Intelligence Squared debate: Can employers and schools require vaccines?

A name tag with a sticker on it.
Inez Kalle, director of nursing for Episcopal Homes in St. Paul, Minn., wears a sticker on her name badge to encourage other employees to get their COVID-19 vaccine in May.
Evan Frost | MPR News file

As more and more Americans become vaccinated, schools, businesses and health care facilities are facing a tough decision: Will they require students, employees and caregivers to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Those who say yes cite safety concerns — particularly when dealing with vulnerable populations — and call it a necessary step to return to normal.

Those who say no argue these sorts of mandates violate individual rights and set dangerous broader precedents when it comes to government overreach in public health.

It is an especially timely question that pits health concerns up against ideals of personal liberty. And it has practical implications as societies emerge from lockdown.

Intelligence Squared host John Donvan presides over a spirited debate between Michael J. Anderson, a Wisconsin attorney who has represented employees resisting vaccine mandates, and Lawrence Gostin, a professor of law at Georgetown University, which is enforcing a vaccine mandate.

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