🗣 Let’s talk vaccine mandates. “The liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States to every person within its jurisdiction does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint,” Justice John Marshall Harlan stated this during the court case Jacobsen v. Massachusetts in which a pastor had violated the mandate for the smallpox vaccine in Cambridge. He went on to say “there are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good.” This was in 1906 and still applies today, individual right must always give way to the “common good.”

🏥 In March, Houston Methodist in Texas became the first the healthcare system to require covid-19 vaccinations for all its employees. As a result, 153 employees were fired (with about 25,000 vaccinated!). When a lawsuit was filed by the ousted employees, a federal judge in Texas sided with the hospital, maintaining the mandate’s legality. Since that ruling, many hospitals across the country have followed suit as well as private companies and even entire cities.

❓Can public and private employers mandate covid-19 vaccination? Yes, as long as they are not breaking workplace-discrimination laws such as those that may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which may allow for those with medical conditions that prevent them from being vaccinated to gain an exemption and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which allows those with religious objections to seek exemption. Even if exemptions are granted, accomodations such as wearing a face mask, comitting to periodic testing or working from home can be made as long as they do not create “undo hardship” for the business.

❓Can the state and local governments mandate covid-19 vaccines? Yes, the legal precedent was set by Jacobsen vs. Massachussetts.

❓Can the federal government mandate vaccines? Probably not, but it can make life unpleasant and expensive for those who remain unvaccinated. For example, getting vaccinated could be incentivized in the form of offering tax breaks like those given for having a child or buying a home. Those who choose to remain unvaccinated, may also be expected to pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes.

While the most important benefit of getting vaccinated is to protect yourself and those you care about, there are also economic and societal implications to your decision. #letsgetvaccinated #covid19 #vaccinemandates #jacobsenvsmassachusetts