NPHET are to discuss the introduction of mandatory vaccinations
Image via PixabayA civil rights body say mandatory vaccinations are not needed in Ireland.
NPHET is set to consider the issue, with the Department of Health drawing up a paper on the legal and ethical aspects of the move.
In minutes from a NPHET meeting which took place in December, it's reported:
“It was noted that the NPHET will discuss the issue of mandatory vaccination at a later date and this discussion will be facilitated by a forthcoming paper from the Department of Health on the relevant ethical and legal considerations pertaining to this topic.”
It comes as unvaccinated people continue to account for about 50 per cent of intensive care cases, despite making up just 6 per cent of the population.
Liam Herrick from The Irish Council for Civil Liberties says mandatory vaccinations would not help:
"The most effective way to get a high vaccine take-up is to provide strong public health information to the people. Encourage people on a voluntary basis to take up the vaccine and then take special efforts to reach the hard-to-reach population."
Sinn Fein's health spokesperson David Cullinane is also among those criticising the idea:
The voluntary vaccination programme has served us well. Mandatory vaccination would be a mistake. People were given the opportunity to listen to the medical & scientific experts & made their own judgments. Vaccines work but the voluntary system in my view works best.
— David Cullinane T.D. (@davidcullinane) January 10, 2022
