President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, Sept. 9, that a new vaccine mandate would be put into place for all employers that have more than 100 employees. 

This mandate came out during a speech that President Biden had given in which he aggressively emphasized the importance of the vaccine. Biden said, “We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us.” Many republican leaders disagreed with Biden’s mandate saying he was going too far in trying to control private companies. According to USA Today, as of Aug. 21, 51.1 percent of the total US population has been vaccinated. 

While many people criticized Biden, others strongly praised him and his efforts to get the nation vaccinated. According to The Economist, 52 percent of adults approve of Biden’s mandate. The American Medical Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable all were in agreement with Biden’s new mandate. 

The new mandate that Biden announced will affect roughly 100 million Americans. Biden has been promoting the vaccine since the beginning of the year, and now he is taking a much firmer action as he blames people who have not received the shot for the steep rise in cases. 

In my opinion, President Biden should definitely do something, but I’m not sure that forcing employees to get vaccinated is the way to go. I believe that the vaccine is important, especially for the older generation. I think that everyone that is a resident of the United States should have the freedom to choose whether they get the vaccine or not. Although it is a possibility that the vaccine can save lives, people should be allowed to control what goes in their bodies.  

I also feel as though the government should keep giving out incentives to the people who have received the vaccine. By doing this, I feel like the people will keep voluntarily getting the vaccine to reap the rewards and benefits. I also think that more presentations should be given to everyone about the COVID vaccine and what they need to know about it.