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What do we ethically owe those who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine?
https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0117-owe-the-unvaccinated-20210115-uqqip6jzk5dqpgm7ivsen7lucy-story.htmlWhat do we ethically owe those who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine?
By Jacob M. Appel
For The Baltimore Sun | Jan 15, 2021 at 6:00 AM
...
We will once again face a choice, individually and collectively, between saving lives and preserving freedoms. Only, for many, the tables will be turned. Individuals who reject public health measures, including vaccines, in the name of liberty will soon face an ongoing risk of fatal disease as those who are vaccinated assert their own rights to gather and travel. The only difference is that, unlike with masks or social distancing, the unvaccinated will be able to protect themselves fully with a shot that is both safe and free. In fact, the willfully unvaccinated may continue to threaten the health of the vaccinated by requiring hospital space for COVID-19 care, as well as health care resources that might be spent otherwise, such as upon developing cures for cancer.
Of course, some Americans may have more understandable reasons for doubting vaccination than others. African-Americans, for instance, may be hesitant to trust a public health community that so recently treated them as guinea pigs. Fortunately, by the time the vaccine is fully available, tens of millions of Americans will likely have been vaccinated safely. Waiting for additional evidence of efficacy, as recently suggested by singer Dionne Warwick, may not be ideal, but doing so is far different from outright refusal.
A more complicated challenge are those rare individuals who, for underlying medical reasons, might not be able to tolerate vaccination through no fault of their own. Society has a duty to accommodate these individuals in some way but not by imposing drastic restrictions on others until herd immunity is achieved. By analogy, airlines often ban peanuts on flights to protect passengers with severe peanut allergies, but nobody has suggested that peanuts be removed from store shelves. How to protect these unvaccinatables, to the degree they exist, will prove a quandary, and might justify widespread compulsory vaccination. Travel abroad may also raise concerns about our duties in nations where free vaccines are not fully available.
Some asks are easy for example: Wear a mask. Even those who are vaccinated may be willing to do so indefinitely. In contrast, once vaccines are fully available, those who accept them are likely going to refuse to postpone their family celebrations or curtail their business endeavors any further. The past 10 months have displayed how difficult it is to generate solidarity in a country divided not only by politics, but by values, science and facts. In another 10 months, many vaccinated Americans may have a clear answer to what they owe the unvaccinated: absolutely nothing at all.
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161,232,483 Americans are fully vaccinated as of today
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What do we ethically owe those who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine? (Original Post)
dalton99a
Jul 2021
OP
The Magistrate
(95,247 posts)1. Nothing Is Owed A Voluntarily Un-Vaccinated Adult, Sir
They are a menace to others.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)3. +1000!
I_UndergroundPanther
(12,470 posts)2. KnR
stillcool
(32,626 posts)4. Love a story with a happy ending
don't have to look far to find those responsible, right from the get-go, and still.
ret5hd
(20,491 posts)5. Tots and pears, with a side of ridicule.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)6. They'll owe us.
Chainfire
(17,537 posts)7. We owe them a decent burial.
We even do that for serial killers.
lostnfound
(16,179 posts)8. We owe them whatever can save their lives if they get sick
Because no man is an island.
And because that is the right way for humans to behave.
myccrider
(484 posts)9. Thank you for this.
I get frustrated and think many of the same things some people are expressing here. But thats not my better self thinking those things. After a some moments of contemplation, I generally come to the same conclusion that youve expressed here. I have to step up and actually be the person I think of myself as being - fair, not small minded, objective, caring, empathetic, a positive role model.
I dont always live up to that ideal. Thank you for reminding me of that.