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Op-Ed: Vaccine mandate madness leading to
mass resignations
[The Center Square] Chris Talgo | The
Heartland Institute
Throughout the United
States, COVID-19 vaccine mandates are wreaking havoc, causing a mass
exodus of employees. From nurses to school teachers, American workers
are resigning en masse due to one reason: federal, state, and local
vaccine mandates. |
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 In my home state of Illinois, for example, Chicago Mayor Lori
Lightfoot declared that all Chicago Police Department (CPD) officers must be
vaccinated by Oct. 15, or else they will be placed on unpaid leave.
As of now, one day before Lightfoot’s vaccine deadline, nearly half of CPD
officers are in jeopardy of losing their livelihoods because they have chosen,
for whatever reason, not to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
According to Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President
John Catanzara, “It's safe to say the city of Chicago will have a police force
at 50 percent or less for this weekend coming up.”
Catanzara added, “That is not because of the FOP. … That is 100 percent because
of the mayor's unwillingness to budge from her hard line. Whatever happens
because of that manpower issue, that falls at the mayor's doorstep.”
Lightfoot, undeterred by the danger that Chicago’s already overworked police
force could be halved in a day, responded, “The only way we can make this work
is we've got to hold people accountable, and we are absolutely prepared to do
that. … Again, our messages to the members: Protect yourself. Protect your
family, protect your partner, protect members of the public, get yourself
vaccinated.”
 Unfortunately, this is par for the course when it comes to vaccine mandates. The
message to CPD officers (and health care workers throughout the nation), who put
their lives on the line protecting people during the pandemic: thanks, now get
vaccinated, or else.
Obviously, this makes little sense. It also is a giant slap in the face to all
the brave Americans who literally put their lives in jeopardy for more than 18
months, treating COVID-19 patients and doing other jobs that had to be done.
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Moreover, blanket vaccine mandates, like the one
Lightfoot issued to CPD, fail to consider those who have recovered
from COVID-19 and have natural immunity.
Several studies show that natural immunity offers far superior
protection than any of the COVID-19 vaccines. Per one recent study,
“natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection
against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization caused by
the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose
vaccine-induced immunity.”
Heavy-handed vaccine mandates are also an
infringement on religious freedom. Because vaccine developers used
aborted fetal tissue in the production process, many Americans
(including some CPD officers, I suspect) have legitimate reason to
be exempted based on their sincerely held religious beliefs.
Aside from the scientific and religious aspects, what about bodily
autonomy? The mayor of Chicago, the governor of Illinois, and the
president of the United States should not have the power to require
that Americans be inoculated or else they not be allowed to hold a
job.
This is anti-American to the core. And it will wreak untold havoc in
an already chaotic economy.
The U.S. job market currently has 11 million job openings, an
all-time record. As vaccine mandate deadlines loom, it is highly
likely the number of unfilled jobs will skyrocket in the near
future.
Some professions, such as police officers and health care workers,
cannot afford to lose more workers due to vaccine mandates.
At this point in the pandemic, any American who wants to be
vaccinated has had ample opportunity to do so. The vaccines are free
and widely available. Those who have chosen not to get vaccinated
have done so for a reason. That is their decision, and theirs alone.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is senior editor
at The Heartland Institute. |
