Half of the country does not believe that businesses should be able to mandate coronavirus vaccines for customers, an Economist/YouGov survey released this week found.
The survey asked respondents, “Do you believe businesses should be allowed to mandate vaccines for their customers?”
Fifty percent said “no,” they should not be allowed to do so, followed by 38 percent who said “yes” and 12 percent who said they are “not sure.” Additionally, a plurality of respondents, 45 percent, said that K-12 schools should not be allowed to mandate vaccines for students, compared to 43 percent who said they should. Opinions shift slightly when it comes to colleges and universities mandating vaccines for students, as 45 percent said they should be able to, compared to 44 percent who said they should not.
Notably, a plurality, 49 percent, said that healthcare professionals should not be allowed to mandate vaccines for their patients, compared to 34 percent who said they should.
The survey, taken January 15-18, 2022, among 1,500 U.S. citizens, has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
It comes on the heels of the Supreme Court delivering a devastating blow to one of President Biden’s vaccine mandates, which would have affected roughly 84 million workers. In a 6-3 vote, the Court blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) vaccine mandate, but it upheld the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate on healthcare workers in a 5-4 vote. However, the Court made it clear that there are exemptions for religious or medical reasons.