This archive report was first published on 7 July 2021.
Published on July 7, 2021, President Biden's administration has been urging Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. However, experts say that more needs to be done to make vaccination a priority.
According to Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a professor of bioethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, the United States is unlikely to make significant strides in its vaccination campaign without mandates. He believes that workplaces will ultimately have to require vaccination.
"I like to say a mandate is legal, ethical and efficacious," Dr. Emanuel said. "Ultimately, workplaces are probably going to have to."
While President Biden has emphasized the importance of vaccination, he has not explicitly called for mandates. Instead, he has encouraged people to get vaccinated for their own benefit and for the good of the country.
However, some experts argue that the administration could be more aggressive in promoting vaccination. Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, believes that the administration has the power to recommend mandates and provide incentives for institutions to require vaccination.
"Vaccine mandates have been very successful in the United States and globally, even in politically difficult situations, because they make becoming vaccinated the default," Mr. Gostin said. "We have to make being unvaccinated the hard choice, not the easy one."
