By Chris Black
To begin with, this is how things look in 2021 so far with the Rona extravaganza:
- UK to expand ‘Tier 4’ lockdowns nationwide; reports of Tier 5
- UK starts Astra-Zeneca vaccine rollout
- US begins 2nd doses
- US cases top 200K
- Global cases top 85MM
- Officials play catch-up with vaccine rollout
- UK to delay second vaccine doses
- Japan weighs state of emergency
- Scotland reimposes lockdown
- Germany to extend lockdown
- Fauci says possible vaccines become mandatory
- Greece announced 1-week lockdown
- Norway’s PM announces fresh restrictions
- South Korea widens ban on private gatherings
- Norway imposes new restrictions
- Thailand sees 745 new cases Monday
All over the world, the authorities have assured their citizens that vaccination will be on a voluntary basis, as in unconditional. However, all signs show that vaccination will be mandatory in the future. Safety and good consumer information are the most important aspects of health and travel, says the National Federation of Associations for Consumer Protection in Hungary.
It warns that healthcare is a key element in any investigation by consumer protection authorities. This means that a certain product is examined with the utmost care to ensure that it is not dangerous to the consumer, writes the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet.
Services may also be subject to such conditions. Consumer protection organizations draw attention to the fact that the passenger also has a great responsibility; for example, a traveler may be required to sign an accident or sickness insurance policy.
However, according to the article in the Hungarian newspaper, it is the consumer’s right to sign a contract or to bear the consequences of its absence, if he falls ill abroad.
It is also the right of everyone to decide whether to vaccinate on their own initiative, as long as a country does not require an entry vaccination certificate.
However, Hungarian citizens are warned to be prepared for each state to apply for a vaccination certificate at any time. Magyar Nemzet reminds readers that even before the covid outbreak, there were many countries that could only be visited by tourists who were vaccinated against certain diseases and added:
“This was proved by a small yellow booklet. It probably won’t be any different in the current pandemic. “
On the other hand, “consumer protection” is a mantra invoked not only by states but also by certain transport companies: Qantas was the first to give the signal. The Aussie airline warned that only people who could prove they had been vaccinated against COVID could board their planes.
Once the Pandora’s Box is opened, the slippery slope becomes real: domestic transport companies, such as subways, could also condition access to their services with a “vaccination passport”.
The principle “other people’s safety” will prevail over possible allegations of discrimination.
Malls, supermarkets, cinemas, entertainment institutions, voluntarily or forced by the authorities to offer security guarantees to customers, will also try to impose the vaccination certificate as an “entrance ticket”, as they were previously required to take your temperature.
Obviously, corporations will force their employees to get vaccinated if they want to come to work. People have the right not to be vaccinated, because vaccination is a medical act, and the medical act can only be performed with the explicit consent of the person on whom it is exercised.
However, if you refuse to take the vaccine, you will turn into an outcast, or an untouchable to use an Indian analogy, who will no longer have the right to leave the house and earn a living.
Spain already has a register of people who refuse vaccination, and Israel was the first country to start issuing a “green passport” for people who have been vaccinated. And in the United States, the (in)famous Dr. Anthony Fauci has already suggested the idea that vaccines will be mandatory in order to go to school or travel abroad.
He said that compulsory vaccination could be instituted at the state (American) or city level.
“An entire school system in one city could impose it (compulsory vaccination), and in other cities, it does not. The measures must be taken locally, not centrally, “Fauci told Newsweek.
He added that he would not be “surprised” if certain companies, hospitals and organizations demanded vaccination against COVID.
“I am not sure if (anti-COVID vaccination) will be mandatory from the central government’s point of view. But there will be individual institutions that, I am sure, will impose it. ”
Asked about the mandatory “COVID passports” and compulsory vaccination for travel abroad, Fauci replied: “Everything will be on the table for discussions.