https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-dont-need-government-mandates-for-covid-vaccination-11605222059?mod=opinion_lead_pos5
Covid-19 vaccines are almost here. Pfizer announced Monday that its vaccine has proved more than 90% effective in clinical trials. But vaccines are useless unless people take them, and it’s likely many will refuse.
The drumbeat is growing louder for the government to mandate vaccination. On Saturday the New York State Bar Association urged Albany to require Covid-19 vaccines for all New Yorkers regardless of religious objection. While courts have upheld state vaccine mandates in the past, a societywide mandate would be overbroad and unduly coercive. Private initiatives will work better.
Only 45% of American adults get vaccinated for influenza annually. Concerns about side effects and doubts about effectiveness are the two main reasons people skip the vaccine, according to the University of Chicago’s NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In a NORC survey conducted at the height of the pandemic in May, Americans expressed similar concerns about a prospective Covid-19 vaccine. While a majority claimed they would likely be vaccinated, far fewer were a definite yes. Less than half said they would definitely be vaccinated, and doubts about safety and effectiveness were common.
The Biden campaign and others have alleged that vaccine makers and the Food and Drug Administration are moving too fast toward approval—claims the FDA and drug companies vehemently deny—further eroding public trust in an eventual vaccine. A Pew Research Center poll found that the number of Americans who would definitely or probably be vaccinated fell to 51% in September from 72% in May.