Fact or Fiction?
Mandates
FACT: No one is ever forced to get vaccinated, but vaccine mandates can help protect us and our loved ones from disease.
Vaccine mandates are requirements for people to get vaccinated.
The government, schools, or employers may issue them. Vaccine mandates can prevent you from participating in an activity (like attending school or work) until you get vaccinated. Many vaccine requirements allow for exceptions (also called “exemptions”). No one can ever force anyone to get vaccinated, but the choice not to vaccinate can be dangerous to the community. If you choose to go unvaccinated, you may not be allowed to participate in certain activities. That’s why mandates exist. They aim to keep everyone safe from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Vaccine mandates have a long history.
Vaccine mandates have been around for a long time. The first mandate in the U.S. was in 1777 during the Revolutionary War. George Washington ordered all his soldiers to get immunized against smallpox.
All states in the U.S. require children to get vaccinated against certain diseases to attend school. The first school vaccine mandate dates back to 1855 when Massachusetts required smallpox for school entry. In 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court said states could pass and enforce vaccination laws. These mandates have been successful in reducing disease outbreaks.
Mandates help to keep communities safe.
Mandates are put in place when getting vaccinated is important to the health and protection of the community. This may happen when there is a serious health threat, like the COVID-19 pandemic. It also happens when the likelihood of disease spread is high, like in school and healthcare settings. Mandates help increase the number of people who get vaccinated. In turn, they help stop disease spread.
When most people in a community get vaccinated, it helps protect people who cannot get vaccinated. This includes people with weakened immune systems and people who are too young to get some vaccines. Vaccines may seem like a personal choice, but choosing not to get vaccinated affects those around you, too. It impacts the safety and freedom of your whole community. When we vaccinate, we help protect the people close to us and our whole community from serious diseases.
COVID-19 vaccine mandates helped slow disease spread during the pandemic.
We all became more familiar with vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government and some companies required their employees to get vaccinated. Some cities also required people to be vaccinated to go to restaurants, gyms, and other community gathering places. These mandates helped control the spread of COVID-19. By May 2023, enough people were vaccinated to provide community immunity (or “herd immunity”) and most mandates were lifted.
Flu vaccine mandates help keep hospital settings safe.
Since 1995, multiple states have required health-care workers to get the flu vaccine each year. Many hospitals require the vaccine for their employees. Studies have shown that these requirements decrease influenza illnesses and deaths. Vaccinating hospital workers can reduce the spread of influenza in hospitals. Flu vaccine mandates especially help to protect the most vulnerable populations like babies, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
Exemptions are available for those who need them.
Most vaccine mandates have some form of exemption or exception. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some places offered the option of weekly testing or wearing a mask instead of getting vaccinated. Exemptions to school- and work-required vaccines are sometimes available for medical, religious, or personal belief reasons. Some exemptions are necessary. For example, people with severely weakened immune systems may not be able to get vaccines. However, studies show that places with more exemptions have more disease outbreaks. Vaccine mandates play a key role in preventing disease outbreaks.