It is likely the start of vaccinations in Australia to combat the coronavirus pandemic will get under way in March and the big question awaiting answer in the legal system is whether employers have the right to demand employees get the jab ?
A lot will depend on how the union movement reacts on the " worker's rights " issue and that could eventually be decided in the High Court, but there is the expectation there will be some resistance to vaccination for a variety of reasons.
No doubt the hard core opposed to vaccinations that prevent deadly childhood diseases will claim this vaccine transmits or causes some other condition. Such claims gain credibility despite being refuted by responsible medical authorities and this has resulted in the return of child deaths from diseases long thought to have been banished from this country.
Unfortunately, there is bound to be a reaction to what is an entirely new drug in some citizens with a variety of allergies. Fortunately, this vaccine will be in use in many overseas countries for several months before the start of vaccination in Australia and we will gain the knowledge of any adverse effects and what needs to be done to prevent them.
These vaccinations have not had the length of trials usually required of any new medication because of the lethal nature of this pandemic. With deaths reported in the hundreds of thousands in some countries the trials were speeded up in the hope of saving lives. That will create a doubt in some minds.
Hopefully, most people will accept these free vaccinations when they become available and we will quickly gain " herd immunity " against this coronavirus which will enable our economy to recover. We are fast accumulating a massive deficit debt as money is outlaid to relieve people who have been stood down from their jobs and that can not continue indefinitely.
The need for vaccination can be argued endlessly, but obviously workers who are not vaccinated pose a danger of infecting others working in close proximity and their employer could be held responsible for that omission. It is likely that those working with children and in aged care will be required as a condition of employment to have an up to date vaccination record.
The obligation to have a vaccination will not be clear until a law is determined by the Australian parliament and withstood a challenge in the Australian legal system. That is the way the law works in Australia. What the parliament decides is then assessed in the law courts to determine if it is in accord with the provisions of the Australian Constitution.
It is essential that the law covering vaccination be clarified without delay. The sooner is emerges from political crossfire and becomes legislation that is tested in the courts the quicker our economy will recover. It really is a " life or death " decision.
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