We don’t need a government mandate. The markets already created a vaccine apartheid

There is mounting pressure on the Biden administration to mandate vaccinations against the COVID-19 virus. Those on the far left contend that required vaccinations are necessary to combat the spread of the virus regardless of individuals’ preferences: The greater good trumps personal freedom. The reflex to substitute the government’s judgment for that of the people should be avoided because it is likely unnecessary to achieve near-universal vaccination against the virus. Competitive markets are likely to get the job done without the political fallout that will inevitably follow from the government usurping the individual’s right to choose.

Contrary to what many on the right side of the political divide contend, the individual’s freedom to choose is not without limits. The government regularly imposes restrictions on behavior when it can cause harm to others. To wit, factories are prohibited from excessive pollution of the environment, and vehicle owners may not be able to license vehicles that fail emissions tests. Try lighting up a cigarette in a public restaurant. In each case, there are negative externalities associated with the unchecked behavior.

A government mandate to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is in the same vein when the risk of transmission is high, because an individual’s decision not to be vaccinated poses a health risk to others. In the absence of government intervention, anticipate an inefficiently low level of mitigation of the virus. Nonetheless, legal compulsion is one of the most invasive measures by which the government can control behavior, and its use should be tightly circumscribed, particularly in a nation where freedom is a bedrock principle and other mechanisms are likely to be effective. These other mechanisms include moral persuasion and economic pressure.

Some individuals will opt to get the vaccination not because they have unwavering confidence in the safety or the effectiveness of the vaccine, but because they do not want the moral responsibility of potentially infecting others, causing severe illness or even death. Whereas this type of moral convincing should increase vaccination rates, it is unlikely to be sufficient.

In addition to moral persuasion, economic pressure will come to bear on those individuals who choose not to be vaccinated and are unable to demonstrate that they have natural immunity to the virus. This economic pressure will present itself in the form of restrictions on employment opportunities. This is already the reality in some professions — health care, for example — but expect it to spread rapidly as employers become increasingly concerned about their liability in hiring or retaining unvaccinated workers and the risk it poses to their businesses.

Economic pressures will also manifest themselves in the form of businesses that require patrons be vaccinated. Businesses will freely choose to implement such restrictions in order to offer their patrons a safe environment in which to shop, travel and engage in recreational activities. The vaccine apartheid has come to America, and it is here to stay.

While individuals should have the right to choose whether to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, the increasing economic pressures suggest that the decision not to be vaccinated will exact a steep price — one the vast majority of Americans are either unable or unwilling to pay. The Biden administration should therefore stand down on legal compulsion to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and place its trust in markets to accomplish the task at hand. They are not likely to disappoint.

Dennis L. Weisman is a professor emeritus of economics at Kansas State University and former director of strategic marketing at SBC (now AT&T).

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "We don’t need a government mandate. The markets already created a vaccine apartheid."