Fact Check: Will The COVID Vaccine Be Mandatory?

Amidst inevitable concerns over the vaccine’s safety and/or necessity, claims that everyone must be vaccinated have circulated social media sites.

Rating: Mostly false

Explanation:

Once vaccines are readily available to the public (just under 10 percent of the country is fully vaccinated as of now), it is presumed that people who are fully vaccinated will receive a card or passport to affirm they are in fact, immune.

Though many small businesses won’t enforce it, particularly in red states, you can expect this policy at most chain retailers and restaurants, along with sporting events and amusement parks. And there will still be a number of small businesses that do choose to require full vaccination.

However, as pointed out in a tweet by The Boston Globe, stadiums such as Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center have already begun to make exceptions. People who aren’t vaccinated can still enter, given they have proof of a recent negative COVID test.

In other words, if you choose not to get the vaccine as/after life returns to “normal”, it is more than likely you will have to show proof of a negative test virtually everywhere you go.

This would mean getting a new test about twice a week, instead of just the two shots (or one, once Johnson & Johnson’s is available).

However, it does remain within the rights and the discretion of the individual to not get the COVID vaccine.

The government themselves cannot and will not enforce a vaccine mandate, though they can impose restrictions on places that unvaccinated people can go.