As the COVID-19 vaccines roll out, a raucous debate is mounting on whether companies should mandate that all their employees get the vaccine. Now, The New York Times is fueling the fire by suggesting that businesses mandate that customers get the vaccines too.
Using Dr. Anthony Fauci’s statements on masking and vaccinating, business writer Andrew Ross Sorkin suggests that business leaders from all sectors including factories and offices “tell employees that they may only return to the workplace if they get vaccinated.”
Using the excuse that mandates could be presented as a sort of social benevolence wherein getting the vaccine represents safety in both the workplace and environment, as well deference to those who are bearing the burden of COVID most (such as minorities and those in lower socioeconomic classes), Sorkin quotes a 1905 Supreme Court ruling as legal backing for mandates.
Going one step further with a bit of shaming toward those who don’t favor forcing people to get the vaccine, Sorkin adds that “It seems inconsistent for companies to lobby Congress to provide rescue funds and liability protection against COVID-19 lawsuits and not at the same time robustly support vaccine mandates.”
SOURCE: The New York Times December 12, 2020