When the COVID-19 pandemic was still prevalent, many people took advantage of the vaccines, many also opposed them. People’s opinions on vaccinations have fluctuated, and many views on vaccinations have shifted after the pandemic based on medical freedoms and personal preferences.
Vaccines are weakened and dead forms of viruses that mimic the infection to boost immunity, as the body remembers how to “fight” an infection.
However, the implementation of vaccinations has become a controversial topic, with some saying that the potential side effects of vaccine-induced immunity outweigh its purpose of bodily protection.
According to 12news, at the pandemic’s peak, Brophy’s requirements and approach to vaccination involved having all students and staff get the COVID-19 vaccination. And for those who did not match the requirements had to get COVID-19 tests regularly. “Vaccinations might have been mandatory [maybe] for the first semester [of my freshman year], then vaccination requirements started going down [after that].” said Leo Ma ’26.
According to Fox10 News, many Brophy families called this vaccination requirement, “an overreach… some parents even talking about pulling their kids out of school, or taking legal action against the mandate.” Elaine Leonard spoke about her views on vaccinations, saying that she and her family were vaccinated because, “we wanted to be able to visit family on the Navajo Reservation.” said Leonard.
“‘We are more concerned about the medical freedoms, where parents aren’t able to make the decision about whether or not their child is vaccinated in order to attend Brophy without unreasonable requirements.’” Elaine Leonard said.
“…from my perspective, [vaccines are] helpful in public health, and I would still support vaccines for fighting against disease, especially in [settings like] schools,” Ma said.
People don’t feel the need for vaccinations post-pandemic because the side effects often outweigh the potential saving aspect of the vaccine. Many also believe and are concerned about the freedom aspect of vaccination, saying people should have choices as to whether getting vaccinated is a good choice on an individual level like Leonard.
“[Vaccinations have] huge deficits in it,” said American politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. With his goal in approaching the controversy of vaccinations is to enforce rigorous tests to prove the overall efficacy of vaccinations, in addition to removing vaccination mandates.
