Change Your World Week Fall 2021 (Archived)

The problem that we feel needs to be brought to everyone’s attention and changed, is forcing American citizens to be vaccinated instead of getting it on their own accord. This issue has been a result of the Biden administration taking office and requiring people to get the vaccine.            

The vaccine in itself is not the issue, but forcing it upon people is. Similar to other medications, the COVID vaccine can have some side effects; among some of these are Anaphylaxis, Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J/Janssen),  Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Myocarditis and pericarditis, and even in rare cases, death. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021, October 18). These side effects are not very common, but still possible to get. This is one of the many reasons we believe the vaccine should not be forced. Citizens should never be required to inject any foreign substance in their body, especially one that can have negative side effects. 

This issue is rooted within the Biden administration, and how they have dealt with COVID, and how to plan to deal with it. Since Biden took office in 2020, his administration has been slowly pushing harder and harder to get people vaccinated. At first they said that if you get vaccinated, you wouldn’t have to wear a mask, but now as more and more people are getting vaccinated, we are still required to wear masks. The Biden administration this September released a new announcement in which they plan to require All employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly, require COVID-⁠19 vaccinations for over 17 Million health care workers at  Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals and other Health care settings; calling on large entertainment venues to require proof of vaccination or testing for entry, requiring staff in head start programs, department of defense schools, and bureau of Indian education-operated schools to be vaccinated, and calling on all states to adopt vaccine requirements for all school employees. We are getting all of these new vaccine requirements even though we are seeing a 15% drop in daily COVID cases. Why does the Government keep requiring people to get the vaccine if the numbers are going down, and when will the requirements end? The issue with this, is COVID has become a very partisan idea and who knows what consequences may happen to the workforce when their companies start requiring vaccines. 

The vaccine is said to keep those and the ones around you safe and while it does keep you safe, does it really keep the people around you safe? Even if you get the vaccine, you are still able to get COVID, you just won't be as sick. Therefore, no matter your vaccination status, you can still get COVID and spread it to other people. This shows that vaccines do not keep those around you safe. The only thing it keeps safe is yourself. Therefore, vaccines should be a personal choice; as you hold no more danger to other people if you are unvaccinated.

COVID-19 has been the talk for the past year in a half with many different aspects. From the masks, to standing six feet apart, always washing out hands and sanitizing, to now the vaccine. Since last March when COVID came it has been chaotic with many different views. There are now, many people losing their jobs and refusing the highly recommended COVID-19 shots that democrats believe will help. "Republican-led states and private businesses challenging the mandate have not shown that their claimed injuries 'outweigh the harm of [stopping] a Standard that will save thousands of lives and prevent hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations.'" (DOJ Asks Federal Appeals Court to Lift Temporary Order Blocking Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate). Democrats/liberals believe that if we get the COVID-19 vaccine we will slow the spread and hopefully not get as sick compared to if we do not get it. They are getting irritated with the private businesses who are choosing for their companies to not get the vaccines as they are adding to the problem of those who are unvaccinated being careless and harmful to others. 

Dr. Lena Wen who is an emergency medicine physician states "that COVID-19 vaccines should be required for all eligible Americans before the situation spins out of control." (U.S News). This virus has killed more than 600,000 American's and many more around the world. If people are fully vaccinated it reduces the risk of harming others. If someone that is fully vaccinated comes in contact with someone who has COVID they won't have to quarantine unless they are experiencing symptoms which means you would have to miss less work or school. Some people don't want to get the vaccine because they don't trust it.  The vaccine has to be tested and go through all different types of protocol before it can be allowed to us. If the government thought it wouldn't help us they wouldn't be allowing people to get it they also tell you all the different side effects that are possible. They tell you all the benefits that there are from getting it. This vaccine has helped many people feel safer in their everyday lives.

When it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine mandates there are several stakeholders. These are the people who hold the power, or advantage of the issue and are implementing policy or influence. So who are these people, and what power do they have over the issue? One example would be the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since the CDC is in charge of preventing and maintaining disease, they are allowed to give recommendations surrounding them. With COVID-19, they did just that. Recently, the CDC made a media statement recommending a booster shot for all individuals who have received a COVID-19 shot. People are eligible for the booster after 6 months or more after their initial shots. “These recommendations are another example of our fundamental commitment to protect as many people as possible from COVID-19.”(CDC Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Booster Shots). CDC Director Rochelle P. Wallensky, M.D., M.P.H, states. This shows the influence the CDC holds when it comes to vaccine recommendations that can easily influence the people reading.

Another stakeholder surrounding this issue are the State Health officials. Like the CDC, The State Health Department is recommending the new booster shot for people who have gotten the Covid-19 vaccine. The booster shot is being held at local pharmacies. MDHHS spokeswoman Chelsea Wuth states in an article, “(Michiganders) can just bring their vaccination card,” explaining the process of getting the booster shot. This shows the power relationship between the CDC and the State Health officials, and that together, they have an even greater influence on the people consuming these recommendations.

Furthermore, a greater influence and power holder on the Covid-19 vaccine mandates is social media. Most people nowadays are constantly on social media soaking up the content that is influencing most of their opinions and decisions. Students from the University of Boston, MA conducted a cross-sectional, social media based survey in December of 2020, that addressed personal opinions toward the Covid-19 vaccination in the U.S. They found that young audiences of social media presented a positive attitude towards the vaccine (81.5%). Because most people were for the Covid-19 vaccine, that influence on social media surrounding it is having a big impact on the people consuming it. It’s almost like a domino effect. More and more people are following each other’s opinions on the vaccine because of what they are consuming on social media versus forming their own opinions first. All of these stakeholders are the ones who hold that power of persuasion and influence, which is why some people feel obligated to get the vaccine because of what others feel is best. 

A major way to solve this issue is to simply stop forcing it onto one another. There are people who will shove it down your throat saying that the vaccine is the best way to stay safe with COVID-19. “The FDA posted data from Pfizer showing that the vaccine had a 90.7% efficacy rate in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in 5-11 year old kids” (FDA's News Release). However, to a majority of people that is not the case. There have been multiple incidents with certain individuals who got the vaccine and it did not end well for them. Although lots of people have gotten COVID-19, and the masks may not work as well as we had hoped, forcing individuals to be vaccinated is not the answer. When people are told what to do time after time they get irritated and stop wanting to do what they were told and that is what is happening right now. The vaccine is getting thrown into our faces each day and citizens are fed up with it. 

Another way for us to fix the problem is to rally or protest against this issue. Freedom of speech is the first amendment in the constitution, and frankly the most important. Without freedom of speech we would not be able to push back against this vaccine that is being very highly recommend to us. With the vaccine being mandated in businesses, it is causing multiple people to lose their jobs, or leave the job they have been with and are high up in that business because they do not want to lose their liberty and get the vaccine. “Biden said that private companies with 100 or more employees must vaccinate all workers against COVID-19, or test them for COVID-19 each week” (The Impact Of Biden's Vaccine Mandates). Getting tested for COVID may not seem that bad but getting a stick shoved up your nose each week gets annoying and uncomfortable. The vaccine being mandated is causing more issues rather than trying to solve or fix the problem.

There has been a huge debate on the vaccine. A majority of the republican party believes that the vaccine should not be forced to have the vaccine due to a few reasons. First reason is because the vaccine came out very fast which worries some people making them not want to get it. The second reason is because of our freedom. In America we have individual freedom which allows us to use our own voices and make our own choices. With mandating this vaccine a lot of people feel that their freedom is being taken away. However, more of the democratic party is wanting to mandate the vaccine. The democratic party believes that everyone would be safer with the vaccine if we all got it and believe that COVID-19 would slowly die down and there would not be as high of COVID cases. 

• First way to make a change is to make sure you are educated on the topic you are fighting about. Be educated on the democratic side and on the republican side to make sure you have your facts right.
• Secondly, make sure you have an interest group who stands with you. With a task this big being the only person fighting can be difficult. Having people who agree with you and put their time into the situation will help. 
• Lastly, keep going. Protesting a huge issue like this will most likely get shut down very fast and multiple times; but if you keep trying and get back on your feet you can make a huge change.  

Thank you all for reading our page, we hope you guys all enjoyed and learned a little more about the vaccine. We hope you all are doing what is best for you and your family and staying safe. 

U.S. News Staff. “why covid-19 vaccines should be required for all American’s.” 5 Aug, 2021 https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/why-covid-19-vaccines-should-be-required-for-all-americans

Schneider, Jessica, and Kaitlan Collins. “DOJ Asks Federal Appeals Court to Lift Temporary Order Blocking Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate.” Google, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/11/08/politics/white-house-vaccine-mandate/index.html. 

Relations, Media. “CDC Expands Eligibility for Covid-19 Booster Shots.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Oct. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p1021-covid-booster.html.

Michigan Radio By Steve Carmody. “State Health Officials Encourage Michiganders to Get a COVID-19 Booster Shot.” Michigan Radio, 22 Oct. 2021, https://www.michiganradio.org/health/2021-10-22/michigan-health-officials-encourage-michiganders-to-get-a-covid-19-booster-shot.

Benis, Arriel, et al. “Reasons for Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine by US Social Media Users.” Vaccines, vol. 9, no. 4, 2021, p. 315., https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9040315

Https://Www.allsides.com/News/2021-10-22-0510/Moderna-and-Johnson-Johnson-Covid-19-Vaccine-Booster-Shots-Greenlighted-Cdc.

“Story of the Week: The Impact of Biden's Vaccine Mandates.” AllSides, 23 Sept. 2021, https://www.allsides.com/blog/impact-bidens-vaccine-mandates. 

“F.D.A. Says Pfizer Vaccines Benefits Outweigh Key Risks in Children 5 to 11.” AllSides, 23 Oct. 2021, https://www.allsides.com/news/2021-10-23-0942/fda-says-pfizer-vaccine-s-benefits-outweigh-key-risks-children-5-11.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, October 18). Selected adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html. 

The United States Government. (2021, September 9). President Biden's COVID-19 plan. The White House. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/