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Forbes
Jodiann Forbes

Prof. Fuller

ENG 1102

17 Jul. 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine: Is It A Scam?

The COVID-19 vaccine has been a semi-sensitive topic in recent months. In the United

States, many people are not getting vaccinated for many different reasons. The reasons why

some people are deciding not to get vaccinated can range anywhere from religious beliefs to

conspiracy theories about the vaccine. With this being the case, the government is doing a lot in

attempts to persuade these people to get vaccinated. I argue that there seems to be something

suspicious about the vaccine due to the fact that the government and state officials are outright

“bribing” unvaccinated people to get vaccinated.

There are many different reasons why certain people are choosing not to get vaccinated.

In “Meet the Four Kinds of People Holding Us Back From Full Vaccination,” Sgaier outlined the

different reasons why some people are choosing not to get vaccinated. Sgaier speaks about those

who have decided not to get vaccinated and why they decided not to get vaccinated. Throughout

the article, the percentage of people who are not vaccinated was divided into different categories

based on the reason why they decided to not get vaccinated. These categories are broken down

even more by states instead of class, gender, social status, etc. There are many other reasons why

some people are not getting vaccinated other than the ones that Sgaier outlines in the text. Earlier

in the year, President Biden set forth a plan to have 70% of the population vaccinated by a date

that recently passed. To fulfill this plan by July 4, 2021, Sgaier says that officials should consider

going local (zip codes and counties) instead of stopping at the state level when it comes to
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convincing people to get vaccinated (17). I believe that stopping at the state level is the best

option because the percentage outlined in President Biden’s plan was on a national scale. I say

this because simplifying it to local levels would make it more complicated and leave a lot more

room for error when calculating the national percentage. The fact that they are willing to possibly

go to zip codes to persuade people to get vaccinated implies that there is something suspicious

about it. Knowing that a large sum of the population is not vaccinated, we can say that the

government will do anything to get everyone vaccinated, especially because President Biden’s

goal of 70% was not reached.

Being suspicious about something is normal, especially when it is first announced.

Across the United States, there are many people who are suspicious of the vaccine for many

reasons. One reason why someone might be suspicious is because of the government’s recent

actions. Recently, the government has been bribing those who are not yet vaccinated to take the

vaccine. In “People need to trust vaccines – not be bribed to get them,” Gelinas mentions the

different ways in which the government is trying to persuade people to get vaccinated. US

government officials began “rewarding” the public for getting both doses of the COVID vaccine

because of the decline in vaccination rates. Though words such as “rewarding” were used when

news outlets were announcing the government’s plan, it can be said that what they are doing is

not a reward. There have been many different offers to the public such as food, drinks, and

money for getting doses of the COVID vaccine as stated by Gelinas (15). Gelinas also mentions

that persuasion by private companies is okay even though it will eventually backfire on the

government and these companies (15). I disagree with her because what they are doing is

considered to be bribery, which is not okay. Even though it is possible for it to fall back onto the
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government, bribing someone to get a vaccine should be considered inhumane. Because they are

bribing people to get the vaccine, gives more reasons why the vaccine is suspect.

There are several dictionary definitions for the word bribe. To bribe someone means to

influence their judgment in any way with money, a favor, food, etc. (Merriam-Webster's

Collegiate Dictionary, 1999). Bribery is illegal when it comes to everything done by the

government but, there seems to be no problem with the government bribing someone to do

something regarding their health. Due to the fact that there seems to be no problem, gives even

more reasons why the vaccine is suspect. Attempting to influence the population to get

vaccinated by using money, food, etc. should be considered illegal. Based on the plan set forth

by President Biden, one might say that the US population is being used as “lab rats” because they

see us only as a percentage that they need to increase.

Many different and effective methods can be used when it comes to persuasion. The US

government decided to use bribery as their method in an attempt to meet a goal that was set by

President Biden. In the past, the government never bribed the public to get vaccines. For past

vaccines, stating why the vaccine would be beneficial to them is all that was done instead of

using bribery in attempts to persuade those who decided not to get vaccinated. As stated above,

bribing someone to do something regarding their health should be considered inhumane. It can

be said that the government has a motive other than the wellbeing of the nation based on their

actions when trying to have everyone vaccinated, which makes it suspect.

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Works Cited

“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/bribe.

Gelinas, Nicole. “People Need to Trust Vaccines - Not Be Bribed to Get Them.” New York

Post, New York Post, 16 May 2021, nypost.com/2021/05/16/people-need-to-trust-

vaccines-not-be-bribed-to-get-them/

Sgaier, Sema K. “Meet the Four Kinds of People Holding Us Back From Full

Vaccination.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 May 2021,

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/18/opinion/covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy.html.