America Needs a Shot in the Arm: The COVID-19 Vaccination
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Richard T. Moore January 11, 2021
It’s time for a life-saving New Year’s Resolution. I, for one, am anxious to receive the new COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t care whether it’s from Pfizer’s or Moderna’s or some other manufacturer. However, since I’m in the high-risk category by age and health, and since I believe getting a vaccination is the next most patriotic step after mask-wearing to end the pandemic, I’m ready for that shot in the arm!
I know that some people have reactions to vaccination or may not, for health or religious reasons, be ready to get in line for a vaccination. However, as both academic and practicing members of the field of public administration, we need to be leaders by encouraging our colleagues, our students and our constituents to get vaccinated as soon as they are able. As the History of Vaccines by the College of Physicians in Philadelphia has reported, “Many countries require their citizens to receive certain immunizations. In the United States, state laws dictate mandatory vaccinations, such as those required for children to enter school. Controversies over the efficacy, safety and morality of compulsory immunization stem from the longstanding tension between two, sometimes divergent, goals: protecting individual liberties and safeguarding the public’s health.”
My home state, Massachusetts, where the American Revolution began with, “The shot heard ‘round the world,” is also the place where the first legal challenge was filed against a different kind of shot. As noted in the History of Vaccines, “Individual versus public health priorities were first argued in the U.S. Supreme Court more than 100 years ago. In Jacobson versus Massachusetts, a resident of the city of Cambridge refused to be vaccinated for smallpox, because he believed that the law violated his right to care for his own body how he knew best. The Court rejected Jacobson’s challenge. This seminal 1905 ruling has served as the foundation for state actions to limit individual liberties in order to protect the public’s health.”
In an article entitled, “The law and Vaccine Resistance,” Dorit Rubinsteain Reiss, writing in Science Magazine, in 2019, reported:
“States have extensive leeway to protect public health, and courts have consistently upheld strong school immunization mandates. Thus, states could tighten nonmedical exemptions (for example, by requiring consultation with a doctor) or remove these exemptions completely from school mandates. Valid medical exemptions are important, but it is less clear whether nonmedical exemptions are appropriate. Some scholars are concerned that eliminating nonmedical exemptions may generate resentment among parents and interfere with parental autonomy. Others—including professional medical associations—disagree, because mandates protect children, and a parent’s freedom to send an unvaccinated child to school places classmates at risk of dangerous diseases. There is a strong argument for removing nonmedical exemptions, and at the least, they should be hard to get, to further incentivize parents to vaccinate. In many states, however, getting an exemption is as easy as checking a box. States and localities could also require schools to provide their immunization rates to parents at the start of the school year.
Beyond school mandates, states can consider other legal tools that have not yet been used. States could implement workplace mandates for those working with vulnerable populations, such as health care workers, teachers in schools, and providers of daycare. States could impose tort liability (civil law damages for harm) when unexcused refusal to vaccinate leads to individuals becoming infected unnecessarily or worse, to a large outbreak. States could permit teenagers to consent to vaccinations without parental approval. And states could mandate vaccinations to enroll in institutions of higher education.”
An article in Science Dailyinforms us about the issue of vaccine refusal. “A new study from Dartmouth College shows that past problems with vaccines can cause a phenomenon known as hysteresis, creating a negative history that stiffens public resolve against vaccination. The finding explains why it is so hard to increase uptake even when overwhelming evidence indicates that vaccines are safe and beneficial.”
A December 2018 article in Pub Med, entitled, “Vaccination of Healthcare Workers: is Mandatory Vaccination Needed?” explains the critical importance of vaccinating health care workers, chosen as the first priority for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. “Vaccinations of healthcare workers (HCWs) aim to directly protect them from occupational acquisition of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and to indirectly protect their patients and the essential healthcare infrastructure.” Despite the importance to healthcare workers and the patients they serve, vaccination rates for influenza lag behind the Centers for Disease Control goal of vaccinating at least 90%.
According to the CDC, “2019-2020 flu vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel (HCP) was 80.6%, similar to coverage during the past five seasons (77.3% -81.1%).” While physicians and nurses achieved recommended levels, other healthcare staff, especially those working in long-term care settings (69.3%), “Compared with those working in hospitals and ambulatory settings and physician offices (78.8%).” Only where vaccination of employees was required (94.4%), did rates approach the CDC goal. Let’s hope the response to the COVID-19 vaccine is more successful voluntarily, or healthcare institutions might need to make vaccination mandatory for direct care employees.
Author:Richard T. Moore has served in both elective and appointed public office at local, state, and federal levels of government. He served for nearly two decades each in the Massachusetts House and Senate, as well as being chosen as President of the National Conference of State Legislatures. He also served for a time as President of the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association. Mr. Moore is a long-time member of ASPA serving terms as Massachusetts Chapter President and National Council member. His email address is[email protected].
America Needs a Shot in the Arm: The COVID-19 Vaccination
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Richard T. Moore
January 11, 2021
It’s time for a life-saving New Year’s Resolution. I, for one, am anxious to receive the new COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t care whether it’s from Pfizer’s or Moderna’s or some other manufacturer. However, since I’m in the high-risk category by age and health, and since I believe getting a vaccination is the next most patriotic step after mask-wearing to end the pandemic, I’m ready for that shot in the arm!
I know that some people have reactions to vaccination or may not, for health or religious reasons, be ready to get in line for a vaccination. However, as both academic and practicing members of the field of public administration, we need to be leaders by encouraging our colleagues, our students and our constituents to get vaccinated as soon as they are able. As the History of Vaccines by the College of Physicians in Philadelphia has reported, “Many countries require their citizens to receive certain immunizations. In the United States, state laws dictate mandatory vaccinations, such as those required for children to enter school. Controversies over the efficacy, safety and morality of compulsory immunization stem from the longstanding tension between two, sometimes divergent, goals: protecting individual liberties and safeguarding the public’s health.”
My home state, Massachusetts, where the American Revolution began with, “The shot heard ‘round the world,” is also the place where the first legal challenge was filed against a different kind of shot. As noted in the History of Vaccines, “Individual versus public health priorities were first argued in the U.S. Supreme Court more than 100 years ago. In Jacobson versus Massachusetts, a resident of the city of Cambridge refused to be vaccinated for smallpox, because he believed that the law violated his right to care for his own body how he knew best. The Court rejected Jacobson’s challenge. This seminal 1905 ruling has served as the foundation for state actions to limit individual liberties in order to protect the public’s health.”
In an article entitled, “The law and Vaccine Resistance,” Dorit Rubinsteain Reiss, writing in Science Magazine, in 2019, reported:
An article in Science Daily informs us about the issue of vaccine refusal. “A new study from Dartmouth College shows that past problems with vaccines can cause a phenomenon known as hysteresis, creating a negative history that stiffens public resolve against vaccination. The finding explains why it is so hard to increase uptake even when overwhelming evidence indicates that vaccines are safe and beneficial.”
A December 2018 article in Pub Med, entitled, “Vaccination of Healthcare Workers: is Mandatory Vaccination Needed?” explains the critical importance of vaccinating health care workers, chosen as the first priority for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. “Vaccinations of healthcare workers (HCWs) aim to directly protect them from occupational acquisition of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and to indirectly protect their patients and the essential healthcare infrastructure.” Despite the importance to healthcare workers and the patients they serve, vaccination rates for influenza lag behind the Centers for Disease Control goal of vaccinating at least 90%.
According to the CDC, “2019-2020 flu vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel (HCP) was 80.6%, similar to coverage during the past five seasons (77.3% -81.1%).” While physicians and nurses achieved recommended levels, other healthcare staff, especially those working in long-term care settings (69.3%), “Compared with those working in hospitals and ambulatory settings and physician offices (78.8%).” Only where vaccination of employees was required (94.4%), did rates approach the CDC goal. Let’s hope the response to the COVID-19 vaccine is more successful voluntarily, or healthcare institutions might need to make vaccination mandatory for direct care employees.
Author: Richard T. Moore has served in both elective and appointed public office at local, state, and federal levels of government. He served for nearly two decades each in the Massachusetts House and Senate, as well as being chosen as President of the National Conference of State Legislatures. He also served for a time as President of the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association. Mr. Moore is a long-time member of ASPA serving terms as Massachusetts Chapter President and National Council member. His email address is [email protected].
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