Paternalism Blog Post #1
My current topic focuses on wether or not COVID-19 vaccines should be mandated in public k-12 schools in the United States. Currently, there is no mandate that has been implemented in any state, accept in the capital of Washington D.C. However, California does have a mandate that is pending (see link). There are a plethora of prospectives regarding the mandating of vaccines in public k-12 schools. Some of these prospectives include effectiveness, legality, and ethicality. The majority of scientists believe it will help keep schools open during highly transmissible variants, however, there is unclear data about vaccines' efficacies for new variants of COVID-19, like the sub-variants of Omicron (see both of these sources - link2 & link 3). In terms of legality, this is also highly contested, given that some states have put bans on COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Some say this violates the Constitution. Though, there have been numerous Supreme Court cases saying that it is up to the state legislature (see link 4). Lastly, there is ethics. Some say that students would just be used aa guinea pigs, given that COVID-19 vaccines have not been around for a long time compared to others. Some say that it is ethical, based on the principle of nonmaleficence (see link 5). Overall the debate of wether or not COVID-19 vaccines should be mandated in public k-12 schools is a heated discussion. I hope to dive into it more to determine what course of action should be best for the future of America.
I am also doing my paper on the covid-19 vaccination mandate. I have been able to find many articles and evidence that support both sides to this issue. It is definitely a topic that can be controversial.
ReplyDeleteYep!
DeleteIs there a common consensus to this topic? What sort of conflicts arise with this topic? Vaccinations are becoming more contested, despite the eagerness for ones like the polio vaccine back just a couple of decades ago. With the resurgence of polio, and other diseases, should governments be willing to let go and say "do whatever you want" or do you think they should intervene
ReplyDeleteOne of the conflicts that could arise are those who will resist these mandates, like extreme right winged conspiracy theory parents. This could prevent their kids from going to school, therefore there would have to be more actions taken by the government.
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