The Problem of Vaccine Hesitancy in the US Essay Example

With our country still battling against the effects of a pandemic that broke out nearly two years ago, is it getting impossible to find someone who hasn’t been negatively impacted by covid in some way, shape, or form. Lives have been lost, businesses have closed, and concerns over how long our country will take to get over this hurdle have caused major angst in us all. With “vaccines” climbing to the top of the list of Hot & Dirty Words, our country seems to be split right down the middle on whether we think it will be the solution to the crisis we are currently in, or be the reason why we have insufferable effects later on down the line. 

Vaccine hesitancy is not something new in the US, although one could argue it was never blown up to a proportion of this size until the introduction of the covid vaccine. The root of vaccine hesitancy seems to stem from multiple factors, but misinformation from unreputable sources on social media seems to take the cake. Some news sources will deliberately try to entice viewers by manipulating the stories they cover to invoke fear or disgust. It keeps people wanting to keep listening for longer which in turn benefits the news source as they generate more views and more revenue. 

A news source suggesting that the vaccination is a means for the government to control us in the future or a certain outlet claiming that the covid vaccine has killed thousands of Americans or may cause us to become sterile in the future without any real solid data to support it is essentially the epitome of why so many Americans are so hesitant and perhaps even resentful about the vaccine. Many have even changed their minds about getting vaccinated, after what their relatives have told them about people getting covid even despite being vaccinated. It has become disheartening to see vaccines become such a divided political issue even with the amount of scientific data we have supporting its real-life-saving benefits. 

To combat vaccine hesitancy and in hopes to curtail COVID-19 cases, the US government started to roll out vaccine mandates which have required federal and healthcare workers to get vaccinated or risk being terminated from their jobs. Various other measures such as mask mandates and requiring proof of vaccination along with photo ID in order to enter indoor venues such as restaurants and movie theaters are also in place. While some may disagree, this is actually a great way--and perhaps the only way that we can get cases to decrease. 

As contrary as it may sound to some people, a vaccine mandate does not actually force you to get vaccinated. If certain folks are so against it because of what they think it may do to their body in the long run, no one is physically forcing them to get it. Sure, they may be reasonably “inconvenienced” when they need to find a new job or be forced to crack open a cold one at home rather than at the bar, but the question we ultimately need to ask is what they value more: the cost of human life or their beliefs. Do these individuals value their job and/or ability to attend public events enough to overlook their vaccine hesitancy and potentially save someone from dying (*SHOULD I ADD THIS*) and do the right thing because of their lack of due diligence? If the answer is no, then those who refuse to get vaccinated will be faced with inconvenience and may also put themselves and their loved ones at risk. “inconvenienced” in their day to day life when compared to the downstream effects they may cause to either themselves or a loved one later on. In summary, there is no excuse for someone to not get vaccinated, not only does widespread scientific data show that vaccines work but vaccine mandates do not infringe on anyways rights but instead make things inconvenient for unvaccinated people. For this reason, I not only commend the government for their decision to enforce a vaccine mandate but also stand strongly behind its purpose to stop the spread of the virus. My only critique would be that this mandate should have been implemented sooner.