As of Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s three major COVID vaccine policies for people not employed by the federal government had been blocked by the courts.
A federal judge in Georgia blocked the administration’s enforcement of a vaccine requirement for federal contractors nationwide. Previously, mandates for certain health care workers and employees of large companies had been frozen, although future court decisions could allow the mandates to be implemented.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to intricate and important legal rulings that weigh government efforts to slow the virus against individual rights.
In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee’s business shutdowns, school closures and vaccine mandates have routinely been upheld by the courts. In October, after plaintiffs challenged vaccine mandates for public employees, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled that “because the governor had the legal authority under the powers granted to the governor … even if the individual plaintiffs show individual instances in which the proclamation and resulting actions may be unjust, the plaintiffs have not met their burden to show that it is unjust in all applications.”
Regardless of whether or not vaccines can be mandated, everybody who is medically able should be vaccinated. Vaccines — including booster shots — have proven to be safe and effective and are essential to stemming the spread of the virus.
That is of particular concern with the arrival of the omicron variant. After the delta variant caused a nationwide spike of COVID cases this past summer, a new variant warrants attention. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports: “The omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original virus, and how easily omicron spreads compared to delta remains unknown. CDC expects that anyone with omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms.”
Last week, Biden said: “We’re going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion. This is a moment we can put the divisiveness behind us, I hope.”
Divisiveness seems likely, however, considering how coronavirus responses have been politicized and how opinions about those responses have become entrenched. Amid that discord, it would be difficult to enforce Biden’s vaccine mandates, which would place an undue burden on employers.
Calling on companies that have more than 100 employees to enforce mandates is an onerous proposition. Human resources departments should not be repurposed as the vaccine police, tasked with confirming employees’ vaccine status and then enforcing punitive measures for those who are not vaccinated.
For all of the efforts from the federal government and state officials to end the pandemic, the ultimate outcome rests with the public. We know what must be done: wear masks in public, wash hands frequently and, most important, be vaccinated. But until enough people receive vaccinations and booster shots, COVID-19 will continue to impact our daily lives.
For those who believe that government causes more problems than it solves, here is an opportunity to demonstrate the power of the individual and act in a fashion that serves your community.
While Biden’s recent efforts to wield the might of the federal government and increase vaccinations have been pushed aside by the courts, ultimate victory over COVID-19 rests with us and our neighbors.
