How does this interact with vaccine mandates? In Betsch and Böhm’s 2015 study, participants played a disease outbreak simulator with two rounds. In the first round, participants were placed in either a mandatory or voluntary vaccine group, and in the second round, all individuals were placed in the voluntary group. Participants who originally reported having negative vaccine attitudes and were placed in the mandatory vaccination group in the first round were less likely to take the vaccine in the second, voluntary round. To be exact, 38% less likely to take the vaccine compared to those with similar attitudes who were in the voluntary group in the first round.

In another study from 2021, researchers found that this reactance has even greater health implications than just the COVID vaccine. Participants in mandatory COVID vaccine groups were less likely to report wanting the chickenpox vaccine and less likely to comply with COVID safety measures, such as masks and social distancing.

The risk of vaccine mandates backfiring is high, especially when proper health education isn’t at the forefront. Companies that aren’t working with vulnerable members of society should exhaust all other efforts before turning to vaccine mandates. Less than a week after Ohio offered incentives to their citizens with a million-dollar lottery for 5 winners, the vaccination rate jumped by 28%. These benefits aren’t culture-dependent. When Hong Kong announced their vaccine incentives, like a free apartment, sign-ups doubled in a week. While mandates will make your office halls safer, the world beyond them, which you can’t control, will be more dangerous.

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