Persuasive Essay
Persuasive Essay
Jessica Hopper
Lucas Dietrich
As of June 2021, more than 900,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, which is now
under control from the vaccinations. Consequently, the commanding General of Fort Campbell’s
1-101st Airborne Division, MG McGee, has limited travel for unvaccinated soldiers, restricting
them from putting in leave or weekend passes. Yet, on the other hand, placing an incentive of a
four-day weekend for reaching a specific percentage of vaccination amongst a unit’s personnel.
Placing restrictions on unvaccinated personnel should not be supported. People may have
personal reasons to abstain from receiving the vaccination that is currently undergoing research
and trials. After the FDA approves the vaccination, it is unlikely that the Federal Government
will have the resources, or authority, to impose a universal vaccine mandate. The government
implementing restrictions on unvaccinated personnel should not be supported due to the issue
that the vaccinations have not been in use long enough to have completed thorough research,
such as long-term side effects. Once the vaccine receives full FDA approval, it will still be
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was placed on a temporary pause on April 12 due to
six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot, called Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis
(CVST). CVST forms in the venous sinuses within the tough outer layer of your brain directly
under the skull called the dura mater. This causes seizures, comas, and could lead to death. Out
of the 6.8 million doses distributed, this blood clot appeared in 6 females ages 18 to 48. The
chance of ending up with CVST being below 1%, makes it arguable that it should be an issue.
Questions have been raised on the vaccination affecting fertility and the CDC promptly
responded it “should” not be an issue. This shows that the vaccination being issued to the public
has not been tested long enough for us to be aware of all the side effects, and we do not possess
information on how the vaccine will affect the body long term. After the pause being lifted,
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military installations have not resumed providing doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine,
only offering the Moderna and Pfizer. This temporary pause and lack of availability afterward
continuously proves that these vaccines have not been tested long enough to be fully reliable.
Hence, they should not be placing restrictions pushing soldiers to receive the vaccine which
could potentially cause life-threatening conditions. Knowing the adverse effects of what you are
distributing is essential because of the effects it could have on a person’s life and could result in
lawsuits.
“Houston Methodist was the first company in Texas and possibly the country to make
COVID vaccines mandatory.” (Bob Nevans, 2021) Houston Methodist began to require
personnel to be vaccinated, even if working from home, or risk losing their jobs. In result, one
hundred seventeen employees have decided to take legal action. The hospital’s director of
coorperate risk, Bob Nevens has spoken up about the issue in an online petition on change.org
stating, “My civil liberties have been trampled on. My right to protect myself from unknown side
effects of these vaccines has been placed below the optics of ‘Leading Medicine.’” Nevans has
since been fired from the cooperation “after being given just fifteen days to take the COVID-19
individuals to whom the product is administered are informed-” and “Of the option to accept or
the product, and of the alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and
risks.” The lawsuits have since been expunged due to hinges on the stated federal law codes.
This is questioned by The Nuremberg Code (1947), due to the fact that while the vaccine has
been tested in clinical trials, the personnel currently receiving the vaccine are still being studied
to find unknown problems caused by the vaccinations. The Nuremberg Code was created based
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on the war crimes from the Nazi doctors to Jewish prisoners in WWII, to require “voluntary,
informed consent of the human subject” under medical experiments. Until the COVID-19
vaccinations have received full FDA approval they will remain under research, therefore
December 11, 2020, “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the first
emergency use authorization (EUA) for a vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019
individuals 16 years of age and older”. (FDA, 2020) Before requesting EUA authorization, Pfizer
these participants, 18,801 received the vaccine, while 18,785 received the saline placebo. The
vaccine was 95% effective in preventing the disease, but we only see the short-term
effectiveness. Participants were tracked for only two months after receiving the trial, meaning
data is not available to decide how long the vaccine will provide protection, nor is there evidence
that the vaccine prevents the transmission from person to person. In time, the vaccine will
receive full FDA approval, and we will have sufficient evidence on the long-term effects and
effectiveness. There have also been studies and surveys proving that different races, ethnicities,
and health complications can affect a person’s willingness to receive the vaccination.
Studies show African Americans are less likely than Caucasians (47% vs. 79%),
Hispanics are more willing than Caucasians (80% vs. 79%), and females are less likely than
males (72% vs. 79%) to receive the vaccine. These results could be related to ethical, religious,
or medical reasons underlying a person(s) gender or race. Even after the vaccination is FDA-
approved, a vaccine mandate is expected to “backfire spectacularly” (Dr. Dorit Reiss, 2020).
This is due to several reasons. Dr. Reiss states it perfectly in her article saying, “once we have an
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approved vaccine, we will not have enough doses,” because, “we will be producing tens of
millions of doses- not the hundreds of millions needed to cover the United States.” This will
result in certain groups being prioritized to receive the vaccine, which will not support a
universal mandate. Once a mandate is passed it will likely be challenged in court, and it is
doubtful that the Federal Government has the authority to impose one.
In conclusion, the government placing restrictions on a vaccine that is still under trial and
research will end up being difficult to mandate once all research is complete is simply
unconstructive. While some people already refuse to receive the vaccine, “more than a third of
Americans would refuse a free, FDA-approved vaccine if it was ready today.” (Dr. Dorit Reiss,
2020). The Army, in particular, is restricting soldiers to radius limitations, denying leave passes,
and offering long weekends to vaccinated personnel to try influence personnel to get vaccinated.
If the Army were to do so on a vaccine that has finished trials and research and is a universal or
country-wide vaccine, it would be justifiable. We, however, have no way of knowing what we
will find as we continue the study of the vaccines, and if the vaccine will get far enough to be
attempted to mandate or receive full approval, so taking away the privileges of Americans should
not be supported.
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Works Cited
Commissioner, Office of the. “Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19
announcements/joint-cdc-and-fda-statement-johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.
Kelly, Bridget J., et al. “Predictors of Willingness to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine in the U.S.”
bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-021-06023-9.
“Fort Campbell Commander Warns Unvaccinated Soldiers That Their Summer Travel Will Be
Reiss, Dorit. “Why a COVID-19 Vaccine Shouldn’t Be Mandatory.” Bill of Health, 15 Sept.
2020, blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2020/09/15/covid19-vaccine-mandate-
compulsory.
Office of the Commissioner. “FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing
Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine.” U.S. Food and Drug
takes-key-action-fight-against-covid-19-issuing-emergency-use-authorization-first-covid-
19.
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Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines
blood-biologics/vaccines/emergency-use-authorization-vaccines-explained.
Savulescu, Julian. “Good Reasons to Vaccinate: Mandatory or Payment for Risk?” Journal of
Goodman, B. (2021, June 1). Texas Hospital Workers Sue Over Vaccine Mandates. WebMD.
https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20210601/texas-hospital-
workers-sue-over-vaccine-mandate.
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 21 U.S. Code § 360bbb–3 - Authorization for medical
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/360bbb-3.
https://www.change.org/p/houston-methodist-covid-vaccine-should-not-be-mandatory-or-
termination/c/817072818.