Washington Post: Opinion: The foolish GOP grandstanding against vaccine mandates
President Biden’s decision to mandate vaccines for businesses with more than 100 employees is having the desired impact. Big companies are complying, and more Americans are getting vaccinated every day, protecting themselves, their families and the world around them. New daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths are declining. But in a misguided bit of political grandstanding, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has banned vaccine mandates in the state.
Ideally, vaccines should not require mandates at all. They are highly effective, free and widely available. But millions of Americans are still hesitant. In a small number of cases, they can and should get religious or health exemptions. A larger share of people have been exposed to destructive disinformation and misinformation about vaccines, accelerated by social media. The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates are that 79.1 percent of eligible Americans are vaccinated with at least one shot or definitely plan to get it, 8 percent say they probably will or are unsure, and 13 percent say definitely not. That latter figure is down from 19 percent in early June.