The issue, fundamentally, isn’t about “caring for others,” “government control,” “rights,” or “acting out of fear.” The issue is whether vaccination has sufficient public health merit to justify making it mandatory on everybody.
Because if it is, if vaccination is indeed the exclusive, sole, the only possible way to be saved from COVID-19, then of course everyone must be vaccinated. But if it isn’t, or if there is any reason to suspect or be wary of its safety or efficacy, then it being mandatory (even if rationalized as “caring for others” or an “act of love”) makes no sense whatsoever.
Notably, even longtime existing vaccines for transmissible diseases that killed more Filipinos through the decades (flu and pneumonia, and tuberculosis), killing far more than COVID-19, have not been made mandatory.
NATURAL IMMUNITY VIS-À-VIS VACCINE IMMUNITY
In a massive “study, conducted in one of the most highly COVID-19 — vaccinated countries in the world, examin[ing] medical records of tens of thousands of Israelis, charting their infections, symptoms, and hospitalizations between June 1 and August 14, when the Delta variant predominated in Israel” (Sciencemag.org, Aug. 26) found that:
“SARS-CoV-2-naïve vaccinees had a 13.06-fold (95% CI, 8.08 to 21.11) increased risk for breakthrough infection with the Delta variant compared to those previously infected, when the first event (infection or vaccination) occurred during January and February of 2021. The increased risk was significant (P<0.001) for symptomatic disease as well. When allowing the infection to occur at any time before vaccination (from March 2020 to February 2021), evidence of waning natural immunity was demonstrated, though SARS-CoV-2 naïve vaccinees had a 5.96-fold (95% CI, 4.85 to 7.33) increased risk for breakthrough infection and a 7.13-fold (95% CI, 5.51 to 9.21) increased risk for symptomatic disease. SARS-CoV-2-naïve vaccinees were also at a greater risk for COVID-19-related-hospitalizations compared to those that were previously infected.
“Conclusions: This study demonstrated that natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease, and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose vaccine-induced immunity. Individuals who were both previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 and given a single dose of the vaccine gained additional protection against the Delta variant.” (“Comparing SARS-CoV-2 natural immunity to vaccine-induced immunity: reinfections versus breakthrough infections”; Sivan Gazit, et al; Aug. 28, Aug. 25, 2021, published in medRxiv)
The foregoing is just one of many studies, reports, anecdotal evidence coming out that should make reasonable people take pause and seek to inquire more closely as to vaccine safety, efficacy, and merit.
Unfortunately, what happened instead are virtue-signaling, irrational calls to make vaccinations mandatory, as well as proposals to discriminate against those that refuse to be vaccinated or have justifiable reasons to be wary of vaccination.
LAWS DO NOT ALLOW FOR MANDATORY VACCINATION
Mandatory vaccination laws presently don’t exist. So, any measure carried out that effectively coerces people to be vaccinated is illegal and any government official doing so needs to be held accountable. Even if mandatory vaccination laws are legislated, such are likely unconstitutional (see “Forcing people to be vaccinated is illegal and wrong,” Aug. 5) and should be struck down.
Private institutions must respect constitutional rights.
Unfortunately, the idea being presently touted is that such constitutional restrictions are only as against the government. Private institutions, whether it be businesses, schools, or residential condominiums have the right to require vaccinations of employees, students, or residents simply because — so the argument goes — they are private establishments. That is utterly wrong.
The constitutional prescription that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or be denied the equal protection of laws is applicable to all and the responsibility of all.
That responsibility has been further legislated specifically in the Civil Code, particularly Article 19 (every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due), Article 20 (every person who causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same), and Article 26 (every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other persons). The following and similar acts, though they may not constitute a criminal offense, shall produce a cause of action for damages, prevention and other relief: meddling with or disturbing the private life or family relations of another; intriguing to cause another to be alienated from his friends; vexing or humiliating another on account of his religious beliefs or other personal condition.
Then there is Article 32: Any public officer or employee, or any private individual, who directly or indirectly obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner impedes or impairs any of the following rights and liberties of another person shall be liable to the latter for damages, which includes: freedom of religion; freedom of speech; freedom from arbitrary or illegal detention; the right against deprivation of property without due process of law; the right to the equal protection of the laws; the right to be secure in one’s person, house, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures; the liberty of abode and of changing the same; the right to take part in a peaceable assembly to petition the Government for redress of grievances.
Hence, why the Department of Labor was quite correct in reminding all that: “any employee who refuses or fails to be vaccinated shall not be discriminated against in terms of tenure, promotion, training, pay, and other benefits, among others, or terminated from employment. No vaccine, no work policy shall not be allowed” (Labor Advisory 03; S. 2021).
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE UNVACCINATED MAKES NO SENSE
Mandatory vaccination and proposals to give preferential treatment to the vaccinated simply does not make sense. Why give preferential treatment only to those vaccinated? Remember: the vaccinated can equally be infected and transmit the virus as the unvaccinated.
What about the 1.8 million Filipinos that were infected and recovered, thus achieving natural immunity (which studies show is better than immunity achieved through vaccination)? Should they be discriminated against?
And why discriminate against the 58 million Filipinos from 0-24 years of age, of whom (if they have no co-morbidity) are merely mildly affected by COVID, even likely to be asymptomatic, and for which vaccines are logically not recommended?
Exercise, better hygiene, better diets, more sunlight, early and out-patient treatment surely should be encouraged and be implemented vigorously as government policy.
After all, such could only be better than lockdowns, masks, face shields, school closures, and now vaccines that have been tried or relied upon for the last 18 months, and yet with rising cases as the patently visible result amidst a devastated economy, disturbing unemployment rates, and a damaged education of our youth.
Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.
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