‘Not something we should do in America’: Elon Musk says he opposes vaccine mandates

Elon Musk has spoken against mandatory vaccinations, saying it’s “just not something we should do in America”.

Elon Musk has spoken out against vaccine mandates.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder, who has previously criticised Covid-19 lockdowns in the United States, made the comments in an interview with Time magazine, which on Monday named the world’s richest man its Person of the Year for 2021.

Asked whether he was vaccinated, Musk confirmed he was.

“Yes, yeah. I’m very pro-vaccination. The science is unequivocal, I’ve tweeted to that effect,” he said.

“But by the same token I am against forcing people to be vaccinated. You know, I think this is just not something we should do in America. I think we should encourage people to be vaccinated, strongly try to convince them to be vaccinated, but not force them to be vaccinated, or for example for them to get vaccinated or get fired.”

Just over 72 per cent of adults in the US are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or just under 61 per cent of the total population.

Vaccination rates across states vary wildly. Vermont is the most vaccinated state with 75.4 per cent of the total population having received two doses, while Idaho is the least vaccinated on 45.8 per cent.

Vaccine mandates at both the state and federal level have proven controversial.

Elon Musk is Time Person of the Year 2021. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Time

On Tuesday, the Air Force said it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get vaccinated, making them the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate, the Associated Press reported.

Thousands of service members have either refused or sought an exemption since the Pentagon earlier this year announced a sweeping vaccine requirement for all members of the military.

Different branches had set their own deadlines for members to be vaccinated.

Musk’s comments came as the Supreme Court on Monday refused to halt a vaccine mandate for New York healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, the US Senate last week voted to block President Joe Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large private employers, in what was seen as a symbolic win for conservatives.

The measure passed 52-48 with the support of all 50 Republicans in the upper chamber and two centrist Democrats, but is not expected to fare well in the House of Representatives, where it may only have support from the right.

Under Mr Biden’s plan, all companies with more than 100 workers will have to require their employees to be immunised or undergo weekly testing from January 4.

The Senate pushback was led by Indiana’s Mike Braun, who told reporters that threatening Americans’ jobs if they refuse on both counts “is the heavy hand of government”.

A medical worker receives a booster vaccine in Adelaide. Picture: Brenton Edwards/NCA NewsWire

Wyoming’s John Barrasso, the chairman of the Senate Republicans, accused Mr Biden of “medical malpractice”.

After the vote, Joe Manchin, one of the two Democrats who sided with Republicans, said while he supports a vaccine mandate for federal employees and the military, it was “not the place of the federal government” to dictate to private businesses.

“We should incentivise, not penalise, private employers to encourage vaccination among their employees,” Mr Manchin said in a statement.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer likened the Republicans to flat-earth theorists and accused those who have sought out vaccine shots for themselves of hypocrisy.

“The biggest thing standing between us and the end of the pandemic is Americans who have refused to get vaccinated,” he said.

All three major Biden vaccine policies for people not employed by the federal government — the mandates for contractors, certain health care workers and employees of larger companies — face legal challenges and are currently on ice.

Last month, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law four bills banning or restricting vaccine mandates in schools and businesses in the state.

Mr DeSantis described it as “the strongest piece of legislation that’s been enacted in the country” against vaccine requirements.

“I told Floridians that we would protect their jobs and today we made that the law,” he said during an appearance in the small Tampa suburb of Brandon – widely seen as a reference to the viral anti-Joe Biden phrase “Let’s Go Brandon”.

“Nobody should lose their job due to heavy-handed Covid mandates and we had a responsibility to protect the livelihoods of the people of Florida. I’m thankful to the Florida Legislature for joining me in standing up for freedom.”

— with AFP