Threat of getting fired hasn’t persuaded some to get COVID-19 vaccine. How are resisters affecting the pandemic?

CHICAGO — Wynne Lacey’s decision to skip the COVID-19 vaccine has come with consequences.

The mental health counselor from Oak Park, Illinois, lost a job when her employer imposed a vaccine requirement. She has had to stay home when her husband and children, who have gotten their shots, go to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra or restaurants that require proof of vaccination.

And when she revealed her status late last year to fellow members of the Oak Park Board of Health, a panel that advises the village’s public health department, she received criticism she equates to a public shaming. A village trustee is now seeking to oust her from the board.

But the mandates and blowback haven’t shaken Lacey’s skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccines. And they definitely haven’t moved her any closer to getting one.

“People like me are pretty certain in our stance at this point,” Lacey said. “I was willing to