By TiOnka Writez
On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed the executive order to mandate the vaccination of all federal employees and employees operating with one hundred people within the private sector by 12/08/2021. The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued guidelines. Unvaccinated employees are to submit a negative COVID-19 test result every 72 hours before reporting for duty. In true American fashion, the edge of a life-altering event stirs dissent. We understand the need to stop the virus. But the plan of tampering with the working classes’ lively hood is a bit extreme.
The three most common vaccine questions are:
1) Are you vaccinated?
2) When will you get vaccinated?
3) Why won’t you get vaccinated?
Depending on who is asking, you may need to ere on the side of caution when preparing to answer. The decision to vaccinate or not is causing a rift in home and work environments worldwide. The unvaccinated now face hostility. How did we, as a “united” nation, get here?
Now, I know what you are thinking. This COVID-19 virus is no joke. Humans have never faced this before. And you cannot fathom why anyone would object to a scientifically formulated and tested solution. However, The unvaccinated have real issues to consider. Initially there was confusing and mixed messaging. For instance, medical professionals advise patients to take the “shot” to save lives. But a liability waiver is necessary to proceed with vaccine administering. And multiple contracting cases and deaths by COVID-19 are on record in vaccinated individuals. Warnings of use labels, of course, are available on all over-the-counter and prescribed medications. But the difference here is choice and the ability to proceed with informed consent.
Related: Vaccination is not a personal choice
The first amendment (“Freedom of Speech”) means freedom of expression. If individuals express their desire not to receive the vaccination, accept their decision. Amidst the debt ceiling debate, now is not the ideal time to threaten Americans’ job security. Stifling employee wage-earning potential and restricting medical coverage for COVID-19 testing is counterproductive to replenishing a depleted economy.
We should develop a solution that considers the position of all parties involved. The most relevant question here is, who or what constitutes a valuable person?” The answer is simple; every living person holds value. And their opinion matters. Don’t bully or shame people for staying strong in their conviction. Placing restrictions on employment is not the best create trust and cooperation with the citizens you are attempting to save.
To vaccinate more people, appeal to what matters to them. Implement a solution to address daily issues like the unstable workforce or unjustly inflated insurance rates in certain areas. Address their concerns without gaslighting them, overlooking how they perceive your message or threatening them with excessive force.
You forgot to mention the impact your choice NOT to vaccinate has on family, friends co-workers and society in general. The risk of illness, death or infecting others is much higher in the unvaccinated than vaccinated and causes longer delays in getting the pandemic under control.
In other words, to protect the feelings of those who are oppressing us, we can’t confront them or speak the truth about anything. What a load!
This article presents some bad faith arguments against vaccination, and none of the good faith ones. The true face of this debate is a list of pros and cons, and the pros of getting vaccinated simply outweigh all cons. But you don’t say any of that. Mentioning bad reactions to the vaccine is a classic bad faith argument, especially since you don’t make any mention of the exponentially greater numbers of deaths due to the virus. It’s .0006% vs. .23%, so comparing the two only shows one’s bad faith (or willful ignorance).
This is a fluff piece and black source media is better than this. This is a great topic, essential even. I was hoping to read about ways to approach people with facts, and how to deal with their ignorance. Too bad this article is just fluff, feeding the misinformation war.