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The many different vaccines are being distributed across the entire country and the world. It seems as though the pandemic is soon to be over and things can return to normal as more and more people are being vaccinated. With this said, there is being set a very dangerous precedent with all of this, being that of forced vaccination.

The idea of vaccine passport is the idea of a scannable code that shows whether or not you have had the covid vaccine or in some instances have recently had a negative covid-19 test. It would be required to enter businesses or go to work. Talk of these passes have been widespread over the “free” world. Many countries have talked about making mandatory while other places, like New York State have set up networks to be used for these passes. The Biden administration has also announced similar infrastructure. This is not a problem of the vaccine, vaccines are great. They prevent disease and have significantly helped humanity. The problem is forcing people to get it, especially if the government is involved in any way. One main problem is that not everyone can get the vaccine. For example, it has been said that those with food allergies should not get the vaccines and neither should pregnant women. There are also some people who could not get the vaccine for religious reasons. Forcing these people to get the vaccine to participate in society is reprehensible. Additionally many of the people who argue for this plan argue against the idea of requiring voter ID, because it is supposedly racist, yet you need an ID to get the vaccination. When it comes down to it this is not about private businesses keeping unvaccinated people out of their stores, it is about the idea that the government would participate in such a clear act of authoritarianism. It just is not right.

In truth, vaccine passports are part of a continuing and incredibly worrying trend in the US and other free-ish countries. This trend being that of obedience in the name of security. As time passes it seems as though many people are becoming more and more willing to give up their freedoms, and curtail the freedoms of others, in the name of security. This can be seen in large things like willingness to go along with the vaccine passport plan or gun control, to little things like refusing to speak up for fear of being censored, fired, or physically attacked. It can be seen in many aspects of life. This is very worrying as giving up freedom for security leads to authoritarianism. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Meaning that you should not bend the knee to things like this or soon it will escalate and we as a society will lose a lot more than just the ability to not be vaccinated.

Overall vaccine passports are part of the continuing trend of authoritarianism in the US and other countries said to be free. Vaccine passports are a bad idea and no government should take part in even the slightest portion of such a scheme. People must stop putting up with stuff like this before it is too late. We must not yield our freedoms for any reason.