by Donald J. Boudreaux
The American Institute for Economic Research
I am not, and never have been, an anti-vaxxer. When my one child, Thomas, was young neither his mother nor I hesitated to have him receive the full range of childhood vaccines – just as my own parents didn’t hesitate to have me, in the 1960s, receive the full range of vaccines then available to children. And when Covid-19 vaccines became available a few months ago, I got the full dosage. (Moderna, in case you’re wondering.)
But I am, and have forever been, an anti-authoritarian. And being such, I oppose efforts by government to mandate vaccination or to punish persons who aren’t vaccinated. In this real world of ours the state has no business imposing penalties on anyone who chooses not to inject or ingest certain medicines.