Vaccines Should Be Personal, Never Political

The following article has been authored by a non-clinician 

To Be, or Not Be, Vaccinated, That Is the Question

With a limited availability of COVID-19 vaccines now accessible, 192 million Americans have the first dose and 75 million are now fully vaccinated.

Yet, the debate about making vaccinations mandatory has only begun.

And — like the pandemic itself, expect this battle to be just as political.

Recently we’ve been hearing noise from companies like United Airlines wanting to make the vaccine mandatory for all employees.

United CEO Scott Kirby even encouraged other companies to do the same.

Southwest and American Airlines however have taken a more delicate stance saying that while they encourage employees to get vaccinated, there are no current plans to make the vaccination mandatory.

In a recent survey of C-Suite executives, 48 percent said they would not require employees to get vaccinated.

43 percent said they were still undecided.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just recently released guidance saying that employers can mandate the COVID-19 vaccine, but they must make reasonable accommodations to employees who reject the mandate because of a disability or religious beliefs.

But legal experts and scholars agree that requiring COVID-19 vaccinations opens the door to complicated legal issues and that companies and organizations are better off encouraging employees to get vaccinated through the use of incentives programs.

Here’s another thing to consider.

COVID-19 vaccines are operating under an Emergency Use Order (EUO), meaning that they are not yet FDA approved. And requiring a vaccination for a vaccine that is not FDA approved only further complicates the issue.

And just the other day, the Biden administration hit the pause button on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout because of a concern about blood clots that developed in the brain of six women after they got the shot.

For those in favor of making vaccines mandatory, this was certainly unwelcomed news for the movement. And not to mention other stories that are circulating about people getting COVID even after they are fully vaccinated.

They’re described as "breakthrough cases," and they are popping up around the country.

But that’s not all.

More than a dozen colleges and universities will now require students to get vaccinated before coming to school in the Fall.

And school leaders insist that these new mandates will make campuses safer and allow for in-person learning to resume.

Rutgers University was the first, but now schools like Duke University, Notre Dame, Brown, Cornell, Northeastern and others are doing the same.

And what do you do about international students who are vaccinated with a dose that doesn’t meet U.S. standards?

AstraZeneca for example is administered in the United Kingdom but similar to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, there are concerns about blood clots.

And while vaccination records are required at most, if not all colleges and universities as part of the enrollment process, the COVID vaccination presents some complexities and legal issues that the other vaccinations do not.

While some schools are making the COVID vaccination a requirement before returning to campus in the Fall, many schools like Judson University are leaving the decision to vaccinate up to the individual person.

As Judson President Dr. Gene Crume stated in one of his campus updates, getting vaccinated is a personal decision.

Last May, Judson made the decision that they would reopen in-person learning in the Fall, and so far, it’s been a relatively successful school year.

Protocols are followed and additional safety guidelines remain in place.

That same month during the height of the pandemic, Judson’s President penned an op-ed in the Washington Examiner making the case as to why schools should reopen in the Fall.

And it’s pretty compelling.

"College leaders are accustomed to dealing with traumatic events," he wrote. "Meningitis B" is an annual concern on college campuses. We understand the importance of rapid testing, tracking, and tracing. We hold tabletop drills and review crisis protocols for natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires."

In the end, getting vaccinated is a personal decision. And mandating students or employees to show proof of vaccination will only create more issues.

Everybody wants to get back to a revised version of normal. Some just have different ideas on what that looks like and how to get there.

Hopefully this discussion proves to be less political than the pandemic itself.

Mark Vargas is a trusted adviser and close confidant to some of the highest profile political and business leaders in America. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Vargas served as a civilian within the Office of the Secretary of Defense on a special Iraq task force. In 2009 he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal. His civilian service included 14 trips to Baghdad. Follow Mark on Twitter: @markavargas. Read Mark Vargas's Reports — Click Here Now.