Some North Texans see tyranny in Biden’s vaccine mandate; others say it affirms belief in shots

A day after President Joe Biden announced sweeping new federal immunization mandates for millions of Americans, residents of North Texas had widely differing views about the government’s most aggressive efforts to date to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some see the president’s move as just the latest in a series of offers by government at all levels to limit the right of individuals to make medical decisions for themselves and their families. Others say the new federal requirements are a welcome strategy to contain a disease that continues to spread, with case numbers, deaths and hospitalizations skyrocketing in recent weeks.

When the coronavirus vaccines became widely available earlier this year, JT Tracey had doubts whether he would roll up his sleeve.

Tracey, 27, said he believes his own immune system could fight the coronavirus better than any vaccine. That changed, however, when customers of the medical supply company he works for mandated that anyone doing business with them should be vaccinated. He recently got his vaccine.

Rebecca Freeman (from left), 77; Tonya apple white, 48; and John Almeida, 62, said they support President Joe Biden’s mandate to vaccinate private sector employees, healthcare workers and federal contractors. They will be shown at White Rock Lake Dog Park on Friday, September 10, 2021.(Ben Torres / special article)

People like Tracey – who initially hesitant about the vaccines but even more reluctant to face the prospect of losing their livelihood – are exactly what President Joe Biden targeted on Thursday when he announced that companies with 100+ employees would be committed would be to require their workers to be vaccinated. or have them take weekly tests.

“We have been patient,” said Biden when announcing the comprehensive mandate that could affect nearly 100 million Americans. “But our patience is failing and your refusal has cost us all.” The unvaccinated minority “can do a lot of harm, and they are,” he said.

Biden’s announcement comes amid a devastating surge fueled by the Delta variant, which is once again filling hospitals with coronavirus patients, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated.

Tracey said another factor that led to his decision was hearing from doctors and nurses about the stress on hospitals from the recent surge.

“Health professionals tell us we have to do this,” he said Friday while standing in the dog park on White Rock Lake.

One of these professionals is Tonya Applewhite, who was sitting in the dog park with two friends, surrounded by small and exuberant Chihuahuas and cocker spaniels.

Applewhite, a nurse at Medical City Dallas Hospital, said the recent surge exhausted her.

“He should have done it months ago,” said Applewhite. “I work in a hospital and I’m tired of it. All of these unvaccinated people cause these problems. “

For some, an issue of civil liberties

But for some North Texans, it is as much about civil liberties as it is about health.

On Friday evening, about 100 people gathered along the street near the Baylor Scott and White hospital campus in McKinney to protest vaccine mandates.

Some drivers, including the crew of a McKinney Fire Department truck, waved and honked their horns in support of the demonstrators. Other drivers could be seen triggering verbal jolts.

Carmen del Castillo, 39, who handed out signs at the protest, said her family had moved from California to Allen because of COVID-related mandates.

Dozens of protesters gathered along the road near the Baylor Scott and White hospital campus in McKinney to protest vaccine mandates on Friday, September 10, 2021.(Jason Janik / special article)

“We fled California because of the tyranny there,” she said. “They imposed vaccination regulations on our children and they could no longer go to school. We knew this was coming and we’re only here to alert the masses. “

McKinney-based Paul Smith, 51, also described the COVID-19 vaccine mandates as “tyranny.”

“Any time you tell someone you have to do this against their will, that is tyranny,” said Smith, who noted that he is not against COVID-19 vaccines himself. “It’s just wrong. This is really about your freedom. “

Gail Seiler, who lives in Plano and is around 50 years old, took part in the protest rally with her husband, a former nurse, her daughter and three grandchildren. Seiler said her entire family was sick with COVID-19 but no one had any serious symptoms.

“I think the mandates lead to vaccine hesitation,” she said. “When they push and they push and they push … people start to ask, ‘Why are they trying to force it on me?'”

According to the state of Texas, 1,266,437 people aged 12 and over in Dallas County – 58.1% of that population – are fully vaccinated. That is just below the nationwide rate of 58.6%

But that still leaves millions of Texans unprotected.

Vaccinated for their children

Reyna Rodriquez already believed in the vaccine. On Friday, she said Biden’s mandate was a welcome confirmation and found that she thought “I am with him” when she heard him say, “Our patience is running out”.

On Friday it was time for her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. She went to a Dallas County clinic in Oak Cliff on Jefferson Boulevard with two of her five children: 17-year-old Rolando and 12-year-old Madeline, both of whom were also given their second doses.

Nurse Danae Johnson carefully removed 26-gauge needles, and all three were given syringes. Everyone got a sky blue plaster. Nobody winced.

Reyna Rodriguez (right) looks at her watch while she and two of her children, Rolando (left), 17, and Madeline, 12, wait the required 15 minutes after the three of them did their second Pfizer Friday at a clinic in Oak Cliff on Friday. Had received vaccine shots. September 10, 2021.(Ben Torres / special article)

Rodriguez said the family’s pediatrician was the biggest motivator to get vaccinated.

“Why don’t you all have it? Think about the twins, ”she recalled the doctor, referring to her youngest children, a couple of 6 year olds.

“That changed my mind,” she says. “I wasn’t sold when it first came out. Only when my children went to school. “

Other people in Dallas said Friday that while they don’t vaccinate, they are resistant to mandates.

“I don’t think he should give mandates and fines,” said Joel Brown as he waited in his truck for a COVID-19 test on the Northwest Highway in Dallas.

Brown said he owns a construction management company. Despite having fewer than 100 employees, the company sometimes signs contracts with the federal government, meaning its employees would also fall under Biden’s new mandate.

Brown said he doesn’t expect to tell his staff to get their syringes. He believes their vaccination status is none of his business and fears that asking whether his employees have been vaccinated could violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. (While this law, commonly known as HIPAA, prohibits physicians from disclosing a patient’s medical information, it does not prohibit employers from asking about the vaccination status of their employees or issuing a vaccination mandate.)

Brown said he wasn’t worried about Biden’s promise to penalize companies for failing to comply with the mandate.

“There’s a fine for everything,” he said. “It’s one of a list of 10,000 at this point.”

A right – “up to a certain point”

Deborah Gibson, who was leading around White Rock Lake with her Aussiedoodle, Dundy, said she believed the mandate will help protect children under 12 who are still not eligible for vaccines.

Gibson said Biden’s new mandate is no different from other mandates that have covered other diseases, including polio, for decades.

“I think vaccines are beneficial to you and everyone around you,” she said.

Emma Contreras said she too was initially suspicious of the vaccines when they first hit the market. But she had overcome this initial hesitation, she said.

“Some people don’t want to get it,” Contreras said while walking her Shiba Inu, Pippa. “It is their right – but only up to a certain point.”

Contreras said it was “unfortunate that we have to treat people like babies”.

“People say, ‘Oh, I’m worried about the contents of the vaccine,'” said Contreras. “But then they eat hot cheetos.”

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