Earlier this month Dr. Anthony Fauci said it was likely that some businesses and institutions will require employees to be vaccinated. He also said it’s “quite possible” the vaccine will be required for international travel.
While Dr. Fauci does not believe a national vaccine mandate will be put in place, he does think it’s possible that local level mandates will be put in place.
There are already many vaccines required at state or local levels. The Covid-19 vaccine is still an experimental vaccine that has only been authorized for emergency use. Moderna and Pfizer have not finished stage three clinical trials for the vaccines.
According to news reports, about half of all front-line workers in Riverside County, California, have refused the vaccine, as have 60% of nursing home staff in Ohio, 40% of staff at Chicago’s Loretto Hospital and 40% of LA’s front-line workers. Similar rates of vaccine refusal are being reported in several European countries.
Fauci Now Says COVID-19 Vaccine May Become Mandatory
As of late December, the risk of adverse reactions for the vaccine was 2.79%, compared to the mortality rate of covid-19, which is around 0.26% for noninstitutionalized individuals, and an even smaller rate of mortality under the age of 40, 0.01%.