How Mask and Vaccination Mandates Have Been Politically Influenced

 How Mask and Vaccination Mandates Have Been Politically Influenced 

By Erin Sargent 

JRN 100 Staff Writer 

While working as a cashier during the pandemic, Jenny McDonald said she witnessed several uncomfortable interactions between mask wearers and those who refuse to mask up. She also has noticed the same division between those who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccination. She said political beliefs and influences often seemed to be the reason behind the different choices. 

 

McDonald’s observations are further supported by a recent Pew Research Center study titled U.S. Public Now Divided Over Whether To Get COVID-19 Vaccine, which states political leanings influence an individual's decision to mask up and get vaccinated. 

 

“At Walgreens, I worked with an elderly woman who refused to get the vaccine. Our store received an emergency shipment that was offered to all employees. She never got vaccinated despite the opportunity and her vulnerable position.” said McDonald, 18, of Bedford, New Hampshire, who now works as a cashier at her local Lowes. 

 

The debate over whether vaccinations and masks should be mandated has been heating up since the vaccination has been released for public use in early 2021.  

 

As mentioned by the Pew Research Center in a study performed in September of 2020, speculation for the vaccine has also been seemingly divided by political party, with those who are left leaning believing more in its science while those on the right leaning side are left unconvinced that the vaccination is even necessary. 

 

According to the study, in May of 2020, over 72% of individuals claimed they were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccination once offered to them. As the summer months passed on and the concept of a vaccine became a mainstream topic across the nation, this number plummeted down to 52% as of September 2021. 

 

“I have had experience with many customers refusing to wear a mask in spite of the mask mandate. On one or two occasions another customer would tell them off for not wearing their mask, which I always appreciated because I didn’t really have the power to do so as a cashier,” McDonald said during her interview. 

 

As research behind why people refuse to participate in mask and vaccination mandates has taken place, the evidence of political beliefs and ideologies involving an individual's decision making has surfaced. According to the study performed by the Pew Research Center, 65% of Republican or right leaning individuals were willing to get the vaccine in May of 2020. In September of 2020, this number dropped to 44%, leaving 56% of Republican or right leaning individuals to say they decline the vaccine if offered. In terms of Democratic or left leaning individuals, 79% said they would get the vaccine if offered in May 2020 while in September 2020, only 58% said they would. 

 

“It has become very politicized, and it shouldn’t be,” said professor Stephen Flaherty, assistant professor of healthcare administrations at Stonehill College. “It shouldn’t have to do with any one's freedoms.” 

 

Flaherty went on to say that despite there can be very few exceptions for allergies and various medical conditions that permit a person from getting the vaccination or wearing a mask but stressed that these situations are very rare. For most other people, a mask or vaccine should be necessary since in most areas, it is working to effectively to prevent spread COVID-19. 

 

“There should be protections because it's not just about the individual, it's about the whole,” Flaherty said during the interview. “People who talk about freedoms being infringed upon; freedom doesn’t mean you have the right to spread a disease and kill others. It’s not about freedom, it is about protecting the population.”  

 

While the arguments over whether to wear a mask is always changing due to the rising and falling number of COVID-19 cases, as well as the new variations of the disease such as the delta variant, the decision to get vaccinated has become a more intense topic in the media, especially due to the political divide it stems from. 

 

According to the Pew Research Centers study, 67% of individuals who identify as Republican cite concerns about future side effects from the vaccine as a reason for not getting it. The same study also states that 31% of individuals who identity as Republican believe that they do not need the vaccine, meaning they would not get it even if required for a current or offered job position. 

 

“I think vaccination should be required on a state level,” McDonald said during her interview. “There’s so much misinformation about the vaccine that vulnerable populations - the elderly- are disproportionately impacted by, and that prevents them from being protected from COVID. As for mask mandates, I think that gets slightly more complicated. I’m very glad that places enforce masks indoors and personally I still wear masks when entering stores or indoor public spaces.” 

 

In a short interview with Pamela DiNapoli, nursing executive director of the New Hampshire Nursing Association, she said the elderly and other people with medical conditions have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19 ever since the beginning of the pandemic. Due to having weaker immune systems and other issues, they are at higher risk of catching the disease and other variants of it, having severe and painful symptoms from it, being hospitalized, and eventually passing away from it.  

 

DiNapoli continued to say that with this tragedy and heartbreak comes the necessary reasoning to get vaccinated and to mask up when asked to not only to slow the spread but to also ensure the number of COVID-19 cases doesn’t spike up as high as it did in early 2020. 

 

“Pre-mandate, there were far more people who came in with no masks. Post-mandate, the numbers were much lower,” McDonald said during her interview. “There is so much political messaging around these public safety measures. It frustrates me the same way that climate change has been politicized- I wish everyone could just trust in what the medical professional's advice instead of debating over it.” 

 

This video shows signs on the doors of stores and medical offices in southern 

New Hampshire that are mandating masks be worn inside of their facilities.  

Many are also encouraging social distancing and vaccination.