Listen to the fear of people who face forced vaccination (Opinion)

When the news broke late Thursday that the Murphy Administration would be mandating vaccines for teachers, some people were left with a tough decision.

Many people might choose to leave their beloved profession rather than take a vaccine they believe they don't need or might cause them permanent harm.

These are just two of the more passionate callers from Friday's show:

The push to get people vaccinated here in New Jersey has all of the fervor and intensity of a religious movement. If you don't believe in it, you're a heretic and a sinner. But there is redemption for your soul IF you get the vaccine.

It's been more than half a year since the vaccine roll out. The clamoring for the jab has subsided and gone are the long lines and wait times to get an appointment.

They'll practically tackle you in the parking lot of the big chain drug stores to get you to take it. Some people weighed their risk and reward in taking the jab and decided to trust their good health and immune system and sat out the big rush to gain "salvation."

Now that we've seen so many who've gotten the vaccine have come down with frightening, debilitating side effects, those who remain unvaxxed have been further convinced it's a good idea to see where this goes.

Just a few short weeks ago, questioning whether the shot was totally safe was akin to blasphemy.

Now, things are starting to turn a little as more and more of the vaccinated are getting the virus and talks of booster shots are becoming more prevalent.

Now we're in the stage where vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 have a heavy viral load as the unvaccinated. Then there are the breakthrough cases where people get the virus, even though they've gotten the jab, and some actually get very sick, and some reportedly die.

More and more media outlets are finally reporting the stories. These vaccines are clearly not the panacea everyone was hoping for.

The next couple of months will tell the story of whether this religious fervor continues, or people realize this virus will do what it needs to do and fade in its severity on its own and join the other coronaviruses that we deal with every year.

In the meantime, stay healthy, stay safe and most importantly stay away from getting upset with people who look at this differently than you. They're not sinners and they're not going to kill your grandmother.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.