Since March 30, the government has sent out a vaccine that’s supposed to prevent you from getting the coronavirus, but you can still get coronavirus if you get the vaccine. There have been over 100 million people getting the vaccine across the United States. Recently, there have been people who don’t want to take the vaccine and it’s affecting their ability to go out, go to work, or go to school. Even the government has found ways to “persuade” people to take the vaccine. Although the COVID-19 vaccine was created to help prevent the disease, it should not be forced on people if they are afraid of getting a possibly dangerous side effect.

Why People Don’t Want The Vaccine

There are people in the United States who don’t want to take the vaccine and that’s because they don’t see the point of getting it. They feel like if the vaccine can’t prevent you from getting coronavirus, then it doesn’t make sense to get it. A doctor named Anthony Fauci has said, “Vaccinated people who ultimately get infected, that they are generally without symptoms or minimally symptomatic. However, it is clear that they are capable of transmitting the infection to uninfected individuals.” People also find it weird that the government would release the vaccine so early. After all, there are many other vaccines that took years to develop and prevent diseases, so the COVID-19 vaccine should not be released so early. Another thing, there are people who are immune to catching the coronavirus, so they feel like there’s no need to take the vaccine.

Government’s Response

After the vaccine came out, interesting things have been happening on the news, one being the government offering to give people $100 if they decide to take the COVID-19 Vaccine. It’s even currently happening in NYC, with Mayor de Blasio giving residents of NYC $100 if they apply for the first dose of the vaccine. Some people feel like it’s kind of strange to do this because people should decide when they are ready to take the vaccine, and taking the vaccine for $100 is like getting a grand prize for it. The government never really pushed this hard for any other vaccine that doctors gave to prevent other diseases. However, only students had to be vaccinated for other diseases to go to school, so the government never actually had the civilians take vaccinations to go out. 

Jobs And Schools 

Now that there’s a vaccine, Mayor de Blasio has decided to announce that all city workers must take the vaccine to go back to work or get tested for the coronavirus every week. In response, people find it unfair because there are people who still don’t want to get the vaccine and feel like it’s being forced upon them. It feels like if the employees don’t want to do it, they could get fired for it. It’s understandable that the government wants the coronavirus to stop spreading, but it doesn’t mean that it’s right to mandate the vaccine to be able to go out or go to work. Especially when the COVID-19 vaccine isn’t even going to stop the coronavirus from spreading across the country. I think that the government should not mandate the COVID-19 vaccine yet because it’s not a cure; it’s just a vaccine that’s supposed to “prevent” people from getting the coronavirus. Hopefully, when the government has an actual cure for the coronavirus, many more people will take the cure instead of  being forced to take the vaccine that won’t stop COVID-19 from spreading. Likewise, NYC schools are requiring teachers to take the vaccine or get tested weekly, and the students also have to get the vaccine.

The Dangerous Side Effects From COVID-19 Vaccine

One of the reasons people don’t want to take the vaccine is the side effects. When the vaccine came out, Americans were aware of the vaccine having side effects. Even though they were mostly small, not serious side effects, there were also rare, but dangerous side effects that can come from the vaccine. For example, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been on the news lately and it has a few dangerous side effects from their vaccine, one of which is called “Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare, neurological, paralysing, autoimmune disorder.” Since June 30, there have been 100 reports of GBS out of 12.8 million people who have taken the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine has also given a rare side effect of “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).” Unfortunately, the vaccine can also cause another rare effect of “higher risk of heart inflammation” from myocarditis, particularly in young adults.

COVID-19 Vaccine Should Be A Choice

The government did a good thing by creating a vaccine that can help prevent the coronavirus, but the vaccine should always be a choice for people to get or not. New York City has mandated the vaccination around gyms, bars, workplaces, schools, etc.; you can’t really go into places without showing a CDC vaccination card. As far as I know, the government is allowing employees to go to work as long as they go take the COVID-19 test every week. However, the government is making it look like you can’t go anywhere unless you take the vaccine.

 Better Methods Than the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Currently, there’s nothing to do about the vaccine mandate, but there can be some possible solutions to this kind of problem. A possible solution can be to allow civilians to take the vaccine when they are ready and allow people to enter into places without a vaccination card and with a mask. Vaccinated people can go in too and should be wearing a mask as well because they can still get the coronavirus with the vaccine. Also, the government can do that with jobs and schools too. Another solution can be instead of getting tested every week, it can be once every two weeks. Also, if it’s negative, let them go to work with a mask and social distance. Even the vaccinated people should get tested for the coronavirus too since you can still get the coronavirus with the vaccine.