This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

For some time, I have thought that the way out of the Covid 19 virus emergency was to mandate that all citizens get the vaccine.

Of course, that is easier said than done. 

And, if a public official – a governor, the president or someone else – mandated the vaccine, they would have riots in the streets led by persons who want their way no matter how their selfish approach affects others.

Meanwhile, a piece of good news is that the Food and Drug Administration has given “full approval” to the Pfizer vaccine, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, could mean more employers will require shots.  It also could remove one of the reasons some people site for not getting the vaccines – there is only “temporary approval” of them.

Even before full approval of Pfizer, many companies were requiring vaccines.

Consider this list, which recently was produced by NBC News:

• Amtrak
• Anthem
• BlackRock
• Cisco
• Citigroup
• Delta Air Lines
• DoorDash
• Equinox
• Facebook
• Ford
• Goldman Sachs
• Google
• Jefferies
• Lyft
• Microsoft
• Morgan Stanley
• NBC Universal
• Netflix
• The New York Times
• Saks
• Salesforce
• TJX
• Twitter
• Tyson Foods
• Uber
• Union Square Hospitality Group
• United Airlines
• Viacom CBS
• Walgreens
• The Walt Disney Company
• Walmart
• The Washington Post

To be fair, not all of these company mandates carry the same structure.  In some cases, employees are given a choice – take Covid tests or get vaccinated.  In others, employees who refuse to take the vaccine are allowed to work at home, at least for a time.

But, the impact is clear.

Mandates in companies will increase the proportion of citizens who are vaccinated – and that is a good result for all of us.