Amid the controversial debate on whether vaccinated people should be granted special privileges, Switzerland’s Blick newspaper said it gained access to a document outlining some of the benefits the government plans to give to residents who have had their Covid vaccine shots.
The newspaper referred to “confidential debate paper” from the Federal Department of Home Affairs, created “to give the population an incentive to be vaccinated”.
“The government has decided to allow special treatment according to vaccination status, without any additional legal basis”, Blick said.
The document reportedly states that while public institutions such as hospitals wouldn’t be able to treat those who have been vaccinated differently from people who haven’t had their shots, private establishments “should be able to give preferential treatment to vaccinated people”, according to Blick.
If proof of vaccination is shown, immunised people can eat in restaurants, attend concerts and other events that would be closed others.
Vaccinated people would still need to wear masks in shops and on public transport, Blick reports.
Swiss president Guy Parmelin already said that “in the future, anyone who wishes to travel will need to be vaccinated”.
However, the document states that system of privileges would not be implemented immediately, and “can only be applied if the majority of the adult population has the opportunity to be vaccinated. This should be the case from May or June at the latest”.
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The government would also exempt those who can’t be given the Covid shot because of allergies, pregnancy, or other medical conditions.
“These people could also benefit from activities available only to the vaccinated if they show a negative corona test or can do a quick test on site. The same applies to those who have not yet received a vaccination appointment”.
Preferential treatment should end “when herd immunity has been achieved, that is, when a sufficiently large proportion of the population is immune to Covid. so that the virus can’t spread any more”, the document states.
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This is where the real discrimination starts. What if I am healthy and don’t want your stupid vaccines? I am good without them. Who knows what you put there and how it will affect the health in the long run.
I will personally take the vaccine when it becomes available to me. However, I do believe this would end up being discriminatory to those people who for whatever reason don’t wish to be vaccinated. It’s really not an ideal situation on that basis, plus if I’m vaccinated and therefore would have an extremely low risk of becoming severely ill with the virus, why should I care if I am mixing with non-vaccinated people? The problem lies in the resulting healthcare potentially needed if a non-vaccinated person gets sick. Maybe the answer in the long term is forcing them to pay for any resulting healthcare out of their own pocket, i.e. no health insurance coverage if you get hospitalised with covid and chose not to be vaccinated. I am sure that would be controversial in itself, but if you’re offered a free vaccine and don’t want it then surely it becomes your responsibility.
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I understand that everyone wants us to reopen and that vaccines are a strategy for reopening. But I am very concerned that this is being proposed and its potential for discrimination and creation of a two class system in a world that is already divided enough. The virus is deadly but its death rate still doesn’t seem (based on numbers as of now, this could always end up different) high enough to warrant such measures that we have today, especially creating a drastic preferential treatment for the vaccinated. I wish that wisdom will prevail upon authorities. And I am sad for humanity.
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