Paternalism Blog #2

My topic is COVID-19 vaccine mandates in public k-12 schools in the United States. I see myself taking the stance that their should be forced vaccine COVID-19 mandates in public k-12 schools in the United States. One of the main points is that COVID-19 vaccines are very effective in maintaining public health, especially in the prevention of the spreading of COVID-19. According to a researcher from the Institute of Public Health at the University of Paris, the majority of scientists believe it will help keep schools open during highly transmissible variants. Additionally, mandating COVID-19 vaccines is of upmost legality. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts, states were given the rights of vaccine mandates, so each state can pick and choose which vaccine mandates to instate. Lastly, COVID-19 vaccine mandates are also of ethicality. This is based on the principle of non-maleficence. According to medical doctor Sween, "a vaccine mandate is ethically justified if it benefits the person being vaccinated, minimizes harms to vaccinated individuals, vaccination benefits outweigh any potential burdens, and it is the most effective and least risky method to prevent disease spread compared to other potential interventions. Existing vaccines meet all these criteria; therefore, vaccine mandates are ethically justified." My biggest weakness is that some might say this will actually cause more kids to leave public school, and become home schooled, as their parents will protest the mandate. This will cause more and more kids to become less social, and will ruin their self-confidence/self-esteem, and will continue to allow COVID-19 to run rampant. However, what we can do is create educational programs and resources to teach parents about the efficacy of such COVID-19 vaccines. 

Above is a student getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the state of California.