When COVID vaccinations really took off in the spring, people began to sense that they could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and a return to so-called normalcy. However, despite large numbers of Americans, Canadians and Europeans having become fully vaccinated or at least having one dose, the sudden emergence of the Delta Variant is once again starting to dim that light. In the U.S., COVID-19 hospitalizations are trending upward in 45 states. While levels remain well below previous peaks, health care centers in parts of the Midwest, West and South are strained. For example, some Florida hospitals have more COVID patients than ever before. In Europe, the Delta Variant is now the predominant strain and appears to be spreading rapidly, especially among the unvaccinated. In France, 22,000 coronavirus cases were reported in a 24-hour period this past week, the highest rate in more than two months.
The result has been that a number of governments reintroduced masking and physical distancing requirements, especially for indoor public activities. What is more interesting is that several governments, like that of France, have introduced mandatory vaccination for health workers and are telling the rest of the population — if not vaccinated or without testing negative — will be denied access to most indoor public spaces. In the U.S., more than 400 colleges and universities are required to vaccinate students for COVID-19. As well, based on recent favourable court decisions, the U.S. government provided guidance that companies can require workers entering the workplace to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or to be tested. America’s business leaders, who had hoped the country would already be fully on a path to normalcy, are caught in a conundrum of requiring employees to be fully vaccinated in order to return to their workplaces or allowing them to continue to work from home. Given the apparent emergence of another wave, employers have to ask whether workers will feel comfortable enough to come back, even if good controls are in place? Less than half of Americans are fully vaccinated, exacerbating the situation in their workplaces.
To date, studies have shown that vaccines remain effective against the worst outcomes of COVID-19, including those from the Delta Variant. Whether or not they are a hundred percent effective is not the point. When determining vaccination requirements, people are using the “precautionary principle”, which claims that certain health and safety actions are justified even though one may not have all the evidence readily at hand. One just needs to know that the potential benefits of taking an initiative outweigh the apparent risks, especially when it comes to public safety. The courts have determined that reasonable practices will supersede the impact on individual liberties, especially where the good of the community or employees are at risk.
During this global pandemic, governments have closed borders, placed restrictions on travel, imposed testing and quarantine requirements for travellers, obligated masking and physical distancing requirements, etc., etc. Now that we have relatively effective vaccines that can help prevent further COVID outbreaks, the question of mandatory vaccinations will continue to surface in many countries and communities. It will no doubt stir up pockets of deep resistance among some elements of the population believing that such policies are an infringement of individual liberties. The debate has already surfaced with respect to the idea of having vaccination passports in order to travel or enter certain types of public spaces such as gyms, restaurants, bars and sporting/entertainment events. There are growing divisions over how far it may become mandatory to receive an injection. As in Europe, the debate will continue in both the U.S. and Canada, sometimes placing local authorities in opposition to the policies of state and provincial governments. Who ultimately wins this debate will most likely depend largely on political beliefs and whether the current surge in the Delta Variant can be adequately controlled. In the meantime, health care systems and front-line workers will unfortunately continue to be strained!
FROLITICKS 
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