We need the vaccine mandate and we shouldn’t feel sympathy for those who face the consequences of not following the mandate.

For the spring semester, Northwestern State University will be enforcing a vaccine mandate.

A vaccine mandate isn’t abnormal, nor is it out of place.

We’ve all had to send our vaccine records to NSU, and NSU holds both a moral and legal right to refuse people’s enrollment for not fulfilling their vaccine requirements.

Most major institutions in America ranging from the military, hospitals and schools have these mandates in place and had them before COVID-19.

It seems odd for many people to never care once or say a word about these mandates until it became a political issue when the Republican Party and many conservative commentators complained about it.

In fact, it was okay to mock anti-vaxxers, but due to the increasing polarization of our nation, anti-vaccination as a political position is now accepted by half of America.

Texas has recently now made it illegal for employers to mandate vaccines.

I bring this up to show that opposition to the vaccine mandate is opposition to the vaccine, and thus opposition to public health.

What possible reason might a government decide to outlaw vaccine mandates during an ongoing pandemic?

Why didn’t Texas or any other major politician oppose polio vaccination mandates in the past? Why is it just COVID-19?

To quote the executive order for this:

“No entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19,” the order reads. “I hereby suspend all relevant statutes to the extent necessary to enforce this prohibition.”

I cite Texas’ order against the vaccine mandate because it is representative of the anti-vaccination mandate position.

Anti-vaccination mandate supporters will cite personal freedom and their autonomy to refuse any treatment, to that I say, I cite my own health and my freedom not to get COVID-19 because you refuse the vaccine.

I cite my father’s health, a man who has now lost 50 pounds, has major lung trouble and now is fighting pneumonia while recovering from COVID-19.

Doesn’t my freedom and his freedom to not be at risk of COVID-19 matter? What about those who can’t get the vaccine because of health reasons? What if you or others who refuse the vaccine willingly get COVID-19 and spread it to those who can’t protect themselves?

The vaccine mandate is our best defense and offense to protect ourselves and end the pandemic. We must make COVID-19 the next polio, a disease now non-existent.

Is your freedom to choose a shot or not truly greater than the freedom of others to live without fear of a modern plague?

It may seem harsh and even callous, but if you lose your job or college enrollment because you answered yes to the above question, you deserve the consequences.