“…when it concerns the greater good of a whole people, we have to be able to put selfishness behind and do what is best for the community”

   Emily Thomas, Opinion Editor

  It’s the fall of 2021, and COVID-19 is still something we are dealing with — locally and globally. In order to combat the longevity of COVID, many corporations, colleges, school systems and other organizations have begun to mandate vaccines for all employees and customers. While many people are opposed to vaccine mandates, these mandates are essential if we as a community and country wish to finally get past COVID.

   First off, in order to really see a dramatic decrease in COVID cases and transmission rates, we must first reach a state of herd immunity, which occurs once a population has met a certain percentage of people immune. This percentage is different for each disease or virus. For COVID, specifically the Delta variant, herd immunity is met when 80% of people or more are immune. Before the Delta variant, when the original strain was more prevalent, this percentage was substantially lower. Because Delta is many times more infectious, this population percentage needs to be higher to keep up with higher infection rates.

   While 80% immunity might sound like a difficult number to obtain, there is a very effective solution to achieving that number and that solution is vaccines. Vaccines have been proven time and time again to be over 90% effective at providing immunity against COVID-19, even in people who have obtained antibodies naturally. That means that people who are vaccinated have mostly suffered a lessened severity of symptoms, given a break through case, because of their immunity. Most importantly however, people who are vaccinated have a stronger inability to transmit the virus, which is key in eradicating COVID.

   Vaccines are the most efficient and practical means of reaching herd immunity. For one, relying upon vaccines as opposed to letting the virus potentially run its full course costs immensely less lives. Data has shown that between 98-99% of those who die of COVID are unvaccinated, so following the vaccine route is less costly in terms of lives.

   Second off, speeding up herd immunity with vaccines will have much better effects on the economy. For instance, cities like New Orleans are pushing proof of vaccination to eat at restaurants. This is having a significant, positive impact on many businesses who can now increase capacity of those who can eat inside. Additionally, it makes customers who were on the fence about eating out, more comfortable.

   Of course, there are always some exceptions. If vaccines are being mandated in say a college, that college will not make someone who is allergic to a vaccine or vaccine ingredient take the vaccine, because there will be serious negative effects for that person. However, for the majority of healthy people – who a vaccine will only help – they should be required to make up that over 80% immunity.

   There are certainly times when things should not be mandated. Every other year, mandating things like flu shots would seem restrictive. However, when it concerns the greater good of a whole people, we have to be able put selfishness behind and do what is best for the community. COVID has had immensely greater effects on society than any other virus – like the flu – and desperate times call for desperate measures. We have suffered long enough due to COVID, and we finally have the long awaited solution to fix our problems. 

“…as American citizens, we have the right to make our own personal medical choices”

   Belle Keel, Staff Writer

  In a perfect world there would be no sickness or disease, no death, and a lot more freedom. However, we do not live in a perfect world. There are so many choices we must make in our everyday lives.

   Our views are influenced by the media, politicians, and just about everything else. We are surrounded by people telling us what to believe and what to do. America is a democratic society where we get to choose who we put in office in the hopes that they would make wise choices and create laws to make America better as a whole.

   However, this does not mean they should have the power to completely control their citizens. Under Florida State Law, HIPAA (Health Insurance Probability and Accountability act) doctors cannot share or reveal any of your personal medical information without your consent. Florida Governor DeSantis is upholding this law by not allowing businesses to fire employees who refuse to get the COVID vaccine. It should be a personal choice if you want to get a new and not fully tested vaccine.

   “People should not be cast aside because they make a medical decision for themselves,” says DeSantis. Asking for proof of any vaccine would be no different form asking for other very personal medical information which of course, is a clear violation of HIPAA. Of course, if you are comfortable with sharing this information than you may, but it is completely up to you.

   While some vaccines are mandated for babies when they are born, these vaccines have been well tested for us to see the long-term effects and decide that they are an overall good thing. These vaccines are for more serious diseases with much higher death rates and infection rates like Ebola and measles.

   Governor DeSantis has made a law banning local businesses in Florida from requiring proof of vaccination. Even if we were required to show proof of vaccination, it would be almost completely unenforceable. Many people would “protect” their rights and show a forged vaccine card. Even for the other vaccines that are mandatory, it is not required to show proof of vaccination to enter a store to buy food or other necessities.

   In twenty-eight states, including Florida, wearing masks is up to local discretion. In five states the mask mandate is banned entirely. And in fifteen states masks are only mandated for some students. In Florida specifically, the mask mandate is up to local discretion. Why would this be any different with the COVID vaccine?

   The flu, for example, has very similar death rates to COVID and is only slightly less severe when counting the average number of people infected by each sick person. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) – a much more lethal disease which killed about one in every 10 infected people, is very similar to COVID. In fact, SARS and COVID share about 80% of the RNA genomes. SARS has a considerably higher fatality rate and a tiny bit higher infection rate than COVID-19 and it is not a vaccine that is mandated.

   In conclusion, while there is a lot of grey area about where the vaccine mandate is concerned, I believe as American citizens, we have the right to make our own personal medical choices.“