# Mandatory vaccination **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 14, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494 "2021-07-14T19:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr\_Hoogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/21 "2021-07-15T15:40:40Z")
So all the people who’ve had to work all the way through while everyone else has had a year off on furlough, or older retired people sat at home relying on deliveries now want to go off on their holidays and insist that everyone is vaccinated so they can feel safe doing so? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Hoogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/22 "2021-07-15T15:43:05Z")
What about mandatory fat camp for everyone over a certain bmi? Would save more health resources than a covid jab. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/23 "2021-07-15T15:44:57Z")
False equivalence. Your fat doesn’t jump over to make my body fat. But please continue. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/24 "2021-07-15T16:06:15Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Exactly this. Yes, people should have the freedom to refuse the vaccine, but they should see that actions (or inactions) have consequences. If your motto is “screw what’s best for everyone else,” don’t expect everyone else to accommodate you. I feel like fees to use amenities might be a good way to pressure people to get vaccinated without galvanizing the resistance. Alternatively, you could frame them as discounts. Hey everyone, sorry but airfare has tripled because we need to keep seats empty as a buffer, but if you prove you’re vaccinated, you can pay the old price! ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/25 "2021-07-15T16:27:43Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#): > > So all the people who’ve had to work all the way through while everyone else has had a year off on furlough, or older retired people sat at home relying on deliveries now want to go off on their holidays and insist that everyone is vaccinated so they can feel safe doing so? Cite that any of this is true. > [@Mr\_Hoogly](#): > > What about mandatory fat camp for everyone over a certain bmi? > Would save more health resources than a covid jab. Cite that obesity is a highly **infectious** disease that hospitalizes and kills people. Also, cite that a single fat camp has the effectiveness of a vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/26 "2021-07-15T16:29:33Z")
In the US, necessary, but not bloody likely. There are people who will shoot anyone who tries to make them. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/27 "2021-07-15T17:58:47Z")
Which is why there are a group of people who just won’t attend. Like me not going to Disney - neither Disney nor the NBA is going to be hurting because of that choice. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/28 "2021-07-15T19:32:32Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > I meant to type “stand out here in the RAIN”, (not in the train.) > > Carry on. Local DMV - Cancel that caboose order. Rats. In California these days trains are more feasible than rain. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/29 "2021-07-15T20:05:26Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#): > > So all the people who’ve had to work all the way through while everyone else has had a year off on furlough, or older retired people sat at home relying on deliveries now want to go off on their holidays and insist that everyone is vaccinated so they can feel safe doing so? No, I want mandatory vaccination so EVERYBODY can go on holidays, or go to work safely, or send their children to school without worrying about them picking up the latest variant that is worse for kids than the original virus was. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/30 "2021-07-19T09:42:02Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But I’m surprised that other western countries face the same stupidity. Oh, believe me. We have our fair share of stupid over here. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/31 "2021-07-19T15:48:00Z")
At some point we have to say that everyone has had the opportunity to be vaccinated. It is at convenient locations in your community, free of charge. If you choose not to get vaccinated and get sick and die, then we will have a cold beer in your honor, but we aren’t going to keep shutting things down for you. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/32 "2021-07-19T16:04:33Z")
That’s not the way it works. My children cannot get vaccinated right now, but they are at risk from all the people who refuse to either get vaccinated or stay home (or even wear a mask). They are even at risk of vaccinated me catching COVID from one of those selfish jerks and transmitting it to them. And that’s not even counting the strain they put on the healthcare system the rest of us depend on too. Unvaccinated people do not affect only themselves. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/33 "2021-07-19T16:16:41Z")
We’re at the point where it’s up to personal responsibility to stay safe. If you are concerned about yourself, take steps to keep yourself safe. If you are concerned about your children, take steps to keep them safe. That may mean doing things like staying home, using curbside, wearing N95 masks, and so on. We are way past being able to depend on the community to keep the community safe. There is too much pushback in both the public and government to enact restrictive measures or enforced vaccination. I’m certainly wishing everyone would get vaccinated, but that’s a fantasy. Forced vaccination would likely backfire in a massive way by causing the anti-vaxxers to mobilize and become politically powerful in the same way that the teaparty and Q believers have. That’s why I’m opposed to forced vaccination. I don’t think it would be successful in any meaningful way, but it would produce significant unintended negative political consequences. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/34 "2021-07-19T16:22:48Z")
It is unlikely in the extreme that your children will suffer ill-effects from the virus or that vaccinated people will. And if we are talking about the healthcare system in general, then the poster above is right and the government should start policing diet and exercise. We have done all we realistically can. It was a hell of a thing to come up with a vaccine so quickly. And when we open back up, whether now or five years from now, people who are unvaccinated will start getting sick and spreading it amongst themselves. I am on your side in this, but some sanity has to prevail somewhere. I think it is silly to open things up, a virus naturally spreads among the unvaccinated, and then we cringe and demand things close back down again. We knew that by opening up the unvaccinated would start getting it; that’s why we offered it for free. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/35 "2021-07-19T16:29:09Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > And when we open back up, whether now or five years from now, people who are unvaccinated will start getting sick and spreading it amongst themselves. I’m curious why you’re talking about this like it’s in the future. What _hasn’t_ opened back up? The unvaccinated are getting sick and spreading it right now, everywhere in the US – and they’re helping breed new variants that put the vaccinated at risk again. Transmission to and among the vaccinated – and the resulting illnesses – may be unlikely, but with 350 million people “unlikely” still impacts a lot of people. I’m not in favor of mandating vaccination – if it were even possible – but there need to be unpleasant consequences for those unwilling to vaccinate, and they need to start happening yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/36 "2021-07-19T16:47:48Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > If you are concerned about your children, take steps to keep them safe. That may mean doing things like staying home, using curbside, wearing N95 masks, and so on. We are trying every day to strike a balance of caution and life. That doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at the selfish jerks who are making this more difficult for the rest of us. My point is that, “screw them, they’re only hurting themselves” is not right. They are hurting me too. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/37 "2021-07-19T17:01:35Z")
Some countries require as a condition of entry, and the WHO has a list of whether vaccination is recommended for a bunch of diseases, including yellow fever, malaria, poliomyelitis, etc. Is this news to anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/38 "2021-07-19T17:28:16Z")
And its some bigger things. Supply chains still haven’t evened out - there can still be strange shortages (kitty litter right now, really?). Hospital beds in places with low vaccination rates are still constrained - that means that a vaccinated individual in need of a bed may not have it available. School districts and colleges are operating with plans to be normal - but contingency plans in case things get out of hand. That’s hard on parents and students - and administrations. On a personal level. I’d like to stop wearing a mask on airlines - but that isn’t about to happen with the current vaccination and transmission rates. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/39 "2021-07-20T05:54:56Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > It is unlikely in the extreme that your children will suffer ill-effects from the virus or that vaccinated people will. And if we are talking about the healthcare system in general, then the poster above is right and the government should start policing diet and exercise. There are people for whom vaccination is not medically advisable. If it weren’t for them I’d be all for letting this be a test of the limits of anti-vaxxer stupidity. I agree that we should keep things open, maybe requiring masks. And definitely allow companies where people are coming back to require vaccinations. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494/40 "2021-07-22T07:16:03Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > We are trying every day to strike a balance of caution and life. That doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at the selfish jerks who are making this more difficult for the rest of us. > > My point is that, “screw them, they’re only hurting themselves” is not right. They are hurting me too. Exactly. It would be nice if karma worked in a balanced give and take kind of way, but it doesn’t. Sometimes the people that follow the rules get sick or die anyway, and sometimes the a-holes are untouched. That’s life unfortunately. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-vaccination/946494.md?page=3)