The recent news of airlines requiring proof of a Covid 19 vaccine has people up in arms.
Obviously anti-vaxxers are furious, as are people who don’t want to be told what to do with their bodies and others who are wary about the risks associated with a brand new vaccine. Personally, I’ve been sheltering at home since this all began, only going out for groceries and anxiously awaiting the day when the emergence of a vaccine will enable me to feel safe venturing out into the world again. Having said that, I am among those who are nervous about the first Covid vaccine. But I’m not going to fault airlines if they decide to require a vaccination to take a flight.
Why?
Because it’s their private business and they get to make the rules.
It’s just like any other establishment.
If you don’t want to wear clothes, a no shirt, no shoes, no service policy might elicit an annoyance. However, if you want to shop at an establishment enforcing this policy, you’re going to have to either abide by their rules or go somewhere else.
The same goes for airlines.
There are other requirements, like what liquids you’re allowed to bring, how much luggage is allowed on the plane, and wearing masks. A Covid vaccine requirement is no different. If your preferred airline is mandating vaccination and you don’t like it, maybe it’s time for you to find a different airline with laxer requirements. This has nothing to do with forcing you to get a vaccine. It’s a business establishing a rule in order to protect their staff and clientele.
Nobody is forcing you to change how you live or do anything you don’t want to do with your body.
This is not the same thing as other social issues regarding rights to your body, such as abortion. You do have the choice, and have to deal with the consequences associated with that choice. And, just as much as you have a choice on what to do with your body, businesses have a choice of how they want to conduct their affairs. This may not align with your beliefs, but your beliefs also may not align with theirs. This is the basic structure of society; everyone is different and believes different things.
While I’m not in the business of convincing people who are against vaccines to change their minds, I am heavily passionate about seeking out information from credible sources.
Unfortunately, there are countless sources that pose as credible but actually are based on anecdotal evidence and opinion rather than medical/scientific studies and factual data. Therefore, I have made it easy for you and did some open-minded research on my own about the safety of vaccines. The most frequent correlation I ran across was that between vaccines and autism in children. According to several articles in peer-reviewed journals, not only is this not true, but Wakefield’s study that supposedly proved the correlation actually used falsified information, making the study fraudulent. Here is the published study for you to read that disproves Wakefield’s study.
As far as the safety of aluminum in vaccines goes, all of the peer-reviewed articles I could find were old, the most recent from 2011. The general consensus seemed to be that as far as they know the small amount of aluminum in vaccines is fine, but not enough research has been done. Obviously, in large amounts aluminum is toxic, but according to the CDC website there is such a small amount in the vaccines that contain it that it is perfectly safe to take. Also, not all vaccines contain aluminum, so the Covid vaccine might not even have it. I wish there was more info that I could give you on this one, but there’s not a whole lot out there.
In an attempt to provide you with more credible information, here are additional articles from peer-reviewed journals regarding vaccines:
- Autism Occurrence by MMR vaccine status among US children with older siblings with and without autism. Concluded that there is no correlation between vaccines and autism.
- Vaccine Safety: Evidence-Based Research Must Prevail. Concludes that the Wakefield study included fraudulent information. Further proof of no correlation between autism and vaccines.
- Vaccine Adverse Events: Separating Myth from Reality. Talks about the real side effects from vaccines and the side effects that we now know to be untrue. It also provides a chart chronicling the effects of vaccines on lessening/eradicating diseases.
Look, you believe what you believe and there’s probably nothing I can do to change it, so I’m not trying to.
Yes, I do believe that getting the Covid vaccine is the smart and caring thing to do, but if it goes against your belief system, so be it. It just doesn’t make sense for you to get mad about a business that is exercising their freedoms just like you are exercising yours. This is especially since it’s not causing you harm. It doesn’t seem to me like airlines are being unreasonable if they do decide to go for the mandatory vaccination. Again, nobody is forcing anything on you; you just have to make choices in accordance with rules that businesses institute for themselves.
It’s their business and they are allowed to enforce rules that you don’t agree with. This is just like any other business.
There is no need for an uprising or tantrums. If you don’t agree with it, move on and spend your money elsewhere. You have to decide what is most important to you: staying vaccine-free, or boarding a flight. The choice is yours.
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