Contributed by Jennifer Eastman
On August 5th, I was proud to attend the Anchorage rally opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, and support Alaskans whose careers are at risk because of vaccine mandates.
I spoke with mothers and fathers facing the loss of their livelihood after having risked so much on the front lines during the pandemic. I heard from people who have dedicated over 10 and 15 years of their lives proudly investing in their culture and community. Instead of being thanked, they’re being handed “mandatory resignations” if they don’t get vaccinated. Adding to the frustration, some still work remotely and others have no direct contact with patients.
Some in attendance have recovered from COVID and want to avoid taking a new vaccine when they already have immunity. Others came to oppose the coercive and tyrannical business practices that some Alaskan employers are using (and others are presently considering).
As for me, my field is microbiology. My interest in bacteria and viruses began when I was in high school, sustained me through grad school, and still continues today.
Over the years, I have been teased about my vaccine “collection” because my work as a public health microbiologist has taken me to foreign countries and has allowed me to receive some vaccines that you can’t get even if you wanted to, like rabies.
Knowing that, you might find it surprising that I would attend an event opposing the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. There is an idea floating around that if you oppose forcing people to take COVID shots, you are an anti-vaxxer. But what I saw on Thursday was a much broader cross-section of Alaska.
This was not a protest of unvaccinated Alaskans. Several of the people I saw were vaccinated but simply find these mandates un-American. It turns out there are plenty of reasons to say NO to forcing Alaskans to take a vaccine they don’t believe they need or aren’t ready for. The list is long and includes reasons that are rooted in science, law, religion, previous COVID exposure and recovery, medical condition, pregnancy, or simply choice.
Remember, not only is the virus new, the disease it causes is new, and the vaccine technology (mRNA vaccines) is new. Since these vaccines haven’t been used in humans before now, I think it is perfectly reasonable that some Alaskans will want a little more data and a few more studies completed before choosing to take, or not take, any mRNA vaccine, not just a COVID one. What some call unfounded and unreasonable skepticism, at any other time, would be called caution and prudence.
Yet real people weighing these risks right now are doing so under threat of incredibly severe punishments, including losing their careers and for college students, losing their education or scholarship opportunities. Healthcare workers now being threatened are the same doctors, nurses and other medical staff who worked on the frontline during the height of the pandemic. Many of them already have immunity to COVID because of that. Meanwhile, those writing the policies seem to care very little about the concerns of their employees or of incoming students.
As we work to protect each other from this new form of medical overreach, we must know the history, and not just the rationale that supports it. Those supporting vaccine mandates tell us that the Supreme Court is on their side. But the case they cite, Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905), didn’t deal with anyone losing their job. It was over whether the state could issue a $5 fine to a man who declined to take the Smallpox vaccine when that disease was killing 30 out of every 100 people who became infected. According to the CDC, smallpox is over 17 times more deadly than COVID-19, and yet no one was forced to take the vaccine, and no one had to live under the threat of losing their livelihood or being excluded from society if they didn’t take it. Worst case, they had to pay $5.
With requirements for vaccine “passports” spreading across the country, it is time that Alaskans take a stand together in support of our frontline workers and neighbors, and help save their jobs.
How? Start by signing the petition Against COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates by scanning the QR code shown here or visiting the “Alaskans Against Mandates” Facebook Page.
Read. Like. Share.
COVID-19 is being used to discriminate and to drive a wedge between those more, and less, hesitant to be vaccinated.
To paraphrase Martin Niemöller:
First they came after the healthcare workers, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a healthcare worker.
Then they came after the military and first responders, and I didn’t speak out –
Because I was not a military member or a first responder.
Then they came after those in the travel industry, and I didn’t speak out –
Because I was not in the travel industry.
Then they came after me.
Please sign the petition.
