LAYING DOWN THE LAW

Soon you might not have a choice about whether to have the Covid vaccine. We take a look at what countries around the world are doing

- NASIFA SULAIMAN

IT’S easily the most contentious topic of recent months and has divided families, cancelled friendships and caused heated discussions on social media.

But governments around the world are increasingly stepping up to take the issue of whether to get the Covid-19 jab or not out of the hands of the people.

Policies that make vaccines either compulsory or mandatory are being signed into law in several countries and our government is considering a mandate too.

“The most powerful tool we have is vaccination,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said recently.

The powers that be are making it harder for people to live their lives as usual if they refuse to get the jab – and for good reason.

The more people refuse to get vaccinated, the greater the chance of more variants emerging and the greater the pressure remains on healthcare workers.

There are also several knock-on effects on the economy – and the longer it lasts, the greater the overall damage to everyone, experts say.

One of the ways to increase vaccinations is to implement mandatory jabs.

Countries that have instituted mandates have seen vaccination rates increase, says Professor Susan Goldstein, public health specialist and deputy director at the South African Medical Research Council’s Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science.

AUSTRIA

The country announced plans to make vaccines compulsory from 1 February 2022.

But health minister Wolfgang Mückstein said the specifics, such as the ages of those who’ll need to get jabbed, must still be approved by parliament.