[cedws]

The polio vaccine is much older and as far as I could find has never had a death attributed to it. COVID vaccines are newer, and their safety profile was not fully understood when they were rolled out.

[koonsolo]

Therefore the COVID vaccines were also not mandatory.

[jasonvorhe]

Unless you wanted to keep your job in the medical field or education or had to do lots of travel.

[koonsolo]

If I remember correctly, it was a pandemic. So yes, everybody contributed, either by getting vaccinated or staying home, your choice.