I think it was a sense of fear and lack of knowledge. Everyone was desperate to get to zero Covid. We now know that isn’t possible even in China where they have been brutal about their restrictions. What so far as been discovered is that the vaccine helped alleviate symptoms and help keep people out of the hospital system while doctors and medical personnel learned how best to treat it, but that was hard to foresee because we were in the middle of a worldwide experiment. Now we can say well if you don’t want the vaccine that’s on you, good luck, and stay the fuck away from the rest of us.

I think what they needed to implement far more than a vaccine mandate was an increase of paid sick time in every industry but places are so afraid of that minority of people who will take advantage.