What is the Current State of Mandatory COVID Gene Therapy Vaccination Shots?
Posted on 03/20/2021
As institutional investors analyze COVID-19 gene therapy vaccination rates, different countries and corporations are taking stances on mandatory shot measures. Investors and large-scale corporations are looking into healthcare metrics to assess business forecasts, as the shutdowns and quarantine efforts have been financially devastating for many businesses.
Key Questions
Below are some anecdotal updates on where and when COVID vaccinations could be or are mandatory. Can your employer force you to get the COVID-19 vaccine, even though it is approved only for emergency-use and skipped the traditional trials of tests of past vaccinates? Will there be lawsuit liability for U.S. companies or organizations that mandate COVID shots? The FDA’s Emergency Use Authorizations for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require facts sheets to be given to vaccination providers and recipients. That same section of the law requires the secretary of Health and Human Services to “ensure that individuals to whom the product is administered are informed … of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product.”
An EUA approval is not the same as a full approval by the FDA. If the COVID-19 vaccines get full approval, then it could be mandatory pending certain circumstances. Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson plan to seek full approval for the vaccines. There is a high chance of lawsuits concerning U.S. federal laws and state laws of employer-mandated vaccinations.
U.S. Military
In the United States, the Pentagon is looking into making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory, partially waiting on more direction from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. military leaders are unable to mandatorily force service members to get the COVID shots since they are approved only under an emergency-use authorization. For example, soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan were required to get a series of shots against anthrax, but that treatment was fully approved by the FDA. In February 2021, Vice Admiral Andrew Lewis informed reporters that the Navy is “probably going to make it mandatory as soon as we can, just like we do with the flu vaccine.”
Interestingly, nearly 33% of U.S. service members have turned down the COVID shots over a wide range of concerns.
U.S. Teachers
MTA President Merrie Najimy said in a statement to media, “We agree with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that vaccines provide an extra layer of protection against COVID-19 in our academic settings, especially now that social-distancing guidelines are expected to be reduced. We will continue to inform our members about the value of receiving one of the available COVID-19 vaccines. But the MTA does not endorse requiring vaccines as a condition of employment.”
Saudi Arabia
Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that Saudi Arabia’s health ministry says only people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to attend the Hajj this year. In 2020, due to the coronavirus, Saudi Arabia significantly reduced the number of pilgrims allowed to attend Hajj to about 1,000 Saudi citizens and residents of the kingdom.