History and the U.S.
Supreme Court is on the side of mandates for masks and vaccinations cite this
major public health case and decision:
“Jacobson v. Massachusetts: How a 1905 Court Case May Determine the Legality of Vaccine Mandates”
Though half of the country is now fully vaccinated, the
United States continues to struggle against an anti-COVID-19 vaccination
movement. As more employers, universities, businesses, and localities are
requiring proof of vaccination before community interaction, legal challenges
to vaccine mandates have arisen, dragging one Supreme Court case from over a
century ago back into the spotlight.
Case Background: In 1905, citizens of the United States struggled with a
different epidemic from the one we face today: smallpox.
Luckily, a vaccine had been invented, and under
Massachusetts law, local municipalities could enforce compulsory free vaccinations
for adults when deemed necessary to protect public health.
Individuals older than 21 who did not receive their vaccines could be fined ($5.00) though exceptions were made for children who had a valid doctor's note exempting them for medical reasons.
Cambridge, MA chose to take advantage of this law and mandate
inoculation during an outbreak of smallpox, declaring that “the public health
and safety require the vaccination or revaccination of all the inhabitants of
Cambridge.”
Resident Henning Jacobson refused the vaccine for himself and his son claiming that they had bad reactions to previous vaccinations. In response, he was prosecuted and fined $5.
His case eventually made its way to
the U.S. Supreme Court, where it set the precedent that may affect COVID-19
vaccination mandates today. In his defense, Jacobson said forcing him to
receive the smallpox injection would violate the Constitution and infringe upon
his liberty. His claim was based on the Constitution's Preamble, which states:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.”
Jacobson also alleged 14th Amendment violations,
particularly the Equal Protection clause, which establishes that the laws of the nation should
apply to all citizens equally.
SCOTUS Decision: The Supreme
Court ruled that the preamble, as Jacobson claimed, did convey
the spirit of the law. However, they decided that the actual letter of the law
was not violated, and, therefore, the vaccine mandate was not a constitutional
violation of Jacobson's liberty.
In a 7-2 majority, the justices held that the mandate also did not violate the 14th Amendment, because medical exemptions were available for qualifying children.
Though no adults
were exempted, the court ruled that because it was the government's duty to
protect public health, and because the mandate applied to all adults equally,
it did not violate the Equal Protection clause. Jacobson's conviction for
failing to get the vaccine and $5 fine were upheld.
What Jacobson Means for COVID-19: Predicting SCOTUS outcomes is never an exact science, so it is possible that legal challenges to any vaccine mandates may have unforeseen outcomes. But Supreme Court decisions often rely on past precedent to determine current-day cases, which means that if they have ruled on a similar case in the past, they will often use the same reasoning to justify a present decision. So although some states are enacting legislation that will make vaccine mandates illegal, the precedent from the Jacobson case means that, in the interest of protecting public health from the coronavirus, these new laws may not hold up if challenged,.
Case in point today is
this story from FL:
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is again on the warpath to having only one kind of government – one that he favors and
wants and orders regardless. This story headline from the NY Post:
“Ron
DeSantis wants to permanently ban COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates”
CoVID and the CDC: They
state that CoVID-19 vaccines help protect against severe illness,
hospitalization, and death. CoVID-19 vaccines also help protect against
infection.
People who are vaccinated may still get CoVID-19, but people
who have been vaccinated get CoVID-19, they are much less likely to experience
severe symptoms than
people who are unvaccinated. When someone who is vaccinated with either a
primary series or a primary series plus a booster dose gets infected with the
virus that causes CoVID-19, it is referred to as a “vaccine breakthrough
infection.”
Some if not most of the anti-vax arguments used against the
CoVID vaccines are NOT ONLY the exaggerated side effect risk but also questions
why a healthy young person should get one when their risks of mortality and
serious illness from the disease are supposedly low.
That appears to have led to an erosion in vaccine compliance for several of our essential vaccines such as for the flu, measles, and even for polio.
This is a tragic trajectory that could get worse. Vaccines
are our greatest preventive public health tool after clean water. They need to
be treated with the respect and compliance that they have earned. Yes, there
are side effects for any vaccine – but not applicable to everyone who gets
them, and the percentage remains low.
From the Mayo
Clinic: How well do face masks protect against COVID-19, and do face
masks help slow the spread of the virus? Yes; face masks combined with other
preventive measures, such as getting vaccinated, frequent hand-washing, and
physical distancing, can help slow the spread of the virus that
causes COVID-19. If you have a weakened immune system or have a higher
risk of serious illness, wear a mask that provides you with the most protection.
My 2 Cents: DeSantis is again way off the mark on this serious
public health issue as well as other social and medical issues as well.
The list of anti-DeSantis
things is long and can be seen here in this very good article from
Yahoo.news with this headline: “What
in the hell is wrong with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis?”
DeSantis attacks on public education are also well-known as seen in this AP African Studies Course which also shows his racist arrogance side which pitiful.
DeSantis comes across as some kind of Trump-lite in many
ways and he surely is just like Trump as this expression says: “A clear and
present danger” not only to FL but to the nation as a whole.
He must never get elected president – never – at least in my
view.
Related DeSantis post here re: Anti-First Amendment case.
Thanks for stopping by.
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