Vaccines

THE ‘RIGHT’ solutions

As the world’s nations battle for solutions to protect their citizens, a great deal of controversy has come from proposals around mandatory vaccine passports. Meetings learns more.

There have been many unknowns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic that have resulted in a great deal of speculation. The development, testing and release of vaccines intended to create a degree of immunity against the virus have been cause for a significant amount of upheaval, further exacerbated by talk that, eventually, it could become mandatory to be vaccinated to gain entry into certain public and shared spaces.

There is simply no way for us to control the rate of transmission if we cannot determine a person’s vaccination or health status. It’s very controversial and there are allegations of discrimination, but we really have to come to a point where we know in an environment with lots of people… whether they are a risk to others.”

– Justin van Wyk, CEO, Big Concerts

A major argument is that not being vaccinated may compromise the health and physical well-being of the collective. The flip side of this argument is how this might encroach on human rights and free will, while also considering an individual’s cultural or religious beliefs.

THE GLOBAL DEBATE RAGES ON

In France, a law was passed in midJanuary mandating vaccines. Anyone who is unvaccinated is not allowed entry into restaurants, sports arenas and other public spaces. President Emmanuel Macron has been an active proponent of mandatory vaccines and, in July 2021, his administration implemented a passe sanitaire, or health pass for anyone who is 12 years and older, mandating that they would not be allowed entry into public spaces without it.

Around 77% of all French citizens are fully vaccinated and the law that was recently passed enforcing vaccines was made possible through a majority vote in France’s National Assembly of 215 members for and 58 against this mandate. The passe sanitaire saw 240 000 people take to the streets in August last year to protest its implementation.

“The health pass has encouraged vaccination of many who were hesitant or reluctant, but it has not reduced hesitancy itself. A survey from September 2021 found that 42% of vaccinated people were still reluctant or had doubts about the vaccine at the time of their first dose. More importantly, the share of vaccinated people with doubts about the vaccine increased from 44% to 61% after the health pass was implemented,” an article on Nature Medicine states.

WHAT WORLD HEALTH BODIES SAY

The World Health Organization (WHO) has in the past stated that mandatory vaccines should be used only as a last resort.

“It is not uncommon for governments and institutions to mandate certain actions or types of behaviour in order to protect the well-being of individuals or communities. Such policies can be ethically justified, as they may be crucial to protect the health and well-being of the public. Nevertheless, because policies that mandate an action or behaviour interfere with individual liberty and autonomy, they should seek to balance communal well-being with individual liberties,” it said in a publication dated 13 April 2021.

DEBUNKING VACCINE MYTHS

THE VACCINE DOESN’T WORK IF…

…It took only a year to develop

Studies into coronaviruses have been ongoing for decades, as have vaccines that may be able to prevent them. The vaccine was not developed ‘overnight’, as many seem to think; rather, there was no need until the beginning of 2020 to formulate this particular set of vaccines and make them readily and widely available.

…People are still getting sick from Covid-19

The vaccine doesn’t outright prevent people from getting sick or dying, particularly if an individual already has existing comorbidities such as diabetes or heart disease. It does, however, give a person a degree of protection as it triggers an immune response within the human body that means there may be enough antibodies to prevent a serious or fatal case of Covid-19.

…Covid-19 can still be transmitted

Although studies are ongoing, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical journals such as The Lancet indicates that infections may be significantly reduced in vaccinated individuals.

Further, the WHO adds, “Mandatory vaccination should be considered only if it is necessary for, and proportionate to, the achievement of an important public health goal.”

COULD VACCINES BE MADE MANDATORY IN SOUTH AFRICA?

While vaccines have not as yet been enforced at a national level, several businesses and institutions such as the University of Johannesburg (UJ) have already introduced a mandatory vaccine policy.

“Although UJ does have limited distance learning offerings, it is an established residential university, with contact teaching and research. Due to this fact, the mandatory vaccination of staff and students will enhance safe and optimal access to its campuses and facilities, enabling its core functions of teaching and learning, research, and community engagement,” says UJ in its policy. As more adopters of mandatory vaccines come to the fore, it begs the question of what this might mean in terms of an individual’s Constitutional rights. “There are a number of grounds on which certain groups of persons might object to compulsory vaccination. These range from libertarian objections to ones founded on concerns over the safety of the vaccine. The circumstances of its need and development once again raise the classical debate between individual rights and those of society as a collective,” writes Nicholas Taitz, director at Knowles Hussain Lindsey Attorneys.

In addition, in South Africa, our Constitution takes into account individual rights and responsibilities, as well as those that serve the greater good, or collective.

“Section 36 of the South African Constitution represents a relatively modern formulation of the agreed compromise between individual and collective rights and the limits of state power, providing that individual rights may be limited by a law of general application that is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on dignity, freedom and equality,” says Nicholas.

In early January this year, the Constitutional Court was approached to make an urgent decision around the implementation of mandatory vaccines for South African citizens. At the time of Meetings magazine going live, a decision was yet to be made.