Quote:
Originally Posted by jonbxx
You can't do virtue signalling unless you have virtues to signal...
Knowing that the vaccine;
- Reduces infection, meaning that you are available to do your job and not isolating
- Reduces symptomatic disease
- Reduces hospitalisation, freeing up NHS resources
- Reduces mortality so there's a good chance they will come back to work
- Reduces transmission, making society safer as a whole
You would have to question someone working in the healthcare field who refused the vaccine, putting themselves and those around them at risk |
Well, first of all I don't see any reason why the vast majority wouldn't get vaccinated. As you say, even if it doesn't eliminate, it reduces covid outcomes, and reduces them more effectively the more severe the outcome. Protecting others is a sideshow to getting yourself protected but it's all still important.
I don't realistically see why anyone, especially those working in the front line of the NHS, or any job where they are in contact with a lot of people, shouldn't be vaccinated.
Nor do I see the logic in anyone refusing the vaccination unless they have a valid medical or other reason not to.
But, we do not live in a country where vaccination is mandatory, nor should we. People ultimately do have and should have that choice.
NHS workers should be no different from this. It is ultimately their risk if they decline protection against the virus, though there is still the ongoing discussion over the relative protections of having the virus vs vaccination. I would assume at this stage that virus testing, use of PPE, etc, is still being used for anyone (given the immune escape of Omicron vs prior infection).
I guess they could make it a contractual obligation for NHS workers to be vaccinated or have a valid exception and then dismiss the others. But ultimately this move would exacerbate an existing staff shortage which is presumably one reason why it hasn't been done.
And this only goes so far to addressing the view of a patient who is refusing to get treated by an unvaccinated NHS worker. This is virtue signalling as it's projecting your virtue that everyone should be vaccinated, onto someone who you are dealing with, whose vaccination status you have no right to know, and assuming other mitigations are in place to reduce the chance you will get covid from them, no risk to you anyway. Presumably these also apply the no vaccinated rule to bus drivers, delivery drivers, supermarket workers, and anyone else they come into any form of contact in their lives? You are mainly correct, but it still is virtue signalling, amongst other things.
There's nothing wrong with good vaccine takeup but people should stick to their own business.