The Mandatory Vaccinate Debate for Employment Heats Up

The Mandatory Vaccinate Debate for Employment Heats Up

The entire COVID situation has been very confusing for many Americans. Generally speaking, most Americans paid attention to what was happening and tried to do what they were told by people announcing themselves as doctors and medical officials. However, the information has changed so much that it has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and what people are calling "vaccine hesitancy." Even the definition of "herd immunity," which has been known for decades, suddenly changed entirely in early 2021 to basically imply that everyone needs to be vaccinated for the principle to have an effect on the population. Many are scared and confused, and a lot of employers do not care and are instead demanding that their employees get vaccinated or else lose their job.

This is a very bold move, to put it lightly, at a time where over 10 million Americans are outright refusing to work and we have the biggest labor shortage happening in America's history. Whether people are refusing to work due to poor working conditions and low pay, or whether it's because they're getting more in government benefits than on their paychecks, the fact remains that there is a shortage. And that many employers would mandate the vaccine and risk losing more of their workforce is a bold move. As of yet, most of the only places that are actively mandating vaccines are different healthcare industries, like some nursing homes, hospitals and the VA. However, more and more employers like large companies are leaning toward mandatory vaccinations. A few have already mandated them, such as food companies and airlines.

Tyson Foods, for example, which is one of the nation's largest chicken companies, is mandating that their 120,000 employees all get both doses and the vaccine booster, or else they are not allowed to work in their facilities. Tyson Foods, while not a job that's going to make anyone rich, is an employer that typically pays over the minimum wage. Their lowest starting wage is $11 hourly, and the average is $14 throughout the company. So it's not as if people will be giving up a starter-level minimum wage job if they back out of the vaccine mandate.

This is yet another topic in America that has really split people right down the middle, causing even more polarization than we already deal with on a daily basis. If mainstream and social media told the tale alone, the overwhelming consensus is that employees should be held down and forcibly given the vaccine, or not only lose their jobs but also their homes, their children, and their ability to live in the country. There are some pretty big, verified social media accounts that are outright calling for ousting people from society entirely if they do not take the vaccines, such as Billy Baldwin and Alyssa Milano. In the grand scheme of America, these few people are irrelevant. Though on social media, they're able to whip hundreds of thousands of their fans up into a frenzy. We know that social media is the most powerful form of media, as even Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook admits, that social media sways elections.

A lot of people have been calling on the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) to step in and help, but over the past decade or so, the ACLU has operated 100% as an arm of the Democratic party. That is not to levy any insult against the organization; it is merely pointing out the fact that the once freedom-centered ACLU has been taken over entirely by corporations, who shill for politicians, and thus needing to get a vaccine to feed yourself is no longer considered a violation of one's civil liberties. The organization has spoken up a few times against proposed vaccine passports, but seems to agree that employers can mandate vaccinations.

Questions That Won't Be Answered

As a lot of new information about vaccine hesitancy has been released online and in the media, most people just want questions answered. They're not these ultra-right-wing "Anti-vaxxers," as media and politicians malign them. They are 50% of America's entire healthcare industry who refuse this vaccine due to not enough questions being answered about it. They are teachers and lawyers. In fact, according to information straight from the CDC itself, which is the organization begging people to get the vaccine, the most vaccine-hesitant group in America right now is comprised of people with doctorates. That's right; the American PhDs are the ones refusing this vaccine.

Perhaps if media and medical experts were more open to answering questions and having a dialogue, instead of just shouting and banning all dissent, more people would consider the vaccine.