# My personal experience with mandatory Covid vaccinations **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [September 10, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473 "2021-09-10T18:03:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/81 "2021-09-24T22:46:59Z")
> **[See How Vaccinations Are Going in Your County and State (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html)** > > See where doses have gone, and who is eligible for a shot in each state. ### United States vaccinations | | At least one dose | Fully vaccinated | | --- | --- | --- | | All ages\* | 64% | 55% | | 12 and up | 75% | 65% | | 18 and up | 77% | 66% | | 65 and up | 93% | 83% | \*Includes those not yet eligible for the vaccine. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Note: Figures include the U.S. territories and three countries with [special agreements](https://www.doi.gov/oia/compacts-of-free-association). ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/82 "2021-09-24T23:19:38Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > student nurses are switching to different career paths because of this mandate. My daughter would be surprised to hear that. As would all of the future nurses/her cohorts I was proud to see “white coated” last month. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/83 "2021-09-24T23:22:35Z")
Did you get all misty eyed? The older I get, the more I value the dedication it took to make it to almost any graduation ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/84 "2021-09-24T23:23:21Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > CDC says 55% of Americans are fully vaccinated. Let’s just make nearly half the US population instantly unemployable. > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Also, 55% is total population, the total population is not working age nor even vaccine eligible–the vaccines are not yet approved for children under age 12. This. There are about [48 million children under 12 in the US](https://www.statista.com/statistics/457786/number-of-children-in-the-us-by-age/), or about 15% of the total population of about 328 million, which jibes with your estimate of 280 million Americans 12 or over. Moreover, people do not become “unemployable” just because they’re not vaccinated yet. They may become unemployable in their current jobs if they stupidly refuse to get vaccinated without a valid medical reason and also refuse to follow alternative protocols for, e.g., masking and testing. But that’s on them, not on public health policies that are trying to stop a deadly disease from needlessly killing hundreds of thousands more people. > [@Turble](#): > > All those rural redneck farmers and truck drivers – who needs them. We need them, which is why they should use common sense and get vaccinated against a deadly disease. However, if they stupidly refuse to do so, and if they work for an employer that is covered by the vaccine mandate, they can follow the alternative protocols such as weekly COVID testing instead of getting vaccinated. And I’m not sure how many rural farmers or truck drivers work for employers covered by the vaccine mandate anyway. Are they employees of the government or government contractors, or does their employer have more than 100 employees? ISTM that self-employed rural farmers and truckers wouldn’t fall into any of those categories. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/85 "2021-09-24T23:32:47Z")
Yes, I did! But I could have did without the 45 minutes of the faculty reminiscing about the days of “capping” vs “coating” because my sciatica! I was hobbling by the time it was over. We took her to dinner and then back to her dorm. At home I re-watched the ceremony (yay for YouTube!) but skipped ahead to watch her walk again. I teared up again, of course. My in-laws were happy to watch the ceremony via youtube. MIL was quite proud as she is a retired nurse and our daughter looks just like her (she even did when she was a boy). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/86 "2021-09-24T23:48:20Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > This. There are about [48 million children under 12 in the US](https://www.statista.com/statistics/457786/number-of-children-in-the-us-by-age/), or about 15% of the total population of about 328 million, which jibes with your estimate of 280 million Americans 12 or over. And the unvaccinated portion also includes [about 50%](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/half-12-17-year-olds-had-least-one-covid-19-vaccine-dose-white-house-2021-08-27/) of kids 12-17 who are also not out there trying to hold down a full time job either. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/87 "2021-09-25T00:07:08Z")
Friend, if a professional health-care worker does not practice sound medicine, then that worker needs to be in another profession, preferably one where they do not endanger other people with their inanity. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/88 "2021-09-25T00:10:24Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > And BTW, my previous mentions of Ivermectin have absolutely nothing to do with this thread – they are outright high-jacks aimed solely at discrediting me and my concern for the looming shortage of health care workers (any many others). I’d have to say that highlighting your stance on Ivermectin indicates you are not all that conversant with health care in the first place. Your hyping of incompetent nurses is naught more than a corollary. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/90 "2021-09-25T00:35:19Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > Nurses are leaving the profession and student nurses are switching to different career paths because of this mandate. Nursing homes are extremely short staffed and hospital workers and other health care workers are burning out. And, many nurses (perhaps even many _more_ of them) are leaving the field because they are burned out from treating COVID patients, particularly now, when the vast majority of those in the U.S. who are seriously ill from (and dying from) the disease are those who chose to not get vaccinated – and, thus, those illnesses and deaths could largely have been prevented. A quote from the first article below: > [@](#): > > A [Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation poll](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04/06/stress-front-lines-health-care-workers-share-hardest-parts-working-during-pandemic/) found that 1 in 3 healthcare workers have thought of leaving the profession, while 1 in 6 said the pandemic is burning them out. [https://www.11alive.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/nurse-shortage-burnout-covid-19-pandemic-healthcare-industry/85-1ce12860-9652-421d-84ff-a9a44665607e](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/nurse-shortage-burnout-covid-19-pandemic-healthcare-industry/85-1ce12860-9652-421d-84ff-a9a44665607e) > **[Nurses are leaving the profession, and replacing them won’t be easy](https://theconversation.com/nurses-are-leaving-the-profession-and-replacing-them-wont-be-easy-166325)** > > Long-term solutions to the nursing shortage call for changes that value nurses and offer them a safe place to work. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/91 "2021-09-25T22:29:46Z")
The number of personnel who have left the health care business due to vaccine mandates is exactly zero. I know that you’re about to object that there are plenty of people who used to be employed by hospitals and other health care facilities, who have quit because of the vaccines. And that’s true. But my statement still stands, because those people were never in the health care business. They were defrauding the hospitals by claiming they were, but they in fact don’t care about the health of others. Everyone who is truly in the business of caring for health voluntarily got the vaccine as soon as it was available to them. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/92 "2021-09-26T00:58:39Z")
Healthcare workers were the very first to get access to the vaccine. It was brand new, and while it built on decades of work on SARS and MERS vaccines, the mRNA vaccines were the first of that type ever used. And the only adenovirus vaccine previously used in humans was one for Ebola, which thankfully hadn’t needed widespread use. I followed the development of the vaccines closely, and was excited, but a little nervous about them. When they were about to be released, my opinion was that i wasn’t certain i wanted to go first. So… I can’t condemn a healthcare worker who was hesitant to get it in January. But a month later, when my mom was eligible, i was anxious for her to get it, and looking for loopholes to get it myself. And now, with about 6 billion doses of various vaccines administered, and very few problems… Yeah, if you care about health, yours or the people you come into contact with, you have gotten vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/93 "2021-09-26T01:45:00Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > If vaccines are universally mandatory, then the situation described in the OP would not happen. There is no reason to quit because of a vaccine mandate if all jobs require vaccination. We announced our employee vaccine mandate before Biden and received a significant amount of pushback from our employees. We also received a lot of feedback thanking us for the mandate. When Biden made his announcement I had hoped that the complaints would stop but they really haven’t. We still have a significant number of employees telling us they plan on quitting rather than get the vaccination. I’m hoping at this point the grumbling is just grumbling as these people won’t be able to simply go to work for another company to avoid the vaccination. But we are concerned that this might have a negative impact on our ability to conduct business in the short term at least. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/94 "2021-09-26T04:48:03Z")
Probably off topic, but my nephrologist at dialysis let me know he got his booster shot already as an essential frontline worker and I thanked him, and also thanked him for urging me to get mine. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/95 "2021-09-26T09:53:56Z")
So far, from everything I’ve read, the numbers of people quitting their jobs rather than following the mandate is very low. Statistically, the mandates will almost certainly save many more lives than it will harm. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/96 "2021-09-26T18:44:13Z")
My folks lived in an assisted living center in N Fla where they experienced several lockdowns requiring meals in room and limited outside contact because of third party covid infections. We learned the week my Dad died this past August the Director herself was out sick for 2 weeks with fucking covid. 15 months into the pandemic this bitch was still not vaccinated. Burns me up! In Michigan I see on Indeed an ad for Interim Healthcare of W Mi advertising LPN & CNA jobs with the header “no vaccine required”. Stupidity! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/97 "2021-09-27T04:20:41Z")
> [@chela](#): > > We learned the week my Dad died this past August the Director herself was out sick for 2 weeks with fucking covid. 15 months into the pandemic this bitch was still not vaccinated. While it’s unusual for breakthrough infections in vaxxed people to be so severe, it still happens, especially with the delta variant now. Do you know that she wasn’t vaxxed? Very sorry about your dad. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/98 "2021-09-27T11:04:36Z")
Thanks, my Mom followed him 2 weeks later, we felt it was a blessing really as they never wanted to part. Natural causes, peaceful passing. We buried them together. Now the lackluster manager was an ultimate spin doctor who left us with no doubt that she was an anti vaxxer. Just getting the residents access to vaccine was a red tape disaster. Never a mention about staff vaccines. We all lived out of state, the condition of their room was dismaying staff only paid close attention when family was in town. So glad we’re done with that facility it was like daylight robbery a crime what my parents paid. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/99 "2021-09-27T21:30:11Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > And I’m not sure how many rural farmers or truck drivers work for employers covered by the vaccine mandate anyway. Are they employees of the government or government contractors, or does their employer have more than 100 employees? ISTM that self-employed rural farmers and truckers wouldn’t fall into any of those categories. There’s a lot of big trucking firms out there, and you don’t want to know how much farmland ADM owns. As both professions are… let’s just say less social and more individual, if they stay unvaccinated, it won’t have as much of an effect as, say, grocery clerks. Healthcare workers? Mandatory vaccination will drive out the ones that don’t belong anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/100 "2021-09-28T16:57:37Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > So far, from everything I’ve read, the numbers of people quitting their jobs rather than following the mandate is very low. It’s going to be interesting. Rubber is going to meet the road by the end of the year at the latest. At my job it will be in November, when my employer has indicated it will be vaccination, a qualifying exemption + regular testing or the unemployment line. A minority but still sizeable contingent of employees concentrated in a couple of work areas (shockingly the very areas where over 90 odd% of our COVID infections have occurred! Quelle surprise!) are digging in their heels. The union is arguing we can’t possibly part with up to quarter of the workforce without massive disruption - my employer is so far doubling down and not giving in. We’ll see who blinks first. The problem for the holdouts is that here in CA it is going to soon become very difficult to evade a vaccine mandate in state anywhere. One thing if you can just get a different job locally, another if you functionally have to move out of state to find work. And with no guarantees mandates might not end up being the hellhound dogging your trail wherever you go. We shall see. I do predict some at least short to medium-term pain as the idiots cause vital service work forces to contract. But c’est la vie - morons can’t be catered too indefinitely. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/101 "2021-09-29T19:50:12Z")
The Times reported today that the number of New York healthcare workers who are vaccinated rose from 82% to 92% in one week, before the mandates kick in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473.md?page=6)