This week, Boris Johnson turned to the issue
of compulsory Covid vaccinations.
- I don't believe we can keep going indefinitely
with non-pharmaceutical interventions.
I mean, restrictions on people's way of life.
I think we're going to need to have a national conversation about the way forward.
- The prime minister wants this national conversation
because he knows this pandemic isn't over.
Covid daily infection rates in Europe are going up.
Infection rates in the US are going up.
And when we look at deaths and hospitalisations,
there's a pattern.
- We're seeing still, a pandemic of the unvaccinated here,
with more than 1,000 deaths a day in the US,
almost entirely of unvaccinated individuals.
- That's the US,
it's the same in Germany.
- It's very difficult to get staff motivated
to treat patients now on this fourth wave.
We are still seeing so many patients that are not vaccinated.
- This is where we are with vaccination, in these rich countries between 60%
and 70% of the population are fully vaccinated.
In Africa, it's less than 8% with both doses.
These vaccination rates are a problem three times over.
First, even in the richest countries, healthcare systems are still exposed.
- In some parts of the country,
you can only describe it as dramatic.
Overfilled intensive care units,
severely ill people who have to be flown across Germany
to get the care they need.
- Next, if the developing world is under-vaccinated,
Covid has a better chance of mutating.
- Every person who's not immune to this virus is essentially a viral factory
and a viral factory is a variant factory.
So we just have to get the world immunised.
- Then there's Omicron.
- Certain features of Omicron,
including its global spread and large number of mutations,
suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic.
- And when faced with all of this, there's a further problem.
Governments have been asking people to get vaccinated
and it has not been enough.
- We have done 10 months of campaigning,
of trying to persuade people,
but still, we have a certain share, nearly one third of the population,
which is hesitant.
- The question now is: what to do about that?
Well, in Austria's case, it's made jabs mandatory from February
and this is the justification.
- We want to break out of this vicious circle of virus
waves and discussions about lockdowns and the only way,
the only exit ticket we have, is the vaccine.
- That's Austria and each country is considering its options.
Germany's new chancellor is Olaf Scholz.
He says he wants compulsory vaccines.
Already in Germany you can't go to lots of places, including most shops and restaurants,
without a jab or being recently recovered.
Or there's New York City, workers in the public and private sector must be jabbed.
Here's the mayor's justification.
- We cannot have shut downs here in New York City,
we've got to keep moving forward.
The answer as always is to use the things that work,
vaccination works and vaccine mandates work.
- But if they work, why is this so controversial?
Well, first of all, for some,
this is about individual liberty.
- We are a free country, I think everybody is entitled to their own opinion.
If we are going to be mandated to have the vaccine,
I think our freedom is being suppressed.
- This assessment is not shared by the president of America, Joe Biden.
- It's not about freedom or personal choice.
It's about protecting yourself and those around you.
- Joe Biden is pushing for a nationwide vaccine mandate for private business,
but that's being challenged in the courts and Republicans
are among the most vocal critics.
This is the governor of Alabama tweeting:
Overreach of government, suppression of freedom,
these are two criticisms and in the UK, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid
has other concerns too.
- I think it's unethical
and also I think that at a practical level, having some kind
of universal mandate for vaccination doesn't work.
- We're also seeing resistance to stricter Covid policies on the streets.
These are protesters in Austria, earlier this month.
And while opposition to compulsory vaccines comes in a range of forms,
it's worth remembering this isn't a new idea.
Back in the 19th century,
vaccine mandates were used widely in Europe to tackle smallpox.
And right now many healthcare workers are told they have to get a flu vaccine.
Vaccine mandates have saved many lives.
But the World Health Organization remains cautious about them.
- Mandates around vaccination are an absolute last resort and only applicable
when all other feasible options to improve vaccination uptake
have been exhausted.
- Evidently, some governments believe they have reached that point.
Maybe people have too.
In Germany, one recent poll found 72% of Germans
in favour of compulsory vaccines.
20% were against.
But even if governments go ahead,
this can only be part of the equation, because once again
we need to play the famous Doctor Tedros phrase.
- None of us are safe until all of us are safe.
- And this is where the issue gets even more complicated,
because those in the West criticising people who won't get the jab
are also benefiting from governments who prioritise them getting three jabs
over some in the world getting any.
So yes, the number of unvaccinated people is a major factor in the threat
this pandemic poses.
But mandating vaccines alone won't address that.
There will need to be a fairer distribution of vaccines too.