Professors Propose Making COVID Vaccinations Mandatory: ‘Do Not Honor Religious Objections’
CLEVELAND, Ohio — In an article recently published by USA Today, three professors at Case Western Reserve University — two of whom are doctors — call for COVID vaccinations to be mandatory, with no allowance for religious objections. They also suggest that “disincentives” be imposed to ensure compliance, from the revocation of certain government benefits, to denial of service from private businesses and the inability to ride public transportation. “[W]hile the measures that will be necessary to defeat the coronavirus will seem draconian, even anti-American to some, we believe that there is no alternative. Simply put, getting vaccinated is going to be our patriotic duty,” write Dr. Michael Lederman, Maxwell J. Mehlman and Dr. Stuart Youngner in a piece entitled “Defeat COVID-19 by requiring vaccination for all. It’s not un-American, it’s patriotic.”
CLEVELAND, Ohio — In an article recently published by USA Today, three professors at Case Western Reserve University — two of whom are doctors — call for COVID vaccinations to be mandatory, with no allowance for religious objections. They also suggest that “disincentives” be imposed to ensure compliance, from the revocation of certain government benefits, to denial of service from private businesses and the inability to ride public transportation. “[W]hile the measures that will be necessary to defeat the coronavirus will seem draconian, even anti-American to some, we believe that there is no alternative. Simply put, getting vaccinated is going to be our patriotic duty,” write Dr. Michael Lederman, Maxwell J. Mehlman and Dr. Stuart Youngner in a piece entitled “Defeat COVID-19 by requiring vaccination for all. It’s not un-American, it’s patriotic.”
Lederman is an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the school; Mehlman is a law professor and director of Case’s Law-Medicine Center; and Youngner is professor of bioethics and pyschiatry, with a focus on the issues of death, organ transplant ethics and end-of-life decision-making.
The men assert that when a vaccine is created and widely circulated, it will result in “herd immunity,” reducing the risk of infection for the public at large.
Lederman, Mehlman and Youngner opine that to decline vaccination is to consequently put others’ lives at risk. They propose that vaccinations be free and easily accessible and that the only exemption be an adverse medical reaction to the injection.
“Do not honor religious objections. The major religions do not officially oppose vaccinations,” the article states. “Do not allow objections for personal preference [either], which violate the social contract.”
