Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a debate about vaccine mandates for companies. Many businesses, even those that do not deal with medical services, have introduced rules to exclude unvaccinated workers from workplace activities. This essay argues that worker vaccination should not be mandatory because it leads to unjust firings, makes information on employees’ health and beliefs less private, and does not consider natural immunity and its effects.
Argument 1, Supporting Points, and Counterargument
Mandatory vaccines cause people to lose jobs and limit their ability to support families. First, when all workers are expected to be fully vaccinated, it leads to discrimination and affects some employees who can be their families’ only sources of financial support. In New York City, around 3,000 municipal employees have been threatened with getting fired if they refuse to get vaccinated (Fitzsimmons). This can affect both these employees’ personal situations and citizens’ access to services. Second, firing people who can do some work and wish to perform their duties is not the best decision morally because it will create effects their children as well (Bravest for Choice). Third, mandates cause additional difficulties for companies since they will have to spend time and money to replace these workers fast enough and without stopping to deliver services (Fitzsimmons). The counterargument for this point is that companies do not want firings; it is the workers who decide to quit (Fitzsimmons). However, employees who want to be free to make choices would disagree with it.
Argument 2, Supporting Points, and Counterargument
When vaccination is mandatory, workers have to report private information related to their personal life and health issues. To start with, vaccination records are treated as confidential information, but employees have to make it open for companies to avoid being fired (American Academy of Family Physicians). Continue, some workers can be unsure that vaccination will benefit them or have specific private reasons to refuse vaccination, for instance, diseases or religious beliefs. Finally, employees with good reasons to stay unvaccinated, for example, allergies, have to prove it, but this is not the type of information employers should be supposed to know (American Academy of Family Physicians). The counterargument for this position is that reporting this information is not obligatory, and employees can just quit if they want to keep it private. This attitude could reduce the problem of privacy, but it strengthens the issue of firings.
Argument 3, Supporting Points, and Counterargument
Natural immunity offers protection against the said infection, and it needs to be considered to weaken vaccine mandates. To start with, medical experts agree that natural immunity protects the body against severe COVID-19 (Magarakis and Kelen). However, workers who have been infected are still recommended to get vaccines (Magarakis and Kelen). Moreover, to get immunity from vaccines, one usually needs more than one dose, and natural immunity develops faster than that (Magarakis and Kelen). Finally, based on this, people who have had the infection should be allowed to keep working without overwhelming their immune system due to vaccination. One counterargument is that natural immunity might weaken faster than after vaccination (Magarakis and Kelen). Despite this, the power of essential immunity is not called into question.
Conclusion
Finally, mandatory vaccination for workers is negative because it causes mass firings against people’s will, ignores essential immunity, and makes workers report their private information. It goes without saying that vaccines are important, but workers should be able to make informed decisions because it is their health. U.S. society would require a lot of work to create a solution that could protect the nation without creating inequalities.
Works Cited
American Academy of Family Physicians. “COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates and Exemptions”. 2021. Web.
Bravest for Choice. “Let Them Work.” BravestforChoice. Web.
Fitzsimmons, Emma G. “Nearly 3,000 N.Y.C. Workers Have a Day to Get Vaccinated or Be Fired”. The New York Times. 2022. Web.
Maragakis, Lisa, and Gabor David Kelen. “COVID Natural Immunity: What You Need to Know”. John Hopkins Medicine. 2021. Web.