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Everybody has the right to bodily integrity, but that does not mean there may not be consequences for the choices we make. Smoking and drinking can be harmful, and so are discouraged by high taxes and restrictions on when and where we can do so in public places. Having unprotected sex while knowingly carrying a serious infection is a deliberate act harmful to others and is considered a felony in many jurisdictions. Wandering into a pub or workplace without a mask when knowingly Covid positive could attract similar sanction. The situation becomes more nuanced if you are unvaccinated, as this merely increases the statistical probability that you could be infectious and infect others. That situation is therefore somewhere in between the two prior examples in terms of its culpability. But not allowing the unvaccinated into crowded places where the risks of cross infection are high is no more onerous than not allowing the intoxicated, unlicenced or uninsured to drive. It is done to protect the general public from a greater risk of harm. Entering a pub or stadium is no more a human right than driving a car. Compulsory vaccination is likely to be a counter-productive policy with little benefit when more than 90 per cent of the eligible population are voluntarily vaccinated in any case. But placing restrictions on where the unvaccinated can go is not an impairment of their human right to bodily integrity, it is a vindication of the human rights of others to be protected from unnecessary risk of harm.
Having unprotected sex while knowingly carrying a serious infection is a deliberate act harmful to others and is considered a felony in many jurisdictions. Wandering into a pub or workplace without a mask when knowingly Covid positive could attract similar sanction.
The situation becomes more nuanced if you are unvaccinated, as this merely increases the statistical probability that you could be infectious and infect others. That situation is therefore somewhere in between the two prior examples in terms of its culpability.
But not allowing the unvaccinated into crowded places where the risks of cross infection are high is no more onerous than not allowing the intoxicated, unlicenced or uninsured to drive. It is done to protect the general public from a greater risk of harm. Entering a pub or stadium is no more a human right than driving a car.
Compulsory vaccination is likely to be a counter-productive policy with little benefit when more than 90 per cent of the eligible population are voluntarily vaccinated in any case. But placing restrictions on where the unvaccinated can go is not an impairment of their human right to bodily integrity, it is a vindication of the human rights of others to be protected from unnecessary risk of harm.
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