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Austrian example
With Austria beginning a targeted lockdown against unvaccinated people, confining adults and minors ages 12 and older to their homes if unvaccinated, we asked readers if Scotland should consider doing the same.
Agree to stop the spread. Andre Rieu has cancelled concerts in Austria.
Nel Greig
I just can't wait to find out who'd get the blame next if infection numbers and deaths still went up even after they locked down the unvaccinated.
Sandra Alexandra Deak
The vaccine was supposed protect us so why would we need to lock up unvaccinated people?
Mags Cathcart This is getting out of hand. It would create apartheid within an already divided society. How can society thrive if people turn against one another on such a simple choice.
Emma Gillon
That’s the whole point, there shouldn’t be a choice.
John Archibald
It’s a difficult debate this. We really need to get vaccinated to get out of this mess. You cannot force people but how would you feel if the doctor operating on you was unvaccinated? Doctors have no choice and are vaccinated against many things like hepatitis etc or they cannot work.
Moira Mackay
How would you feel if your home was on fire and your family were trapped inside but the arriving fireman were unvaccinated? Would you turn them away?
Mickey Edwards
What about people who’ve recovered from Covid and have far more robust immunity than the vaccines provide?
Carol Fraser Just to be clear: unvaccinated people in Austria can still go to the supermarket, they can still go to work, they can still go jogging in the park. The lockdown should (but won't because there's too few police to enforce this) only keep irresponsibly unvaccinated people from irresponsibly meeting in big crowds for fun while the Austrian ICUS are collapsing under a flood of unvaccinated Covid patients. It's the government's last desperate attempt to save lives after all appeals to common sense have been ignored.
Judith Dahmen You can't force people to take a vaccination if they don't believe that it works, or that
Covid doesn't exist, but at the same time should they catch it vaccinated health staff shouldn't be forced to give them medical attention.
Keith Robertson
You could apply that logic to any other vaccine. Do we do that? No we don't. If the healthcare professional is vaccinated then what's the problem. We shouldn't be judging other people's choices in a medical setting. You can't deny folk treatment just because you don't agree with them or their choice.
Lorraine Lowrie
All medical treatment should be based on informed consent. This is medical fascism! Chilling that a society will stoop to this.
Robert Nicol I've had both vaccinations and still caught Covid. How on Earth could this be enacted?
James Mcdaid Give people the facts. Give people access to vaccines and that is all. Covid is not going away. In time it will become like flu and the common cold.
Nola Jacinta Maria
Wage increase
More than 300,000 workers are set to receive a pay boost after the Real Living Wage, a voluntary rate paid by thousands of employers, announced higher rates. There is an increase of 20p, setting the new hourly rate to £9.90.
Wow! 20p an hour! Don't spend it all in the one shop.
Steve Roberts That’ll help pay the National Insurance hike.
Robert Farrell The annual inflation rate for gas, electric, mobile phone companies, broadband, rent, council tax etc – is more than this miserable 20p an hour increase. What an insult to the people who are already being exploited in an underpaid job. Real Living Wage? It’s people at the bottom holding others up. Put the rich on this wage and see if they can manage.
Susan Breatnach
Hardly a boost. Approximately £300 per year? Needs to be way more. If we can waste £37 billion on a Covid app that didn’t workd then surely we can really boost earnings for people who actually do work?
Yosof Ewing
Maybe if parliamentarians didn't have second, and third, jobs while claiming expenses there would be enough money left to pay us peasants more.
Ken Johnston Absolute buzzing. I cannot wait.
Garry Wilson