During a recent interview, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would like to ‘piss off’ the unvaccinated. While he said he would not “vaccinate by force,” the five million France residents who had not had a dose, Macron hoped to encourage them to get the vaccines by “limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life.”

His comments have sparked an uproar among critics who feel his use of what they call “divisive vulgar language” to make life difficult for unvaccinated people is unfair. Opponents of Macron said his words make him “unworthy to be president.” France’s National Assembly was on the brink of barring the unvaccinated from much of public life. Macron’s comments don’t seem so far-fetched since mandatory vaccinations are being introduced in several European countries.

Whether or not his comments are what a president should or should not say is not my place to decide. However, I stand with him. I don’t want to force everyone to get vaccinated, but I do want my life back.

I planned to spend the first two weeks of 2022 in Colombia. But in line with the past two years, my dreams of vacationing in the sun were dashed. Not because I am unvaccinated or Colombia had an extensive quarantine protocol in place. My trip was canceled due to rising COVID-19 concerns from spiking numbers. But that’s why I echo the French President’s sentiment. The numbers overwhelmingly show the impact of the virus on the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. No doubt we both can get it. But beyond that, the numbers don’t lie.

CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, has continued to reiterate that unvaccinated people are still the most at risk from COVID-19. Unvaccinated people are about six times more likely to test positive than vaccinated people, nine times more likely to be hospitalized, and 14 times more likely to die from COVID-19-related complications, Walensky said during a White House news briefing.

Knowing these numbers, I just want to live my life. As someone who is vaccinated and boosted, I should not have to ‘limit’ my activities out of fears of the devastating effects COVID-19 has on the unvaccinated.

Since it is their right not to get vaccinated, it should be the hospital’s right to prioritize and or only treat the vaccinated and those who are medically exempt from taking the vaccine. Enforcing such guidelines would ease the burden of worrying about hospitals being overrun with COVID-19 patients.

It should be an automatic understanding that anyone choosing not to be vaccinated is giving up their right to treatment for COVID-19-related illnesses. Guidelines like this may in fact do what Macron wants, but they will also allow people like me to live their lives without limits that protect those choosing to compromise their own.