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Weekly Short
26 February, 2021
Should Covid vaccines be mandatory? It’s a tricky question, but an increasingly urgent one. There are signs that in some spheres it may become essential if you want to access things we once took for granted.
Saga, for example, will make it mandatory for anyone wanting to join one of their cruises, although it’s not (yet) a requirement for crew members. And Pimlico Plumbers – never a business to steer clear of a debate– have opted for a controversial ‘no jab, no job’ policy for new recruits, although they have been quick to state that they won’t fire anyone refusing to have the vaccine.
It’s not just about our rights as individuals, of course. The UK economy shrank by 9.9% last year, and the economic consequences of the pandemic will linger long after infection rates fall. The quicker we are able to open up, safely, the quicker we can start to pay off the massive bill ahead of us and invest in the services that will be needed to support those groups who have suffered the most during the past year.
So perhaps there is a role for business in this, to make the case for vaccination carefully and clearly, not just on the basis of managing risk and protecting individuals, but also in terms of helping life get back to some kind of normal. Not everyone will be swayed by a strong pro-vaccine message from companies, of course. And businesses need to tread carefully to avoid discriminating against customers and employees on the basis of medical or religious grounds, and to recognise and be sensitive to the many and varied reasons for vaccine hesitancy. But in our view, a positive and pro-vaccine message, communicated loudly and clearly by businesses, is the right thing to do.
By Gemma Coate