There is much controversy over whether airlines and other close-quarter non-essential venues can require proof of vaccination for entrance. As a public health measure, not only should companies be able to require it, the government should mandate that vaccination is a prerequisite whether to boarding a plane or going to a movie or live theater or dining-in at a restaurant. If you are not vaccinated, you potentially endanger the life of another person and so you must pay the price.
Such restrictions on people who are not vaccinated are not without precedent. Many schools require that children are current with their vaccinations, barring religious or health exceptions, in order to attend school. And in states with mask mandates, people who don't wear a mask in enclosed venues, even essential ones like grocery stores, are denied entrance.
Is this step necessary to protect the public? Yes. Despite the fact that the US vaccination percentage was increasing at a good pace, the number of new cases per day climbed again, due probably to a combination of spring break travel and the newer variants spreading more quickly, together with people not wearing masks. Recently the number of daily vaccinations has decreased. It cannot be said at this point that the virus is under control.
From a public health perspective, the virus must be brought under control. The human cost of the pandemic in the United States has been huge. In another month, we are likely to be at 600,000 deaths. This virus cannot be beaten by half measures.
The problem we face is two-fold. One problem is that a sizable portion of the population (surveys show a range from 25 - 39%) is hesitant or has actually indicated that it will not be vaccinated. The problem is worst among Republicans, those in rural areas, Blacks, and those aged 18-49. The other problem is that again a sizable portion of the population (anywhere from 15% to 50%) refuses to wear masks and take other measures to reduce the potential of both transmitting or becoming infected with the virus. While there is no data on the overlap of these two groups, it is probably more likely than not that these two population subsets are largely coterminous and therefore especially dangerous.
If such a large percentage of the adult population does not get vaccinated and if a similar proportion refuse to wear masks in public, we will not be able to get the virus under control. The numbers will surely go down, but there will remain a sizable risk and masks with social distancing will continue to be required of all. A return to normalcy is not in the offing.
Given this underlying public health and social problem, which is created not by the virus but by the attitudes of people, people who are not vaccinated should be refused entry to all non-essential enclosed spaces, such as airplanes, restaurants, and theaters.
But the reader may ask, if everyone has to wear a mask on airplanes or in a theater, why should being vaccinated be required? Two reasons. First, many people are careless about how they wear their masks, not covering their nose, so they may be wearing a mask but still present a risk. Second, at least in planes, people often take off their mask for a period of time either to eat, drink, or just because they're tired of wearing a mask; you can bet the same would happen in a dark theater. And as a side note, we all long for a return to normalcy. If everyone in an airplane or theater was vaccinated, we wouldn't have to wear masks. What a relief that would be.
People may have a right not to get vaccinated or not to wear masks, but they don't have a right to thereby endanger the health and lives of others. Thus if you insist on this personal choice, you have to accept the limitations placed on your movements for the public safety.
