I agree that the vaccine requirements are unprecedented. I just don't think they're the only thing that's unprecedented at this time. I can't imagine being a business owner and having people die because of the air in my building. Even if it's "not my fault" I'd still probably feel horrible. As a side note, my great uncle, we believe, caught covid at a restaurant, along with his wife and his brother-in-law. He died and she was really sick in the hospital.
Likewise food service workers have long been required to bandage wounds, wear hair nets and gloves, avoid work when ill, etc.
If COVID were only transmissible when you were symptomatic there would probably be no real public health need to apply this kind of check. But since it is silly to think you can simultaneously use masks and eat in a restaurant, as anti-vaxxers are fond of reminding us, you're left with measures like that if you want indoor dining in a restaurant.
Perhaps because previously everyone (or "enough" people) were required to get particular medical treatments (i.e., vaccinations) to get into kindergarten, and that it was just assumed that 'everyone' had the vaccinations—or at least anyone who go into and graduated kindergarten. The only change is a new disease that previously did not exist so there was no vaccine for it, so we all had to get it all at once now.
Rules for my local jurisdiction:
> Unless they have a valid exemption, children who attend primary or secondary school must be immunized against: diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis (meningococcal disease), whooping cough (pertussis), chickenpox (varicella) – required for children born in 2010 or later.
* https://www.ontario.ca/page/vaccines-children-school
I'm also amused by current members in the military objecting to having to get the COVID vaccine… when you had to get a whole bunch of vaccinations to join in the first place. And this is nothing new: in the US, General George Washington had mandates.
While I don’t like mandates, I would be less resistant to them if they were applied logically…or if short of logically—at least evenly.
> The only thing new here is a politically driven disregard for human life.
The only new thing here? And you can read minds and are certain that the only possible motive here is a disregard for human life? Really? That is not a serious comment.
I'd argue there's a lot of new things and qualitative differences here.
Here are 2 big ones you should consider.
#1) Once the technology to measure clicks was invented, the business model of the mass media has changed from promoting how trustworthy they were to a competition about driving traffic through emotional manipulation (fear, anger, sadness, etc). What media somebody uses has a big impact on how they trust either the Covid-Fear-Porn or Vaccine-Fear-Porn presented.
#2) These vaccine were developed in a much different and quicker fashion than previous vaccines: many of which took around 10+ years of development and testing before being introduced into a mass audience. I think it's entirely rational to be more than a little cautious about the short-term side effects and long-term problems with these new vaccines. It's very easy to see why somebody who took plenty of previous vaccines is cautious about these vaccines.
1. Not all vaccines are required go participate in society.
2. I believe this is the first vaccine to be mandated within 12 months of its distribution, though I'd love to be proven wrong about that.
It’s a very clearly written decision.