Kathryn Duke - you are correct, I was not familiar with the term "herd immunity". Thank you for pointing that out.

The commenter's objection to a reference to protecting the herd is a reminder that not everyone is familiar with the "herd immunity" concept in medical and public health spheres. "Community immunity" is a phrase apparently preferred now by federal government agencies to convey the same idea. This presumably reduces the possibility of misunderstanding or offense--and has the additional quality of a charming (or annoying?)singsong sound.

One other thing to note: the last paragraph in the story lets slip the disdain that legislators have for the public when they speak at unguarded moments: the legislator refers to the public as "the herd".

If this sort of legislation passes, will there be an exception allowed for organizations whose employees object to receiving the injections? We may run into a situation where health care organizations are caught between two opposing legal forces, the right of the legislature to make companies do things, and the rights of individuals to make personal decisions about their own health care.