RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITY

I have read with bemusement, letters advocating for the rights of the unvaccinated to have privacy in relation to their inoculation status.

What seems to be missing in this somewhat idealistic observation is that it is not about people’s individual health status – which of course is private – but it’s a matter of public health within the context of a global pandemic. Furthermore, it’s not just a domestic issue for New Zealanders, it has a bearing on whether or not other countries are prepared to allow we New Zealanders to cross their borders and compromise their public health protocols.

We have driver’s licenses to prove we can drive a car, primarily to protect one another from mayhem on the roads, and we have passports to cross international borders to ensure we are not undesirable individuals, so what’s so different about being required to have a vaccination certificate to demonstrate that we are not putting others at risk of dying from Covid?

For those coming from a Christian perspective, the 10 commandments were about what you could not do, not what you could do, so that you did not harm others in society. Notably, they did not dwell on individual rights. Beware a society where individual rights overshadow our collective responsibilities – it leads to anarchy.

Carole Devereux, Mellons Bay