Refusing the vaccine ‘makes no sense’

“For now it is just speculation. I feel disappointed in our government because our president said that no one will be forced to go for the vaccine, and yet you hear this kind of story. I mean, can I afford to lose my job? No, I can’t. I have a family to look after, so what’s my next step?” he asked.

The South African Medical Association, however, said after witnessing three waves of Covid19 infections, they supported the requirement for universal vaccination of health-care workers.

“Health-care workers should by now have experienced three waves. Knowing the difficulties experienced during these waves, for them to still refuse taking the vaccines makes no sense. As doctors we have a moral obligation to do as much as we can to overcome vaccine hesitancy, and if you as a doctor are not vaccinated, how can you expect the public to vaccinate?,” asked Sama chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee.

“SAMA supports the requirement for universal vaccination of health workers and urges all health-care professionals to get vaccinated. This type of approach is already in place for many other conditions, such as Hepatitis B and influenza.“

She added that the benefits of vaccination could not be overstated, “to the extent that it would almost certainly be constitutionally permissible to mandate Covid19 vaccination in particular circumstances. It would involve a balancing exercise, but the applicable rights would be reasonably and justifiably limited in terms of section 36 of the Constitution, since the public health argument is so compelling.

“This might lead to health-care workers not vaccinated needing to submit every 72 hours, or once weekly, depending on the policy of the organisation, a negative PCR test at their own cost.”

Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) said they encouraged vaccination, but were also in support of the freedom of choice.