The coronavirus vaccine is a long way from becoming widely available in the U.S., but its rollout is raising questions on how it will remake society on the return to a semblance of normal.
States including Maine closed most businesses and schools in March, but those strict measures were lifted over the summer and have yet to return as we learned more about how the new virus spread. The strictest measures have not returned as policymakers balance a number of cases and death that surged nationally in January with a desire to keep the economy going.
The vaccine could be the light at the end of the tunnel, but it will be a long time before the majority of Mainers and Americans will get it amid federal supply constraints. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top federal infectious disease expert, has gone from saying “normal” could be achieved with 70 percent of the population immunized to more than 80 percent.
Requirements for vaccines may be uneven. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in December that workplaces could make vaccines mandatory, but they must leave room for religious and medical exemptions. Many institutions are resisting such mandates. The University of Maine System said this week it will not require vaccines but will encourage students and employees to get them. Ticketmaster is exploring technology that would allow event-goers to log their vaccine status, which venues could use as a requirement for entry.
We asked Maine experts in health care, ethics, entertainment and workers’ rights how institutions may adapt as the general public begins to be vaccinated. They generally agreed that widespread vaccination would be good for society, but that education may be better than mandates. Their views have been edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Peter Millard, former epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and adjunct professor at the University of New England
I just don’t think it’s possible to have vaccines be required in society at this time. It’s not going to happen at any level as far as I can see.
There is this general political situation where, you know, half the population is against the so-called nanny state. We see that very clearly in the mask debate. You look at something that’s as easy and as non-controversial as that, and there is still a high proportion of the population that refuses to wear a mask. So what makes us think that they’re going to accept mandatory immunizations? I don’t think it’s going to happen.
I think the best thing we can do is educate people and encourage them to get the vaccine because the vaccine is a home run. It’s the best we could have possibly hoped for in terms of efficacy and safety. I think once people see that people who have been vaccinated aren’t getting sick, that’s going to encourage other people to be vaccinated.
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Jessica Miller, University of Maine philosophy professor
Once we work out supply chain and other issues, there is still the challenge of vaccine hesitancy, which means a delay in accepting or a refusal to accept the vaccine, even if it is deemed safe by scientists and is free.
Some wonder if the vaccine should be mandatory. There is certainly legal precedent, if we consider public schools, daycares, hospitals and the military. Some say that mandating the COVID-19 vaccine is ethically justified because it is low risk to the individual and highly beneficial to society. They point to seatbelt laws as a similar kind of tradeoff. They also say a mandatory vaccine is fair. It ensures that the risks and burdens of reaching herd immunity are distributed evenly across the population.
The other side of that argument is that mandating vaccines, at least by the state, infringes unacceptably on personal freedom and autonomy. But it is possible that if enough people are voluntarily vaccinated, there is nothing to gain by forcing it on people who are hesitant, and something to lose if it creates more of a backlash and greater mistrust.
Jeff Beam, interim executive director at One Longfellow Square in Portland
With the progression of the vaccines and inoculations, we can start to pivot toward beginning to imagine what the return of concerts will actually look like. For now, we will continue to defer to the experts. Dr. Fauci thought that concerts could start to return sometime this fall if the vaccine distribution is successful.
Dr. Fauci also said that venues will still have to require the continuing usage of masks for patrons and staff, and they will also have to ensure that their space has proper ventilation, to adopt strict hygiene protocols, and to possibly operate at a reduced capacity.
We are using Dr. Fauci’s remarks as the best guidelines to plan around for the present time. We want to get back to hosting concerts more than anybody, but we will never risk compromising the health and safety of our patrons, performers, staff, and volunteers.
Allan Townsend, workers’ rights lawyer with Maine Employee Rights Group
If you are an employee with a disability, and you can’t take the vaccine, your employer still has to provide you with reasonable accommodation. That could mean that you will be entitled to remote work, because if people can still spread the virus, then you are at risk of getting sick.
It used to be very difficult if you had an employee with a disability to pursue a claim to work remotely. But now I think a lot of lawyers looking at this issue think that it’s going to be easier now for people with disabilities to get remote work as an accommodation because many employers have been forced to figure that out for everybody. If you are denied that accommodation, you might have more luck bringing a claim against your employer.
But that’s not the only accommodation I think that could be done. You could also get somebody who normally shares an office with someone, but is unable to get vaccinated, their own office.
Correction: A previous version of this report misstated Peter Millard’s current occupation.
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