Covid-19 vaccine: three reasons for and against compulsory vaccination-BBC News

This does not mean that Austrians will be compulsory vaccination, there will be medical and religious exemptions. But most people who have not been vaccinated will face fines for not being vaccinated.

Given that Germany plans to take similar measures, this debate will not end there. We interviewed experts such as public health to understand various viewpoints.

The reason for supporting mandatory COVID-19 vaccination is very simple. Vaccination can reduce the risk of severe illness, and a less severe illness means fewer deaths, reducing the pressure on the hospital.

Historically, the vaccination campaign has achieved great success, eradicating smallpox and other diseases, or greatly reducing the mortality rate of other diseases.

Jason Schwartz, associate professor of medical history at Yale University, said: “We have very good examples showing that there is a random but direct causal relationship between mandatory and extremely high vaccination rates and personal and community protection.”

“Vaccines are effective, they are absolutely effective, and we have a lot of evidence to prove this.”

More modest measures than those proposed by Austria have achieved the goal of increasing vaccination levels. To enter restaurants and other public places, France requires the presentation of a health pass (pass sanitaire), which is believed to increase the vaccination rate to a certain extent, and the government hopes to avoid compulsory vaccination through it.

In July of this year, anti-blockade demonstrators took to the streets of London to protest against the blockade that was lifted just a few hours ago.

The point is that no matter what the government does, it will face opposition. In particular, the restrictions on the new crown epidemic have triggered protests around the world, and compulsory vaccination is a step further than compulsory wearing of masks.

Vageesh Jain, a public health doctor at the Institute of Global Health at University College London, said: “When it comes to vaccines, people really think very differently.”

“Anything imposed on their bodies will not be viewed in the same way, even though scholars and others may think that in theory this is just a limitation, people do have this emotional reaction.”

There are always some people who will never listen to vaccination, so even if people are not anti-vaccination, they may be skeptical of vaccination.

An Austrian study suggested that 14.5% of the country’s 9 million people were not prepared to be vaccinated, and 9% were just hesitant.

Governments must weigh the pros and cons. But as Cathleen Powell, a professor of law at the University of Cape Town, said, this is a legal issue.

“That is, a person who does not want to be vaccinated, wants to choose treatment for the dignity of his body, but this is contrary to the right of others not to contract potentially deadly diseases.” She said.

The new coronavirus has been with us for some time, and so has the vaccine.

At least in Europe, the decline in mandatory vaccination reflects a sense of frustration, that is, after months of vaccination and adequate vaccines, there is still a large number of people who have not been vaccinated.

On the African continent, there are significant differences in vaccination rates from west to east.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that now is the time to consider compulsory vaccination, but she emphasized that governments will make decisions.

“We have vaccines, vaccines that can save lives, but they are not fully used everywhere,” she said.

Although there are strong hygienic reasons for compulsory vaccination, it is not the only way to solve the problem.

“It’s worth noting in the past that politicians really liked the idea of ​​mandatory vaccination because it seemed to give a quick solution to the problem,” said Samantha Vandeslott, a social science researcher at the Oxford Vaccine Group.

“I don’t want the government to ignore other things that need to be done to ensure that people really have access to vaccines.”

Austria did not compulsory vaccination until February, and other methods are still used. In an interview with Radio Austria, Jun, a health psychologist at the University of Innsbruck, said: “For those who are afraid, those who lack trust, and those who have a low risk assessment, listen to their opinions and take them seriously. Their worries are very important to them.”

In South Africa, 24% of the population is vaccinated, which is less than half of the European average, but much higher than the 7% average of the entire African continent. There is no shortage of vaccines, and the low injection rate is partly blamed on misinformation.

The government has proposed mandatory vaccination under certain circumstances, but since the discovery of the Omicron variant, the number of vaccinations has increased rapidly. It’s not just the government that is pushing.

Compulsory vaccination is not the only form of compulsory measures. Most governments have implemented some form of restrictions, from COVID-19 passes to travel bans, and people have to pay for these restrictions.

In addition to saving lives, full vaccination may mean an end to the blockade.

“It’s not just limiting your freedom…it will damage the economy, mental health and physical health,” said Alberto Giubilini, a senior researcher at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He supports the implementation of coercive measures on those who are most vulnerable to the new coronavirus.

“When there are other feasible measures, there is no reason to impose the huge cost of the blockade on people.”

Some people have longer-term concerns, such as whether a successful project will cause people to distrust the future of sports.

Epidemiologist Dr Dicky Budiman told Al Jazeera: “A mandatory plan during the crisis will be counterproductive.” He advises the World Health Organization on the recovery of the epidemic.

“When people have so-called conspiracy theories, or they have misunderstandings, (this kind of plan) only strengthens their views.”

Van der Rohe mentioned the political environment: “We have seen that, especially in Europe, political parties use the power of opposing vaccines and know that this may be a way to get votes from certain groups of people,” she said.

“We may see more political parties who lean towards the right and send such a message in their political campaigns that they want to cancel the mandatory vaccination measures. This is cause for concern, because once this happens, we will Enforcement measures cannot be used as a policy option.”