Will swine flu vaccinations be voluntary or mandatory? Well, the truth is that the answer is not the same for everyone. Just today, Barack Obama said that his administration will only "strongly recommend" that all American citizens take the swine flu vaccine. So for now the U.S. government is not going to make the swine flu vaccine mandatory for everyone. Unfortunately, however, some Americans are being faced with mandatory swine flu vaccinations by their employers as a requirement to keep their jobs.In New York state, new regulations will require anyone who works in a hospital or a health care facility to get a swine flu shot. Those who refuse will be fired.
According to New York state health department spokeswoman Claire Pospisil, this disturbing new regulation, which officially took effect on August 13th, will require all hospitals and health care facilities to provide evidence that all of their workers are vaccinated for the swine flu. Penalties for institutions that violate these regulations include fines of 2,000 dollars for the first offense and up to 5,000 dollars for subsequent offenses.
Employees at a hospital in Charleston, West Virginia are facing a slightly different situation. They are not being required to get the swine flu vaccine yet, but officials there are requiring them to get the seasonal flu shot this year as a condition for keeping their jobs.
What would you do if you were faced with such a choice?
Would you take a vaccine that you did not want in order to keep your job?
In France, the citizens are not even going to have the luxury of such a choice apparently.
A shocking internal French government document has revealed the intention of the French government to vaccinate every resident of France for the swine flu without exception. The type of program described in the document more closely resembles a military campaign than a health program, and if you can read French you may be very interested in looking over the original document which you can find here:
http://www.sante-jeunesse-sports.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Circulaire_vaccination_090824.pdf
But there is quite a bit to be concerned about in the United States as well. In the state of Massachusetts, "Pandemic Response Bill" 2028 would impose fines of up to $1000 a day and up to thirty days in jail for refusing to submit to health authorities during a public health emergency. This bill has passed the state senate in Massachusetts and now the house is taking up the legislation. As news of this legislation has gotten out, opposition to it has grown dramatically, and there is hope that this insidious bill can still be stopped.
In any event, it is clear that health authorities and governments around the world are developing plans to try to vaccinate as many people as they can - even if it means more than a little arm twisting.
What do you all think about this? Are you concerned about this assault on individual liberty and freedom? Or are you okay with all of this? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments area below.
If smallpox vaccinations hadn't been made mandatory, the disease would still be killing people today. Polio would still be rampant, rather than restricted to narrow cases. Even though it is technically an infringement on personal liberty, it's a far greater attack on the whole. Further, in order to completely eradicate a disease or infection, *everyone* needs to get immunized for the sake of “herd immunity” which limits the ability of infections to propagate.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the people who have adverse reactions to vaccine ingredients, especially new vaccines that haven't even been properly tested? Are we to sacrifice the good of the few for the good of the many? And don't say that "adverse reactions to vaccine ingredients" are bogus claims made by parents trying to get rich off of lawsuits. I have 4 people in my family who all had severe reactions to vaccines and we never sued, never got a dime. Would I submit my children to a mandatory, untested, questionable vaccine so that everyone else can be protected? Considering our family history with vaccines, NO! And I would consider myself a poor excuse for a mother if I did.
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