hankyoreh

Timo Fleckenstein

It was about a year ago that a nearly 91-year-old grandmother from Coventry in the UK received the first COVID-19 vaccination in the world. In the run-up to Christmas, this was the light at the end of the tunnel that everybody needed so desperately. When rich countries successfully rolled out their vaccination programs, it seemed we had finally gotten the upper hand in the battle with the deadly virus.

Who would have expected that one year later COVID-19 would still have such a firm grip on our lives? New variants of the virus — most recently, Omicron — remain a threat to our way of life. It has become clearer that vaccination is indeed the only way out of the pandemic, but some are still reluctant to receive the life-saving jabs.

Facing a fourth wave and the spread of Omicron, European countries have been forced to bring back social distancing measures they hoped would no longer be necessary. Austria has been among those that had been hit the hardest by the new surge of the virus. Not even seven out of 10 Austrians have been fully vaccinated, and only one in four have received the booster that seems so critical in the fight against fast-spreading Omicron. To reach the aspired vaccination rate of at least 90 percent, Austria has become the first European country introducing mandatory vaccination for all residents aged 14 and up. Exemptions are made for pregnant people, those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, and people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months. All others refusing their vaccination not only continue to face restrictions in everyday life but also fines of up to 3,600 euros, or around US$4,000.

Germany’s new coalition government of Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats has followed the Austrian example closely, and it is now also considering mandatory vaccination. Legislation has not been initiated, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz expects mandatory jabs by the end of February or early March. Whilst the Free Democrats seems hesitant to take a formal position, their party leader, Christian Lindner, supports the introduction of mandatory vaccination.

It is no surprise that liberalism struggles with such a bold move in the fight against COVID-19 — it is a major restriction of individual freedom. The “liberal” dilemma is most apparent in the UK’s debate. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, seems to call for a “national debate” on mandatory vaccination, saying, “I don’t believe we can keep going indefinitely with non-pharmaceutical interventions — I mean restrictions on people’s way of life — just because a substantial proportion of the population still sadly has not got vaccinated.” This certainly alarmed many backbenchers in his party; and the health secretary, Sajid Javid, was quick to rule out mandatory vaccinations on ethical grounds.

But what are the ethical considerations here? Surely, mandatory vaccination is a considerable restriction of the individual freedom of those who oppose COVID-19 jabs. But, at the same time, it is important to note that their refusal to get vaccinated is keeping social distancing measures in place — with huge impact on the economy and thus the livelihood of many, many people. The pandemic aggravated social inequalities and poverty — it literally made children go hungry. And, of course, huge public health concerns remain. Despite vaccination, the virus continues to kill.

Thus, the refusal of safe vaccination might be considered ethically most questionable.

The freedom to refuse vaccination effectively deprives the majority of people of their freedoms, and surely here the state has the moral authority to protect their society. In the absence of better alternatives, mandatory vaccination is thus proportionate. It is increasingly difficult to see how current approaches could achieve vaccination rates of 90% — the threshold needed for herd immunity, according to experts.

The Austrian example should be studied most carefully — by its European neighbors and elsewhere. Time is not on our side. Omicron spreads more quickly than previous variants, and a new, even more transmissible variant might be just around the corner.

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