Aibu to be horrified at the thought of mandatory vaccinations

[TracyLords]

I’m not anti vax. I’ve had my jabs and will get booster this week.

There have been countries in the EU insisting on mandatory vaccination: this concerns me: surely it is up to the individual to decide to get vaccinated (or otherwise)

It will never end until people get vaccinated so I guess it depends on what horrifies you more. Covid, restrictions, hospitizations, delayed medical treatments in other areas, deaths etc etc or the few selfish people left getting the jab

@workshy44

It will never end until people get vaccinated so I guess it depends on what horrifies you more. Covid, restrictions, hospitizations, delayed medical treatments in other areas, deaths etc etc or the few selfish people left getting the jab

Hmm that s word again. I had some work done in my garden this week which should have been done last week but the guy who was doing it was ill. After having his covid vaccine. If he doesn't work he doesn't get paid. But he missed several days after having the vaccine. I wouldn't have judged him if he'd decided not to get his second one (that was actually his second one). Could you afford not to work for several days if you were ill following the vaccine? If so, count yourself lucky.

And yes I know he might have missed even more time if he caught covid. But that is IF he catches it.

As a general rule, I am against compulsory vaccination. However, I think there are some jobs where it is necessary and desirable and failing to be vaccinated shows that you're not suitable for the work involved - any medical jobs, for instance.

@HeartsAndClubs

There are plenty of countries you can’t travel to without having had certain vaccinations. Plenty of jobs where certain vaccinations are compulsory.

I’ve been vaccinated so it doesn’t affect me.

Interesting that there are a lot of people here who believe that MMR should be compulsory or that children should not be allowed a school place if they haven’t had it, yet don’t agree with the same here.

Personally I have no sympathy with anyone who loses their job over the vaccine. No-one is losing their job, they’re making a choice to no longer be in that job because the terms have changed. If you choose not to have the vaccine then fine, but if your employer makes it mandatory for you to be in that job you have two choices. You either have the vaccine or you leave.

Travel isn't a necessity. Having a job is.

And there's a huge difference between knowing that you have to be vaccinated for certain jobs before you apply for or train for them, and having the rules changed on you when you're in a job.

There are plenty of countries you can’t travel to without having had certain vaccinations. Plenty of jobs where certain vaccinations are compulsory

Both of which are a choice. Travel to other countries or get different jobs. Forcing everyone to have it isn't a choice.

The thing I don’t understand is whether it’s even necessary. I know mandatory vaccination hasn’t really been discussed in this country but just taking our stats as an example, I believe about 90% of adults here have been vaccinated. That seems like pretty good take-up to me. Does it really matter if 10% of adults aren’t vaccinated?

(I don’t know the answer to these questions by the way).

And there's a huge difference between knowing that you have to be vaccinated for certain jobs before you apply for or train for them, and having the rules changed on you when you're in a job and this too

@HeartsAndClubs

There are plenty of countries you can’t travel to without having had certain vaccinations. Plenty of jobs where certain vaccinations are compulsory.

I’ve been vaccinated so it doesn’t affect me.

Interesting that there are a lot of people here who believe that MMR should be compulsory or that children should not be allowed a school place if they haven’t had it, yet don’t agree with the same here.

Personally I have no sympathy with anyone who loses their job over the vaccine. No-one is losing their job, they’re making a choice to no longer be in that job because the terms have changed. If you choose not to have the vaccine then fine, but if your employer makes it mandatory for you to be in that job you have two choices. You either have the vaccine or you leave.

I don't believe any jab should be compulsory.

@NollaigNollaig

I don’t get this being horrified. We’re in a middle of a once in a lifetime pandemic. The world has been a total shit show for the past two years and we’re still going round in circles.

It’s a fact that vaccines massively reduce hospitalisation. Would you prefer mandatory vaccines or never returning to life as we know it?

We’re not in a normal situation here. What do you think the world should be doing to try stop this? Keep us all locked down? Overwhelm hospitals and sod who dies? There are no good options. For me taking a safe vaccine is the best option if it gets us back to normal.

The trouble is, once we’ve crossed this rubicon, there’s no going back.

India is already talking about using lockdown as a tool to manage pollution, which is really quite a chilling development.

States like to have control over their populations, it makes government simple and inexpensive.

I’m honestly staggered at the naïveté of a lot of posters on MN.

I don't agree with mandating vaccines (or any other form of medical treatment). However, if the Government chose to do this, they can (subject to getting relevant legislation through). The smallpox vaccine was compulsory until 1948 and certain occupations require a person to be vaccinated against certain diseases, so it could be argued there is a precedent. A decent lawyer could easily argue the other way do Parliamentary debates could be interesting!!!

I've had both vaccinations and my booster, as has DP and my adult children are both double vaccinated (their choice). I still think it is wrong to mandate people into accepting medical treatment against their will. If it does become mandatory, then I guess there will be the potential to fine/imprison people, but in reality how likely is that? If you choose not to be vaccinated you may find that some of your personal freedoms are curtailed, eg no international travel, no eating out etc. In the grand scheme of things whilst not being able to travel to Spain/Greece/US etc may be inconvenient it's hardly the most terrible of infringements of personal freedoms, not when you consider the fate of many people across the globe.

@workshy44 if I genuinely believed that the pandemic would be "over" when everyone is vaccinated then I might agree.
Unfortunately the virus can spread among vaccinated people. Some people can't be vaccinated. Some people have had 3 jabs but have very little immunity.
It has made a massive difference to hospitalisations and deaths but mandatory vaccination won't be the end of covid.

I had my booster today. My ds 13 has had his jab. I find the idea of forcible vaccination horrible.

But I was on the train yesterday. Plenty of people refusing to wear masks - I don't believe they were all exempt since they were all one gender, one age group. So how do we ensure people's safety?

I'd rather a complete ban on unvaccinated people in shops/public transport/pubs than forcible vaccination.

It's a horrible situation that has shown up how spectacularly selfish some people are.

I am. more horrified by people dying needlessly as this goes on and on because people wont comply with the sodding scientific advice.

Interesting - I didn't know the smallpox vaccination was mandatory.

I would support manditory vaccination for all. In the extreme situation the world is in we can't let a very small minority prevent us from going about normal life. Certainly, if not vaccinated, people should not be allowed into pubs, clubs, sporting events, hospitals or anywhere absolutely not essential. I know some European countries are going down that road and I honestly don't blame them. The fact is vaccinations save lives and help prevent the spread of Covid. When everyone's health is affected negatively by a few anti vaxers then it legitimate to suspend their rights to not get vaccine or to stay isolated in their own homes.

I don’t understand the horror of vaccinations —- mandatory or not.
We’re in the middle of a pandemic. The last time one was this severe was 100 years ago and Spanish Flu.
I consider a vaccination doesn’t just protect the person vaccinated, it helps to protect the whole community and we have a responsibility as humans to protect others as well as ourselves.

So I’m not horrified, or in the least bit bothered, if vaccinations are compulsory.

@workshy44

It will never end until people get vaccinated so I guess it depends on what horrifies you more. Covid, restrictions, hospitizations, delayed medical treatments in other areas, deaths etc etc or the few selfish people left getting the jab

Why do you think vaccinating everyone would miraculously put an end to Covid when the vaccinated can still catch, spread and unfortunately die of it? Totally confused by your logic here! Also the hospitilisations and delayed medical treatments are not the responsibility of the unvaccinated - they're the responsibility of a government who have hugely underfunded the NHS and run it into the ground. Credit where credit's due.

It's not a medical procedure ffs. It's a vaccination that has been proven to severely reduce liklihood of severe illness and death and has saved more lives than its taken. So many people just don't understand the entire pandemic and the response to it and are lapping up advice from people who really know nothing. One of the key anti vax people is a hairdresser - how could she possibly know more about this vaccination than hundreds of scientists and doctors who have been studying viruses and vaccinations for years. Would you trust a doctor to give you a great colour and haircut after watching a few YouTube videos? Because it's the same. Although hair will recover. Too many people are believing random people on the Internet, most of whom, are MAKING MONEY, from their stance through books and Web traffic to their own potential detriment. It's like flat earth. I wonder how many people actually believe that the earth is flat despite all evidence to the contrary, and how many people are just making money off peddling this crap from gullible people.
Nobody should have to have a mandatory vaccine, but if people cannot be trusted to make a sensible decision that will save lives, using actual data and not youtube, then this is the inevitable result. It's a tragic state of affairs that we have come to this.

It's a tragic state of affairs that we have come to this.

Indeed, with decades of free education for all.

@MintJulia

Interesting - I didn't know the smallpox vaccination was mandatory.

Yep, from the late 1800's. Those who failed to vaccinate their child within 3 months of birth were fined. The mandatory element was finally removed in 1948, but it was a recommended vaccine til the late 1960's/early 1970's. I understand it's one of the main reason Smallpox was eradicated in the U.K.

As much as I agree with freedom of choice and don’t agree with mandatory vaccines the whole ‘’we should have a choice what goes into our bodies’’ argument always makes me wonder, if you were ill on a ventilator being pumped with all sorts of chemicals to keep you alive, would you care what went into your body then? Or even in the scenario you weren’t quite that ill but felt quite bad and you were offered the new anti viral, would you take that to feel better? I suspect so.

It's a vaccination that has been proven to severely reduce liklihood of severe illness and death and has saved more lives than its taken. So many people just don't understand the entire pandemic and the response to it and are lapping up advice from people who really know nothing

Some people are taken in by misinformation. But it is a fact that vaccines (of any kind) can cause death and injury. We have a vaccine damage Act for a reason.

It was only a few months ago that everyone was getting het up about the safety of the AZ vaccine and already people have forgotten.

YANBU. Slippery slope of losing freedom of choice, you have to worry about what other choices they will take from the masses.

@SheikhMaraca so just in case something may or may not happen in the future, your preference is that we don’t get our lives back and instead keep foundering away in this mess.

It doesn’t make sense. Look up about the plague. Entire towns shut themselves off no one allowed in or out. People did what they had to do to survive.

@LadyCleathStuart

I agree it is very scary. If you allow the state to mandate one medical procedure it opens the door for them to mandate others.

This.

It’s still astounding how largish groups of ripple are desperate to rush towards state control.

I’m fully vaxxed and have no issues but if this was to happen I’d want it fully tested as to legality in court and with clear assurance and understanding in law it was not a precedent. At least.