Can Employer Mandates Get More Americans Vaccinated? New York and California Are Finding Out

What to do about the U.S. vaccine uptake rate? Even with what appears to be a slight increase as people try to protect themselves against the more transmissible Delta variant now spreading through many parts of the country, only a pitiful 0.1% or so of Americans are currently getting their first dose every day. That’s a far cry from the urgent scramble that Delta demands, especially given that only about half the country is fully vaccinated—and some places, like Louisiana (36.6%) and Arkansas (36%), are lagging woefully behind. So far, the U.S. vaccination drive has largely relied on carrots—the idea has been to sell people on the notion that, when you’re vaccinated, you can more safely see loved ones, go out to eat, and so on. But it’s become clear that about half of Americans don’t feel they need to be vaccinated to enjoy those things. When the nationwide COVID-19 case numbers were ultra-low earlier this summer, that might have been a relatively low-risk choice, since when there’s little virus circulating in a given area, unvaccinated people can essentially operate like free riders, benefitting from the community protection conferred by those who got their shots. But now, as the Delta variant fuels what could become a fourth wave, that free-riding behavior becomes a lot more dangerous, to the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] It’s time, then, to switch to the sticks—namely, v...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news