Letter: Employers should not require COVID vaccines

Dear Editor,

As a teenager who spent two years of high school during a pandemic, I realize the value of medical freedom, which is why I do not favor allowing businesses to require the COVID vaccine. While many employers display concern for the health and safety of their employees, each individual should be able to make the final decisions about his or her health.

Those who agree with this do not believe in the freedom of the individual to make decisions for themselves. When the decision-makers of a company decide that all employees must receive a particular vaccine or lose their jobs, they steal the freedom of choice from their employees and deny them the right to earn a living. This is unfair, and employers should in no way be allowed to act in such a tyrannical manner.  

To better understand this issue, let’s view other similar situations. When people visit a restaurant, the menu offers a variety of foods. Guests are given the opportunity to choose what they want to eat; the restaurant does not choose for them. The same goes for those who need transportation to work: the government does not dictate the decision for them because the opportunity to decide is theirs to choose their desired method of transportation. Lots of people decide to attend college to earn a degree, but nobody tells them which field to study, for the choice belongs to that individual. 

This may be true, but employees who refuse the vaccine will set a bad example for other coworkers in the business, and this could lead to a mass firing. This may be of concern to you, but what will worry you more is the welfare of your business when you fire valuable employees. When a doctor is fired for refusing to require the use of certain drugs, the hospital and the patients lose a skilled physician. The hospital administrator must hire a less trusted doctor and may lose patients who had a strong relationship with the previous physician. The same goes for a firefighter who was fired for refusing to work on Sunday. Losing this one team member creates such a great risk. Without having another firefighter immediately ready to take his place, an emergency may occur and the team of firemen are put into a dangerous position, which can be the difference between life and death. If a car loses a tire, it must now be replaced. Only one piece of the car is broken, but it causes the whole machine to be dysfunctional.

You made some reasonable points, someone may say, but not mandating the vaccine could draw negative attention to the business. However, this is untrue, for firing multiple employees would cause bad publicity. When one person is fired, people may assume it was the person’s own doing; but when many are laid off, people start to question the business. People will soon learn that the employee’s right to make individual choices is not valued in that company. They will wonder what else the company will try to control and never consider applying there. This reasoning is the reasoning of a person who does not value their employees, for employees should be more valued than the publicity of the business. We must disagree that not mandating the vaccine would bring positive attention, and people would applaud a business that values the choices of their employees.

Yes, some may say, but this requirement would benefit everyone because it would prevent the spread of the virus. You are mistaken, for the vaccine will not prevent and does not stop the spread of COVID. Medical research consistently illustrates that the vaccinated are more likely to be infected by the virus itself. If the vaccine does not guarantee protection to the one who took the vaccine, how can the vaccinated individual keep others healthy? Everyone should agree that this policy would, in no way, help prevent the spread of the virus.

In addition to all of these facts, companies who do not require their employees to be vaccinated for all viruses should not make COVID an exception. When a company decides to require health mandates, it steals the freedom of choice from its employees. Not only is it important to value your workers’ choices, but forcing a vaccine can have fatal consequences for them. Certain individuals cannot receive vaccines because their body reacts in a harmful way. So, if a boss lays off an employee because they refuse the vaccine for the sake of their own health, how can we say that this is a fair policy?

In conclusion, let’s review key points in the argument. Firing valuable employees can cause a business to deteriorate. Businesses can bring negative attention upon themselves by mass firings. Forcing the COVID vaccine will not keep people safe, for the vaccine does not stop the spread of COVID. If a company does not require all vaccines, it should not require others. Everyone should agree that employees who refuse the COVID vaccine should not be fired. 

Sable Ferrara
Newberry, Florida 

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