Vaccine mandates must be part of the conversation when we envision the new normal.
Amidst the pandemic hanging by a thread and millions still refusing their shots, vaccine mandates are justifiable given the future that is at stake. The race against COVID-19 is far from over with only 21% fully vaccinated Filipinos—a long way to go from herd immunity which requires at least a minimum of 70%. However, this threshold is significantly increasing with the variants of concern.
Prior to the surge of delta variant cases, the tipping point of our current situation was predictable with the wasted opportunities to immunize the population as the campaign to voluntary vaccination has reached its limit. As of July 2021, vaccine shortage was not a problem because the Philippines had over 10 million doses that were projected to last up to mid-August. The main culprit lies in the widespread refusal that plagues 7 out of every 10 Filipinos.
If it were truly a personal preference, then one’s decision should not endanger or even cost someone their life. Avoiding the risk while benefiting from others’ vaccination is essentially free-riding. It goes both ways—one can freely refuse the shot but should be held responsible for the threat they pose.
Although there are less restrictive alternatives, it is irresponsible to solely rely on uncertain choices of each individual as it delays the momentum for intervention and further promotes preferential decision-making.
Prioritizing social welfare is not overruling freedom of choice in deciding how to protect oneself from the pandemic. Rather, it is a form of achieving a greater good at much lower risks. Compared to the nationwide lockdown mania that arguably results to greater societal disruption—the recent third season of enhanced community quarantine not only reaffirmed the Philippines’ title as the “one of the world’s longest lockdown,” but also cost the economy a staggering 210 billion pesos as it plunged another 177,000 Filipinos into poverty and 444,000 into unemployment.
However, public vaccine mandates should be carefully designed to withstand stumbling blocks. Contrary to President Duterte’s iron fist strategy of imprisoning those who refuse the vaccine, mandates shouldn’t be grounds to abuse power. It is vital that fear and punishments are not utilized to impose with no reasoning. The public’s willingness to cooperate in the mandate lies in equitable access, active communication, transparency, and constant accountability.
Mandating does not suggest forcefully injecting a needle or even criminalizing those who refuse to get vaccinated. Instead, it is a necessary measure for normalcy to return. These implementations do not remove one’s personal autonomy. They simply enable individuals to directly witness the fragility in order for normalcy to return. With vaccines collectively benefitting society, attaining herd immunity is a shared responsibility
There is a silver bullet to end this pandemic, but why are we hesitating to pull the trigger? The reality is if we fail to do this now, more and more variants might emerge that will deem our vaccines ineffective. Then we’ll have to do it all over again.
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