BUT MANDATES AND SHAMING GIVE THE RULING CLASS A TINGLE: Polling shows persuasion better than mandates to boost vaccination.

Evidence shows vaccination is the safest way to contain COVID-19. A new survey suggests persuasion—not mandates—is the best way to boost vaccination rates.

As July saw the Delta variant sweep across states with low vaccination numbers, President Biden expressed frustration at the slow-down in daily vaccination rates. His frustration reached a boiling point on September 9. Saying “our patience is wearing thin,” Biden announced all federal government employees and health care workers in facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds must vaccinate. He further mandated that all workers in firms with 100 or more employees must either vaccinate or submit to weekly testing.

No doubt the federal government can legitimately set terms of employment for its own workers and attach conditions to the expenditure of government funds. But mandating that private individuals vaccinate is another thing entirely, one that raises moral concerns.

A new survey backs up those concerns by suggesting mandates could ironically make many unvaccinated Americans less likely to vaccinate rather than more likely. . . .

If public health officials want to change behavior, they need to stop shading the truth. Stop using divisive rhetoric like President Biden did when he said, “We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers,” which demonized the unvaccinated.

Stop undermining vaccination efforts by implying that vaccines do not protect recipients—as the Food and Drug Administration did when it paused the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did when it recommended vaccinated people wear masks indoors, and as President Biden did with the above statement.

Instead, start treating unvaccinated Americans with respect.

Treating Americans with respect is anathema to our ruling class.