A video posted to TikTok shows a man with a COVID-19 vaccination pin on his shirt following a woman around Target in Washington State and lecturing her about being unvaccinated. The video was posted last Saturday and currently has over 995,000 views and 28,000 comments.
"You're vaccinated?" the woman asked the man in the video. He replied that he is and the woman said, "Oh you are? Because I already have natural immunity. You're not going to follow me around in the store and point at me to people," she replied.
"It's a state regulation," he said. "It's not a law. You're an idiot," the woman responded as she attempted to walk away from the man. Other shoppers in the store started getting involved in the altercation asking the man to leave the woman alone.
The man can be heard asking the other shoppers to stay out of the conversation. "This is between the two of us," he said to another shopper in the video.
@wymlol The 💉 people need to chill 😬 #target #stopthemandate #unitedwestand🇺🇸 Kudos to the ladies that helped protect this lady!
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A woman shopping in a nearby aisle heard the argument and told the man to leave her alone pointing out that his mask would "keep him safe."
The man continued pointing at the woman from across the aisle and started telling her about his wife who is a doctor specializing in infectious disease.
"So do you just think she doesn't know what she's talking about?" the man asked. He then picks up his hand again and continues blatantly pointing at the woman.
"It's all of our job as a community to come together and make sure that people are shamed when they put the rest of us at risk," the man said to the woman in an aisle of the store, pointing at her as other shoppers walked by. At this point, a large crowd of people gathered to hear the altercation.
"You're making a bad decision. You're a bad American...you're a bad person for doing this," the man said. Another shopper is then heard defending the unvaccinated woman saying that being vaccinated is a personal choice. The man was then asked to leave the store by a security guard.
The video was quickly posted to Twitter by several users where it racked up even more views from the public. Many of the comments defended the woman saying it is her choice whether or not to get vaccinated and that harassment is never okay.
"I love all the people helping you. That's Americans right there. Freedom of choice," one user commented on the TikTok video.
"This vaccine has turned these fools into 7th grade hall monitors," joked another.
As more states across the country introduce vaccine and mask mandates, some individuals are pursuing legal action while others are taking to the internet to push their opinions on the virus.
In Illinois, a veteran teacher chose to retire early due to the school board's vaccine and weekly testing mandates. In response, a parent of a student from the middle school created a Change.org petition that pushed for personal choice on vaccination status.
"The law supports our teachers and our board in ensuring our teachers are not targeted, discriminated, segregated or potentially terminated due to their personal decision," the petition read. "The state has no authority to impose this mandate and force teachers to notify the [Illinois State Board of Education] of their failure to comply with the mandate issue."
Many claim that issuing vaccination and mask mandates hinders the rights of individuals and believe employers do not have the right to force employees to get the vaccine.
In Missouri, some people are showing up for vaccine appointments in full disguise in fear of being ostracized, Priscilla Frase, MD, the chief medical information officer for Ozarks Healthcare said in a video earlier this summer. In the video, Frase said people are afraid of their family and friends finding out they decided to get vaccinated.
"Nobody should have to feel that pressure to get something that they want," Frase said. "We should all be free to do what we want to do and that includes people who don't want to get the vaccine as well as people who do...but we've got to stop ridiculing people who do or don't want to get the vaccine."
