Persuasive Essay on Covid-19 Vaccination Should Be Mandatory For Healthcare Workers

In 2020, the Covid-19 virus sent the world into a global pandemic. To combat this, three major pharmaceutical companies raced to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. While there is an effective vaccine available to everyone, the decision to get the vaccine is left for the individual to decide. However, there are specific professions in which the vaccine should be mandated such as a medical professional. The Covid-19 vaccine should be mandatory to anyone working within the medical field. 

To anyone working in the medical field, specifically in hospitals, the vaccine should be mandatory for the protection of hospitalized patients. As stated by Vageesh Jain, “The ethical case is grounded in the professional duty healthcare workers have to protect their patients: do no harm. Although everyone has the right to decide whether to take a vaccine or not, patients (often elderly or unwell, and therefore vulnerable to covid-19) also have fundamental rights to be protected from avoidable harm,´´ (Rimmer). Because hospital patients are highly vulnerable, doctors should take extra precautions to protect their patients. People in the hospitals can be highly vulnerable to this virus because of the reasons for their hospitalization such as cancer, heart attacks, or severe injuries. The vaccine has prevented approximately 300,000 deaths, a large number of those being hospitalized. After all, the vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe illness and death, meaning a vaccinated doctor could save the lives of many hospitalized patients (´´Why Covid-19 Vaccination Should Be Required for Health Professionals´´). 

Doctors should get vaccinated because they will encourage more of the general public to also get vaccinated. The public takes the advice of doctors, so if they see more doctors getting and recommending the vaccine, they will be more likely to receive it, further protecting the community (Rimmer). ´´People who are sick with COVID-19 may spread COVID-19 to others including friends and family who are not eligible for vaccination and people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19,´´ (´´Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine´´). If more people would get the vaccine, more people would be protected from the virus (´´Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine´´).

When dealing with asymptomatic patients, it is important for doctors to have been vaccinated. Asymptomatic people going into the doctor's office for a simple check up can lead to getting the staff sick and exposing them to Covid. These people should get vaccinated to lower the risk to doctors, employees, and hospital staff and patients. If asymptomatic people continue infecting doctors with covid, who will treat infected patients? The more doctors that get vaccinated, the more that are protected from asymptomatic people (McCrimmon).

Despite the covid vaccine having countless benefits, there are still some healthcare workers who are refusing to get the vaccine. Most unvaccinated healthcare workers are afraid of the unknown side effect. They are also saying that the unknown side effects of the vaccine can be much more dangerous than the virus itself. Because the vaccine is so new, there has not been a lot of research on the side effects of the vaccines. Some people experience complications from the vaccines, so many people questioned the safety of getting vaccinated. The main reason for the workers not wanting to get vaccinated is because of how quickly the vaccine was developed. Even so, all healthcare workers should still receive the vaccine in order to protect their patients the best they can (Gustafon). 

Due to a refusal to get vaccinated, some healthcare workers should lose their jobs. Many hospitals are now mandating vaccinations. ¨By February 28th, [Hospitals] must also have the entirety of their staff fully vaccinated, approved for an exemption or recognized as having a CDC-recommended delay. CMS defined a completed vaccine series as one dose of a single-dose vaccine or all doses of a multiple-dose vaccine series, with no mention of booster shots,´´ (Muoio). Because hospitals are now mandating the vaccines, if any healthcare worker were to refuse, they would lose their job. Even if the vaccines were not mandated, any healthcare worker who refuses to get vaccinated is a health risk to patients and should get fired. If a healthcare professional becomes a risk as opposed to an asset, then they should not be allowed to maintain their position (Muoio). 

All healthcare workers should be required to be vaccinated. If they are not vaccinated, they become harmful to their patients and the community. Workers in the medical field who are not vaccinated deserve to lose their jobs, for they are putting their needs above others, which is the opposite of their purpose.