With the advancement of vaccination against Covid-19, is it ethical to allow normal life only to those who have been vaccinated?

EFE / Juan Ignacio Roncoroni / ArchiveIsrael has already adopted the so-called “Covid passport”; The UK is still studying how to implement this measure

According to vaccination against Covid-19 In some countries, parts of normalcy are also returning. we United State And in other countries that are implementing immunization quickly, there is discussion of how to safely resume activities face-to-face Serum It becomes available and available to everyone. In the United States, for example, vaccination is slowing down: many people who can actually be vaccinated do not want or do not yet know whether they want to receive the compound. Since children, in most cases, are still unable to get the vaccine, herd immunity, which requires between 80% and 95% of the vaccinated population, should not be reached this year, even if there is no shortage of immunizations. UThe situation where a large part of the population Choose Unvaccination creates ethics and public policy issues that are worth discussing. In the future, even if not very near in the future, Brazil might find itself in a similar situation.

In the United States, the solution that some states and companies are adopting is Offer incentives For vaccination. One way to think about moral incentives is to see whether the incentive “compensates” the person for the act of vaccination (as with free beer, or free donuts, as offered by a large chain of stores), or if the incentive is strong enough to actually coerce the person. , As is the case with a large sum of money. If the state continues, despite the incentives, not to achieve herd immunity even with available vaccines, which is likely, then public health remains by restricting the movements of unvaccinated people using so-called “Covid passports.” Intentionally or unintentionally, the desire to escape restrictions ends up becoming another incentive for vaccination.

“Covid passports” promote public health, allowing only people who have been vaccinated to visit public places, or visit them with fewer restrictions, and to encourage vaccination among those who are in doubt, but who want to be close to others without a mask. The use of these passports is controversial: Israel adopted, The UK discussed, but so far not adopted, and in the US it doesn’t have much agreement. The US federal government says it will not adopt, and some states have passed laws that prohibit their governments from adopting any type of “passports”, and some are thinking about that, and the New York government has supported Using an application It was developed by IBM. In any case, none of this bar or restaurant prevents the request for a vaccination card at the door, or for the university to request vaccination before the start of the next academic year in September, as is already happening in many American institutions.

Moral conflict is inevitable: among those who have been vaccinated, at least one of the parties will not feel safe in public places where others have not been vaccinated, and, therefore, will not return to normally frequent public places if there is no kind of verification. Among those who do not want to be vaccinated now, there are those who do not want exposure to the virus and will not leave again, and there are still those who want to return to public places naturally without the need to show evidence of vaccination. Consequently, there is no solution that would allow the resumption of “normal life” without restricting any group that had some freedoms. Given the urgent need to cut off the pathways of virus transmission, there must be some type of vaccination requirement in order to achieve “herd immunity”. The debate is once again among the most compelling demands – Such as a vaccine’s obligation to work, study, vote, or exercise other basic rights – And less coercive requirements, such as mandatory vaccination to go to a restaurant, to attend classes in person when a virtual surrogate is available, or to attend the office when Home office It is a viable option. The general principle should be to prefer the second type of measure and try to make it as possible as possible, keeping the first only when it is the only option to prevent further Covid-19 outbreak.