory for people. Consider, for example, a law was passed for all citizens aged more than 21 years to get vaccinated against smallpox in 1901 Cambridge, and if someone did not obey this law, they would be fined (Kramer). There are many other similar instances as well. For instance, military troops in almost all countries get vaccinations against the most common diseases, and sometimes, it becomes a requirement for soldiers to join military exercises. The same case applies to healthcare professionals engaged in different medical activities who are vaccinated against measles, rubella, chickenpox, etc., and this is again the requirement for healthcare professionals to join hospitals. These are even the basic conditions of employment in almost all other industries.
It can also be noted that almost all other professional fields, even salons, restaurants and arenas, demand a certain type of get-up from their customers and clients, without which they do not offer their services. So, this makes all such private institutions and industries implement some kind of requirement that seems beneficial for the safety of the business as long as they are not based on discrimination. So, mandating the COVID-19 vaccination completely aligns with the ethical objectives of these institutions.
However, there are some other sectors as well where the government is the sole authority to make something mandatory or not, for example, a national sports event or some other festivals and even the public transport which are arranged by the government authorities. So, in such cases, the government has the right to impose anything essential for public health and safety. Now that the vaccine has finally been developed and is being distributed rapidly in all the states, the government can, at some point, make it essential for people if they want to join a public event. However, we can also observe that some people are running campaigns against vaccines that can lead to many side effects, but such claims are often not supported by any empirical pieces of evidence (Kramer). So, as long as we do not have any strong statements against vaccinations, people should be provided with an accessible channel to get vaccinated. Once it is commercially available at a very low cost or even no cost, it should become mandatory. This is the only way we can effectively deal with current challenging circumstances and move towards a normal life.
To conclude, it can be assessed that vaccination as the requirement to perform certain activities or participate in a different section of society is already established. Therefore, making Covid-19 mandatory does not pose any kind of challenges. Also, since governments are putting their utmost efforts into providing free vaccinations to the public, which itself is very intended to get vaccinated as soon as possible, making vaccination mandatory becomes essential (Kramer). Therefore, Caplan said, “I think the majority of people will want it. And if the majority of people want it, you won’t have to mandate it—they’ll be looking for it” (Kramer).
Works Cited
Kramer, Jillian. “COVID-19 Vaccines Could Become Mandatory. Here’s How It Might Work | Petrie-Flom Center.” The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, 2020, petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/resources/article/covid-19-vaccines-could-become-mandatory-heres-how-it-might-work. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.
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