Opinion: Here’s why San Diego’s vaccine mandate for city employees is a good idea

Campbell is the president of the San Diego City Council. She lives in Clairemont.

When I was in the first grade, a few of my classmates died from polio. Americans were experiencing the horrific effects of the polio virus, which caused permanent paralysis in some and death in others. I remember everyone lining up at their local elementary school to get the vaccine to protect ourselves and our communities from this frightening disease. Now, people learn about polio by reading history.

I would like the COVID-19 pandemic to have the same fate. This is the most contagious and deadly virus I’ve seen in the history of medicine. We must stop it. This can happen when we use the tools that scientists and researchers have developed: Food and Drug Administration-approved, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended vaccines, taken safely by billions of people around the world, saving lives.

The science and data are clear. A look at the situation in San Diego County reveals that those who are vaccinated are much less likely to be hospitalized and die from a COVID-19 infection. Last week, 93 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated, and 85 percent of those who died were unvaccinated. Worse numbers are occurring in other counties in our nation and around the world.

The San Diego City Council supports Mayor Todd Gloria’s vaccine mandate for city employees. As one of the largest employers in San Diego, we have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work environment. Currently, the greatest cause of police officers’ deaths in America is COVID-19. For their safety, it’s even more important that they be vaccinated.

We value all our city workers, which compels us to reduce the chances of people getting sick at work and possibly bringing the virus home to their families. A vaccine mandate accomplishes that.

One of government’s greatest priorities is public safety. We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. Our responsibility to serve obligates us to act in the interest of keeping all San Diegans healthy and safe. Residents can be confident that first responders, librarians, recreation center staff and all city employees will be vaccinated.

City employees also provide citizens with essential residential services, including safety from crime and fires, trash pickup, road repair, water and sewage service, parks and recreation. These all require the hard work and dedication of employees throughout the day and night. Some of these services were interrupted because staff were unable to work because of COVID-19. The vaccine mandate will help prevent interruptions in these services because our employees will be much less likely to suffer severe illness.

As an employer, the city is not alone in creating this policy. Schools, colleges, universities, health systems, the military and other city governments have enacted similar mandates. Many of the largest companies in America require employees to get COVID-19 vaccines, including Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Tyson Foods, United Airlines and the list goes on. Courts have generally upheld these mandates as legal.

Requirements like these are not new. For decades, governments, schools, employers and the military have mandated inoculation against communicable disease.

This should not be a political issue. This is a health and safety issue. The best way to protect our employees, their families and our communities from the COVID-19 virus is vaccination. Just like polio, smallpox, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and hepatitis, we can fight off disease if enough people get vaccinated. This is the definition of “herd immunity.” Public health research indicates a vaccination rate as high as 95 percent may be necessary to achieve herd immunity, though it’s unknown what the rate is for COVID-19.

The three U.S.-government-approved COVID-19 vaccines have allowed families to gather again. They have allowed visitors to come to San Diego. They have made it possible for our restaurants and businesses to reopen and our economy to begin to recover.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to get vaccinated.