Private companies must require vaccines for workers. It's the only way to get past COVID.

 Biden and the US government are limited by politics and unclear authority. But private vaccine mandates are legal, ethical and, above all, effective.

The United States has made COVID-19 vaccines accessible and free. Go to almost any local pharmacy or pop-up site, and you can easily get the shot – and pay nothing. And yet, only about 50% of Americans are fully vaccinated against this deadly virus.

The unfortunate consequence is that the highly transmissible delta variant is causing surges in cases, hospitalizations and even deaths throughout the country, particularly in spots with low vaccination rates. 

The government and experts have tried education and persuasion. The Surgeon General is leading an all-out effort to combat misinformation. President Joe Biden has resorted to pleading. What more can we do to get the United States fully vaccinated and put COVID-19 behind us for good?   

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The private sector needs to step up and mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their workers. Vaccine mandates are legal, ethical and, most important, effective. 

void the business sector must fill

The Biden administration cannot and will not introduce a nationwide COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The federal government’s legal authority to issue a vaccine mandate is unclear. More practically, a federal mandate would be nearly impossible to enforce. If someone refused the vaccine, how would the federal government respond?

The politicization of everything related to COVID-19, even masks, also negates this possibility. Going into the 2022 midterms, Democrats are right not to risk political backlash and conservative claims of government overreach.  

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While states’ legal authority to mandate vaccines is well established, similar political concerns and enforcement challenges are present. By late April, more than 40 states had already introduced legislation restricting vaccine mandates, reflecting the harsh polarization such measures generate. 

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The private sector needs to fill the void. Private employers are in a better position to institute mandates and have precedent to do so. Most health care facilities, many universities and some employers already require vaccines for the flu; measles, mumps, and rubella; HPV and/or meningococcal disease. As workers transition back to in-person activity this summer and fall, employers have a responsibility to keep them all safe.