The Value of Common Sense

The Choice! 

The Shot!

The company I work for recently mandated vaccines for nearly every employee. Everyone has until sometime in December to provide proof of vaccination, or an accepted exemption for health or religious reasons, or face the loss of their jobs.

As you might imagine, there is reaction to this.

I don’t know exact numbers but if we follow national trends, there are probably a quarter of the company employees that are unvaccinated – that’s a disturbing figure but certainly reflects the current state of the country.

In any case, I suspect it to serve as motivation for many members of the team to go get a vaccination. I mean, there are some who’ve said, “I just haven’t had the time to go do it, yet.” (This is even though the company has allowed for 4 hours of paid leave, gratis, to go get it and sick leave if the vaccine makes you ill enough to miss work. And a $150 bonus for getting it. So, sure, you've been busy.)

So, that means we’ll see an uptick in vaccinations very soon.

But what about the rest?

I’ve heard some say that it’s their right to choose and that the company is taking away their choice.

That’s not true. They still have the choice to vaccinate or not. Like all choices, there are consequences. If you choose to remain unvaccinated, you’ll no longer be able to work here – that’s the consequence. (If you choose to drive drunk, your consequence could be a night in jail, loss of driving privileges, or causing someone’s death including your own. Choices have consequences!)

1st stage of drunkeness - Witty and Charming

So, why is a multi-billion-dollar company doing this? The uproar that is being created is big and it’s a distraction. I mean, why do that?

Well, the Biden Administration has mandated that all Federal Contractors must be vaccinated. We do a lot of business with them and we are the distributor of record, so it makes sense to do it. After all, choices have consequences and we couldn’t very well just give up all that business, could we?

In addition, we have a large investment in our employees; they’re considered to be our greatest asset. Requiring vaccinations for all is the most viable method for protecting them against the ravages of this virus.

In addition, the science and data provide irrefutable evidence that the best way to survive the virus is to vaccinate and that the vaccine is safe for damn near everyone. Does science change? Yes! When it does, it doesn’t mean that what we knew before was wrong, just that we’ve learned more which changes outcomes. Part of that evidence is that more people vaccinated means fewer opportunities for variants of the virus to occur, thus reducing spread and tamping down the damage – even to those who refuse to vaccinate!

Finally, it’s the right thing to do. For the company. For the country. For the world.

Just get the damn shot!