Would a mandatory mask mandate or vacination for COVID-19 be legal for the government to impose?

 By Travis Rice Attorney at Law, PLLC

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There is a lot of debate on whether or not the vaccine would be mandatory or not. Fortunately for us, this question has already been answered. The answer may shock you; so buckle up, lets explore this issue.

Its first important to understand the role of government. The role of government is basic protection of society and its interest. Things like life, liberty, and property are meant to be protected by the government. Our preamble to the constitution confirms this. But what happens when your liberty and life are both at issue under the law? Can the state make you take a vaccine against your liberty to spare other citizens lives? You should know that the Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue, and the result may surprise you. 

Pandemics and Epidemics are nothing new or "novel." One of the worst pandemics in world history occurred just centuries ago. Small pox was a very deadly disease and it is projected to have killed anywhere from 300-500million people. Some have put the survival rate at only 35% once infected with some strands. In 1796 the small pox vaccine was intended. The small pox vaccine in its first form was very crude, primative, and not widely known. During the late 1800s and early 1900s vaccinations in large batches became more available to the public. More and more people got the vaccine, but as they did so did communicable diseases due to sharing needles and lack of medical resources at the time. It became highly controversial in society to either obtain the vaccine or reject the vaccine. Making the controversy worse was that the disease was particularly dangerous to children. After enormous deaths and medical advancements some states began to issue vaccination orders to all their citizens.  

The State of Massachusetts was one of the first states to issue state wide vaccine orders to help eradicate Small Pox. The compulsory vaccine order was immediately touted as unconstitutional. The Massachusetts Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality under the "police power" portion of the constitution which allowed the government to enact a mandatory order to protect its citizens and overrode the interest of liberty.

The United States Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) held that State's were allowed to issue mandatory vaccination orders and it did not violation the constitution. There was a limit though, if the governments were using this as a form of oppression, or would lead to an injustice it would then become an invalid use of the police power. In 1958 the United States government joined world health officials to eradicate small pox. To this day it is the only human disease that has been completely eradicated.    

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The Jacobson case has been used by the 5th Circuit to uphold a regulation halting abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been used to justify stay at home orders, mask mandates, and is now being used to possibly justify a mandatory vaccination for the COVID-19 virus. 

Is Jacobson, still valid today? Yes. The State has the power to issue such mandatory laws and they would be held constitutional. However, when do they become oppressive or when do they lead to injustices? 

I think the bigger question is wheter or not we are in the same situation as small pox to require the government to go this far to protect its citizens. What do you think? 

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