“It’s about citizenship,” French President Emmanuel Macron said as he defied opponents of so-called Covid-19 vaccine passports needed to visit public spaces such as bars and museums.
Critics charged that the scheme, which has been extended to employees of venues that deal with members of the public, violated sacred values of liberté and égalité in the national motto. Macron's defence, focused on fraternité.
“It’s worth nothing if by exercising our freedom we contaminate our brother, neighbour, friend, parents, or someone we have come across at an event. Then freedom becomes irresponsibility.”
According to the Bloomberg Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, just over 67% of French people have been fully jabbed, surpassing initial front-runner UK, which is now at 64%. The EU average is 59%, while the US is lagging behind at 52%.
The divergence in infection and death rates has caused the EU to recommend that member states reimpose restrictions on US travellers. There is an exception — those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter the EU.
That the debate about vaccination mandates happens at a time when SA scientists have discovered a new variant is of significance. In all the discussions about the global inequitable distribution of shots, the point has been made that leaving large swathes of the world unvaccinated posed a danger to all.
Lack of vaccination coverage gives the virus scope to mutate, creating strains that may then reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. Even far-away countries such as New Zealand and Australia are learning that simply closing yourself away from the world is not a long-term option.
Some vaccine sceptics have chosen to selectively quote from a report on how Israel, one of the world's most vaccinated countries, was in the grip of a fourth wave to argue against mandates or vaccines completely.
They conveniently disregard the findings showing the efficacy of vaccines in preventing severe illness and death. A US study found that unvaccinated people were about 29 times more likely to end up in hospital with Covid-19 than those who had been jabbed, and were almost five times as likely to become infected. Last week, the Financial Times reported that the UK vaccination programme saved about 100,000 lives.
Now that the vaccines are here, it's crucial to get them to as many arms as possible, and a form of passporting may have a role, despite genuine concerns about freedom of choice and the right to privacy. Rights are never absolute, and anyone travelling to most European countries can now expect to be asked to show that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19. “Get a shot or get lost,” was how Bloomberg described the growing trend of US employers imposing vaccine mandates on workers.
Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba has made a positive contribution in starting a debate in SA about incentivising people to get their vaccine, with the country still far from the 70% threshold that scientists say is needed for life to return to some normalcy.
If a vaccine hesitant individual wasn't able to buy alcohol or go to a football game without a shot, a vaccine passport might just nudge them to get the jab. Businesses such as restaurants, which tend to be the hardest hit by alcohol bans and curfews and have called for the end of restrictions, can make the decision themselves, and so can social organisations such as churches.
Concerns expressed by Cosatu about coercion cannot be dismissed out of hand. In SA, while vaccine hesitancy is an issue, access might be a bigger problem, and it’s crucial that the government increase efforts to get the vaccines to people in remote and poor areas, for whom travelling to a vaccination site may not be an option. Discriminating against people who don’t have a reasonable opportunity to get a shot would not pass the test of fairness.
But there’s no reason an overall strategy cannot have more coercive elements. As Macron states, freedom comes with responsibility, and safeguarding the health of others shouldn’t be negotiable.
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