So you think being forced to get the COVID vaccine is an infringement on your civil liberties? Maybe you’re right. But have you considered those making the decision to mandate vaccines are just doing exactly what so many of us ultimately do in our jobs: protect people.
There are two things primarily responsible for increasing the life expectancy of humans: antibiotics and vaccines. No longer is a simple bacterial infection a death sentence. Most infections are now treated by swallowing a pill once or twice a day for a week or so. Antibiotics are known to be so efficacious and universal that they’re often requested by patients—and unfortunately prescribed—for viral infections which antibiotics are useless against. For some of these pesky viruses, though, we have another approach. Hello, beautiful vaccines!
It’s perfectly logical to prevent infections rather than treat them as they occur. I mean, nobody would ever subsist on a diet of processed foods and Pepsi while smoking 2 packs a day and foregoing all physical exertion, then rely solely on medications to treat their diabetes, hypertension, and—. Umm . . . okay, poor example. But there are countless people who believe the old mantra, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In fact, countless jobs embody that mantra—each protecting the health of fellow citizens in their own way.
In centuries past, cities were built primarily along rivers. Why? Water is important to life, of course. Along with drinking, bathing, and cooking, the river was a great and efficient means to rid the city of waste. Got trash? Just throw it into the street. Or better yet, into the river with it—you’ll never see it again. Sewage? The river seems as good a place as any. Not so great for the inhabitants of any towns down-river, though. Preventable disease ran rampant.
But today we employee trash collectors. Their fancier job title may be “sanitary engineers.” Regardless of what they’re called, these people serve to protect communities from disease. No longer is this solid waste littering our streets or polluting our waterways (at least it’s not supposed to be). Cleaner water and streets beget less burden of disease.
A 400-pound man rolls up to the pharmacy window in his motorized cart, overloaded with—besides himself—Dr. Pepper & Cheetos. Every month he complains about his medication prices, arguing that healthcare is a civil liberty, thus his meds should be free. This as he strips off 3 crinkled $1 bills to pay for his $2,500 worth of insulin, another 3 for his $600 COPD inhaler, and a $20 bill for his other 7 blood pressure and diabetes meds. When asked if he’s gotten his free COVID vaccines yet, he responds, “I don’t believe in vaccines.”
Pharmacists (myself among them) attempt to protect the health of their patients, the community, and the world at large. This despite the seeming indifference of many of those very patients. Pharmacists attempt to make sure antibiotics are prescribed and administered correctly to help individual patients, and prevent—or at least delay—antibiotic resistance. They also happily add vaccine administration to their already overburdened task list, with the goal of saving lives, and putting an end to this pandemic.
Law enforcement agents enforce laws—some that never should’ve existed to begin with. Take, for example, the infamous “War on Drugs.” A decades-long battle against substances that are now all but decriminalized. These laws took away the civil liberty to ingest a substance that adversely affected only the individual users. And let’s not forget these laws disproportionately targeted black and poor citizens. Our nation’s prisons became packed with non-violent offenders, helping lead the U.S. to the highest prisoner rate in the world. Law enforcement agents, however, are merely upholding laws created by others in an effort to protect people . . . even if that protection is only from themselves.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection safeguard our citizens and those of the world. We may feel our civil liberties are trampled on when TSA agents force us to suffer the indignity of removing our shoes prior to air travel. But we can mostly agree that’s a small price to pay to prevent another 9/11. An agent’s job is to keep those people out of the country who might endanger U.S. citizens in any manner: economic, physical, financial, terrorism, etc. Unfortunately, there’s no Customs for COVID. Viruses don’t care one iota about international borders. The disease may have begun in China, but this is a global economy. As long as people can get on boats and planes, the virus will spread.
What do you do in your career that protects the health and safety of others? How could those actions be misinterpreted as infringing on someone’s civil liberties?
Countless people toil away at their jobs every day, working to help keep us safe. The sanitary engineer doesn’t take away my civil liberties by hauling away trash rather than allowing me to toss it into the Olentangy River. TSA and Customs work diligently to prevent another 9/11, my shoes be damned. Law enforcement agents are sworn to uphold and enforce laws—however silly or discriminatory they may be. Pharmacists administer vaccines to help put an end to this pandemic. A pandemic that has killed over 4,550,000 people.
Getting the COVID vaccine is a way to keep us all safe!
Mandates do not exist to regulate the long-term negative impacts our 400-pound friend’s indiscriminate Cheetos intake will have on his health. But during a deadly pandemic—when the end is just a couple jabs in the arm away—your civil liberty to make the choice you feel is best for you, takes a backseat to protecting billions of your fellow humans. If vaccine mandates from a school, a business, or a government entity are what it takes to protect everyone—to put an end to this pandemic—to hell with your “civil liberty.”
So, you still think being forced to get the COVID vaccine is an infringement on your civil liberties? Some people hold firm that their rights supersede those of all others who co-inhabit this planet. They completely disagree with the old saying, “My liberty to swing my fist ends just where your nose begins.” There’s nothing I can write that will change their minds. So, in that case, I guess, yeah, come to think of it . . . You’re Probably Right.
[046] October 17, 2021