Domestic COVID Responses

In the event of a pandemic like COVID-19, to what extent should governments be allowed to restrict citizens’ freedom to stop the spread of the disease? COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our lives over the past few years. Many aspects of our lives were restricted, from daily activities like going outside and playing with friends in the neighborhood park, to more significant life pursuits, like our education and employment. While opposition to suchs regulation was considerable, I believe there are three major requirements – those to wear masks, be vaccinated, and, in the case of infected person, to quarantine – that governments has been justified in imposing.

First, masks are a highly accessible and effective method of stopping the spread of the virus. If a person with COVID-19 is wearing a mask, the virus-carrying particles from their nose or mouth will trapped inside the mask and prevented from reaching others. If those around that person are also wearing masks, this acts as a double layer of protection, further reducing the risk of infection. According to research from Tokyo, even a simple cotton mask offered some protection against COVID-19: 27% of wearers avoided infection. Medical masks, including surgical masks, proected up to 50%, a loose-fitting N95 mask up to 86%, and a tightly sealed N95 up to 90%. Given such effectiveness, and the relatively low cost incurred on the wearer in terms of both money and convenience, governments should consider it a proper use of their authority to mandate mask-wearing to protect public health.

Vaccines have long been known to build immunity against viruses, and the COVID-19 vaccine is no exception. Vaccines contain antigens that stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies. Thus, when the real virus enters, the body is already equiped to fight it. If available COVID-19 vaccines are effective, there is little doubt they will help to significantly decrease infection and death rates. Thankfully, they are: A study published in The Lancet in 2021 found that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was 89% effective in preventing infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, in a real-world setting in Israel. This study is reliable because it includes data from more than 1.2 million people who received at least one dose of the vaccine. Given such effectiveness, governments are justified in mandating COVID-19 vaccines to keep its citizens healthy.

Quanrantines are another measure governments have imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19. Quarantined individuals are required to stay at home or in a designated space for a given amount of time, either to make sure that they are not carrying the virus stealthily or to allow them to recover from the infection. Since quarantines have been shown to be effective in preventing or significantly delaying the spread of the virus, governments can claim the power to impose them for public health reasons. It should also be noted that while governments initially mandated 14-day quarantines, that duration has in some cases been reduced with greater understanding of how the virus operates. This shows governments primary concern is not to restrict people’s freedom but to protect the health of its citizens.

In conclusion, governments should have the power to control the freedoms to move about, not to wear masks, and not to be vaccinated, in view of stopping the spread of the virus. This is consistent with the strong mandates governments have been given to protect to health and safety of its citizens.