ubiq,
“I don’t have a solution since Autonomy is critical, and people are allowed to change their minds. But it isnt straightforward .”
-100%, it is very complex and as you mentioned poor decision-making strains the healthcare system and in return, it hurts others that need the system.
This is also a complicated halacha question, do we have autonomy in a religious sense or just in a secular sense? What if someone was diagnosed with a heart attack, the accepted standard of care would be to remove the occlusion, and in return, they are expected to lead an otherwise normal life. However, for some odd reason, the patient refuses further care, which may result in death or permanent complicated heart failure. I believe that such a patient is obligated, in a religious sense to seek the appropriate care.
Prophylactic care, such as acquired immunity (vaccines), has been accepted as a mainstay in medicine. But the Covid19 vaccine is still being worked out, we are not sure how it compares with regards to natural immunity, or those with elevated titers.
Furthermore, if the increased strain on the health care system (partially a consequence of the vaccine mandates, as the already understaffed facilities now had to fire valuable staff) is only temporary, such as until the current wave resides, if hospitalization levels were to fall to acceptable levels, will the mandates be re-evaluated?
Lastly, while I am a strong proponent of any efforts to fight this virus by all means, including vaccinations. Patient (human) autonomy is a very serious matter, I would shudder to think if my consent would not matter if I were to be a patient. This is why I tried making my point that medical-related mandates are dangerous, it’s like a slippery slope, good intentions but hard to draw the line once implemented.