Should Vaccination be Required for Medical Professionals?

“Thank you [name deleted] for your thoughtful post. Although I disagree with you, I 100% support YOUR right to choose to wear a mask and to receive the COVID-19 shot if you so desire. That said, there are many of us who choose not to receive any of the COVID-19 shots nor wear masks in situations where it is not required.” - Bradley Rauch, Stowe Chiropractic/Vermont Functional Neurology  in Stowe Front Porch Forum.

The woman whose name I redacted said that, although she is fully vaccinated, she intends to keep wearing a mask in town and in stores and that she suspects that those who have refused to get vaccinated are also refusing to wear masks.

Dr. Rauch has every right to express his opinion about the Covid-19 vaccine just as he has campaigned against childhood vaccination. He is doing us a favor by letting us know both that his medical judgment is faulty and that it is riskier to be treated by him than by vaccinated professionals.

Should Dr.Rauch be allowed to practice medicine?

I don’t think so. Early in the pandemic medical professionals were given preference for vaccination both in recognition of the risks they were taking and the danger that they would become super-spreaders. Doctors, nurses, and other medical staff remain more likely to get infected than others because they come in contact with sick people and are more likely to spread infection than others because sick patients are vulnerable.

Covid vaccination should be a requirement for those in health care who have patient contact. That requirement would mean that Dr, Rauch would not be allowed to practice unless and until he is vaccinated.

I’m NOT saying that Rauch should be barred from practice because he speaks against vaccination; he has a right to free speech even if that speech is unpopular. He and other medical professionals who refuse vaccination should be barred from practice because their refusal to be vaccinated makes them a danger to their patients.

See also: Perpetrator of Fraudulent Vaccine Scare Speaking in Stowe