The Prospects of UNC Vaccine Mandate Movement

The Vaccinate UNC Now movement gathers outside the South Building to give a speech and deliver their petition. Source: Jacob Johnson-Wright

It was September 10th, outside of Wilson library, when about 75 members of the UNC community convened to demand a COVID-19 vaccine mandate as part of the Vaccinate UNC Now movement. After collecting signatures for a petition and making signs, they marched to the South Building to give a speech and deliver the petition to the Chancellor.

Luke Diasio, one of the demonstration’s leaders, gave a speech in front of the South Building. Mr. Diasio made the movement’s message clear, saying that “[we] need a mandate, and we need it now.” To support this, he referenced how “[our] hospitals are full,” as they are “not accepting transfers.” He also stated that “[each] successive infection increases the chance of a new, deadlier variant,” recognizing the link between the late summer surge in COVID-19 cases and the new, more infectious delta variant. Mr. Diasio closed his speech with one encouraging message: “There is finally light at the end of the tunnel,” but UNC must “require students, faculty, and staff to receive a vaccination” to reach normalcy again.

The movement’s Instagram bio also references the potential to return to fully online classes if a vaccine is not mandated, with a witty yet effective rhyme: “Without the vaccine mandate, we’re doomed to Zoom.” As of right now, the university has no plans to go online, a promise that has been echoed by many professors in their classes. Cases of the coronavirus at UNC have also declined. After spiking with the return of students to campus, since August 28 — the last day that the daily case count was above 40 — the average number of new cases per day has been 14.8. These statistics are in line with the pattern demonstrated in the beginning part of the Spring 2021 semester, which saw the University host under half the number of students as usual and cancel almost all social gatherings.

Mr. Diasio also took the time to answer a few questions. Responding to a question about the need for the vaccine mandate despite UNC’s reported 92% vaccination rate, Mr. Diasio shed light on an oversight in the Carolina system: “UNC does not require any proof” when a student reports whether they have been vaccinated or not, causing students to lie about their vaccination status to avoid getting tested twice a week. Mr. Diasio’s solution to this problem was simple: utilizing “CVMS,” a state database that would allow the University to check to see who is actually vaccinated.

Mr. Diasio also made one other point clear about the movement: “We think that public health is more important than personal liberties.” This statement parallels the rhetoric that has emerged out of the White House in the past few weeks, in regard to President Joe Biden’s recent mandate requiring vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 tests for all workers at companies with over 100 employees, which has engendered backlash — but also praise — from different sources across the country.

Many that have come out against the vaccine mandate have cited privacy concerns, believing that the Constitution does not allow the government to force people to get a vaccine. In reality, constitutional precedence does not look favorably upon this argument. In 1905, the Supreme Court decided Jacobson v. Massachusetts, upholding the constitutionality of a smallpox vaccine mandate. Given that all students at UNC must adhere to other vaccine mandates, it is clear that the power is still used. Yet, all the vaccines that UNC currently mandates are mandated that way under state law, the creation of which is controlled by the North Carolina Commission for Public Health. The University, being a state institution, must wait for the Commission to authorize a mandate before it can implement one itself.

As of right now, the Commission has yet to authorize a mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine. A recent Gallup poll asked the American people whether they supported a vaccine mandate, and, in all demographics, a majority of people supported a vaccine mandate. Although it is interesting to note that by the poll asking if respondents “would you favor or oppose businesses requiring people to show proof” of COVID-19 vaccination, it is implied that it would be a private business doing the implementation. With only slim majorities, it is not unthinkable that some majorities would fade when presented with a government-centered plan, disconcerted by the idea of centralized power being exercised on such a politicized and, as some see it, individual topic. Moreover, with only around 75 people at the Vaccinate UNC Now rally, it is unclear if the support at UNC is there either. The enactment of an unpopular mandate may seem to violate individualistic American traditions of people being the authors of their lives and having representative, not paternalistic, institutions.

Chancellor Guskiewicz has already stated his support for a mandate, but, as iterated above, UNC-Chapel Hill must wait for the North Carolina Commission for Public Health to authorize the mandate. The next time the commission meets is October 15th, meaning that the Chancellor and the mandate movement must wait to take further action until then.