Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have agreed to protect the United Auto Workers union members from mandatory vaccination as a condition of their employment. They will also get to retain the right to privacy over their vaccine status and instead will have the freedom to disclose at their discretion.

For those that value medical privacy and the principles of freedom of choice, this represents a big win.

In a statement made by the United Auto Workers union they said,

"At a meeting Monday evening, the COVID-19 Joint Task Force, comprised of the UAW, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, has aligned on a policy of voluntary and confidential disclosure of vaccination status for UAW members. Each company will provide additional communication to employees on how, where and when to report their vaccination status.

In addition to encouraging members to disclose their vaccination status, the Task Force continues to urge all members, coworkers, and their families to get vaccinated and get booster vaccinations against COVID-19, while understanding that there are personal reasons that may prevent some members from being vaccinated, such as health issues or religious beliefs.

After reviewing the status of CDC and OSHA guidelines, the Task Force also decided it is in the best interest of worker safety to continue masks in all worksites at this time."

United Auto Workers Union

US President Joe Biden attempted to mandate vaccines for all companies with 100 or more employees. This mandate was swiftly struck down by US courts as unconstitutional. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Association agreed to suspend Biden's Vax and Test mandate as well.

To some, this might not seem like a good idea as they might believe vaccines are the only way out of this pandemic - even though the science does not support this belief. COVID vaccines do not stop transmission or infection, making them a symptom management medication as they do indeed reduce severity of disease for a short time.

That said, do we want to set a precedent of mandating symptom management medications?