# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/102 "2021-09-29T19:51:37Z")
Hmm. I guess losing their job was worse than a free vaccine that could prevent them from getting sick and dying. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/103 "2021-09-29T19:59:50Z")
I think it’s a matter of certainty. These are people who don’t want to get vaccinated in large part because they think the real risk of them actually getting covid and dying from it is so low they just don’t care. But confronted with the actual certainty of losing their job, most people break. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/104 "2021-09-29T21:04:23Z")
That’s really encouraging. Gotta admit, I did not feel confident we’d see that number making the right choice. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/105 "2021-09-29T21:21:55Z")
Here’s another person who died because his caregiver refused to get the vaccine. Only in his case, he died because she gave him COVID. She feels bad that she killed him, but “even with what she knows now, Balderas said she wouldn’t get the shot.” And these are the people you feel sorry for, OP? > **[Vaccinated man with ALS died from COVID-19, wished ‘everyone who could’ would...](https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/09/vaccinated-man-with-als-died-from-covid-19-wished-everyone-who-could-would-get-the-shot.html)** > > Paul Kirsch, who had been diagnosed with ALS in 2018, started showing COVID symptoms shortly after his unvaccinated caregiver contracted the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/106 "2021-09-29T21:40:22Z")
Headline from The Onion: > Nurse Carefully Weighs Whether She Better Off Getting Vaccine Or Losing Job And Dying I wonder if the Onion writers are struggling trying to keep up. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/107 "2021-09-29T22:10:15Z")
I guess the situation resolved itself, since he was her only client. She’s out of a job now. ---
**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 30, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/108 "2021-09-30T02:10:07Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > That’s really encouraging. Gotta admit, I did not feel confident we’d see that number making the right choice. This is New York, remember, where there is social pressure to do it. I’m not optimistic that you’d see the same effect in Alabama. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2021, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/109 "2021-09-30T02:15:48Z")
Shush, I need this. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/110 "2021-09-30T13:38:45Z")
So reading this thread, choice is not a thing in the United States anymore? The nurse was given a choice to be vaccinated or quit so she chose to quit. What do you all want? Hold her down and force her to take the shot so she can continue to work? Maybe we should round up all of the unvaccinated and put them in vaccination camps. Yeah, I feel really bad that the OP’s father died, but are we going to require people to make personal decisions based on the choices others may make? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/111 "2021-09-30T13:45:52Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What do you all want? I want her to get the shot. What do you want? Is it not my choice to criticize her? Good grief, if she gets a choice to endanger the health of those around her, at least grant me the choice to call her a dangerously selfish asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/112 "2021-09-30T13:49:40Z")
OP is complaining that she had to make a choice between her job and getting vaccinated. Are you suggesting she should have been allowed to remain in her position without the vaccine? I agree she had the choice to quit, which she exercised. I also think she’s a huge piece of shit for having worked as a nurse this far into the pandemic as an unvaccinated person, particularly in a nursing home where she works with some of the most vulnerable people in terms of covid. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/113 "2021-09-30T13:52:39Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I want her to get the shot. What lengths should we (as a society) go to force her to get vaccinated? > OP is complaining that she had to make a choice between her job and getting vaccinated. Are you suggesting she should have been allowed to remain in her position without the vaccine? Please point out ANYWHERE in my post that I suggested this? PLEASE! I just said she was given a choice, she made a choice and her choice should not hold her responsible for the OP’s father death. ---
**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 30, 2021, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/114 "2021-09-30T13:53:50Z")
Her choice is well worth criticizing, and may have had ramifications beyond just harming herself. That choice may harm others. That doesn’t mean necessarily she shouldn’t be free to make it, but she should be criticized for it. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/115 "2021-09-30T13:56:53Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I just said she was given a choice, she made a choice and her choice should not hold her responsible for the OP’s father death. You’re missing the point that the OP was complaining that she had to make that choice. His position is that she should have been allowed to continue working without the vaccine. That is the position that is being most strongly criticized here. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/116 "2021-09-30T13:59:01Z")
I am not in favor of forced vaccinations by the government, but I am 100% in favor of condemning someone who chooses to not get the vaccine. I am 100% in favor of employment mandates for vaccination. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/117 "2021-09-30T14:08:54Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What lengths should we (as a society) go to force her to get vaccinated? What do you think? I’d be in favor of pretty serious consequences. Seems to me that if you are vaccinated, and you are made sick by COVID, and you can demonstrate that an unvaccinated person exposed you to COVID, you should be able to sue them for your COVID-related expenses, including pain and suffering. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/118 "2021-09-30T14:16:30Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So reading this thread, choice is not a thing in the United States anymore? Wow! This is pretty far off my read of the thread. The OP was _blaming_ the vaccine mandate for the death of his father, because the nurse exercised her _choice_ to quit instead of getting vaccinated. Just about everyone here said she should quit instead of sticking around unvaccinated, but a nurse who really cared about her patients would get vaccinated (even without the mandate). I really have zero idea where you got your read of this thread from. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/119 "2021-09-30T14:43:17Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > are we going to require people to make personal decisions based on the choices others may make? We do that all the goddamn time. I can’t go into town naked because other people choose not to see naked people. I pay for schools because other people choose to have children. I drive on the right-hand side of the road because other people decided that was the correct side and because other people choose to also drive on the road. (also it helps keep me alive – as does the covid vaccine.) I listen to horrendous grating beeping noises because other people who aren’t bothered by them design equipment that makes them and yet other people buy that equipment. I drastically restrict where I go by not walking into other people’s buildings or lawns or fields because they choose to consider those private property that they’re entitled to keep others out of. Yes, the nurse in question has a choice. She has a choice to get vaccinated, or to stay the hell away from other people who don’t agree with her. She’s even got, legally, a choice to come close to others who don’t agree with her and endanger them, as long as she doesn’t do it on the job or by entering a place enforcing restrictions. Nobody in this thread, including me, has said that she should be arrested, handcuffed, and forcibly vaccinated; or even locked up inside her own house. But I will note that if I showed up in town naked I’d expect to be arrested and forcibly covered (at least, if I weren’t pinned down until I stopped breathing); and if I went into somebody’s building or garden who didn’t want me there I’d expect to be evicted, by force if I didn’t follow orders; et considerably cetera. And I wouldn’t even have been risking anybody else’s health. So don’t give me this ‘we must never restrict personal choice’ crap. Neither you nor the nurse in question are living in a vacuum in which your “personal choice” doesn’t affect anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/120 "2021-09-30T15:00:53Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > The population of U.S. residents over age 12 is 280m, around 212m of them have received both or one injection. That’s 76% Just goggled this, then found your numbers, which pretty much agree. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473/121 "2021-09-30T15:01:00Z")
I’ve noticed many anti-vax-related articles involving nurses, fail to mention the _type_ of nurses involved. I believe all anti-vaxxers are selfish idiots, particularly healthcare workers. But, registered nurses (RN) have significantly more clinical training and experience than licensed practical nurses (LPN) or other ancillary healthcare workers. I think RN’s reputations are tarnished when they are lumped in with non-RN nurses associated with anti-mandate/anti-vax stances. I’d be more disheartened and shocked to learn Dr. Bob, MD, or Nurse Susan, RN were anti-vax, as opposed to Dr. Billy-Bob, ND (naturopathic doctor), or Nurse Bambi-Sue, CNA (certified nursing assistant). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-personal-experience-with-mandatory-covid-vaccinations/950473.md?page=7)