Good essay, Ryan. You make valid points, and here are a couple more. If people follow the science, which progressives are supposed to be in favor of doing, then they must know of the study in California that showed it was riskier for young boys to get the vaccine than to have Covid because of adverse reactions.

Another study showed that natural immunity after contracting Covid was strong and robust, but natural immunity isn't considered in the vaccine mandate.

There is also the problem that the vaccine is evidently only effective for about 5 or 6 months, and then you need a booster, but no one knows how long the booster will be effective. This is not the same thing as a smallpox vaccine, which is effective for many, many years against a horrible disease that has such a high fatality rate.

I'm also curious about why highly-vaccinated countries such as Germany are experiencing Covid spikes, but countries that have not had the same opportunities to avail themselves of the vaccine are not experiencing the same high rates. What gives, here?

I'm all in favor of vaccines. I'm vaccinated and my husband just got the booster. But there are many factors to consider, which should make it an individual choice, albeit highly encouraged. There are still so many questions, so much contradictory information, and so much we don't know.

So by all means get the vaccine. But don't make it a blanket mandate for everyone.