Compulsion is a tough word. It denies freedom, and if there is compulsion on people to be vaccinated, there is sure to be resistance.
The federal government is clearly moving in the direction of requiring people to be vaccinated. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last year a COVID-19 vaccine would be "as mandatory as you could possibly make it".
He later backtracked from the word "mandatory" (but not the intention). He made it clear that he wants upwards of 90 per cent of the population to be protected by a vaccine.
There does appear to be strong community support for vaccination, but it is not clear that the numbers will be high enough to reach the threshold for herd immunity, that level where so many people are either vaccinated or have had the illness so that it peters out.
If those numbers cannot be reached, then tougher measures will be enforced. This is an emotive area - people's freedom of choice will be restricted.
If vaccination isn't made compulsory, business seem to also be taking things into their own hands.
Business people are talking about "vaccine favouritism". The vaccinated are favoured for jobs and as customers.
This, of course, is a form of compulsion. People can choose not to be vaccinated but they would pay a price.
They would not find employment or be allowed into gyms. It is their choice. They have the freedom to say they want to be vaccinated or not - but they have to face the consequences.
We are not yet at the stage where the debate takes off. The levels of vaccination are not high enough.
But what we are seeing already is that we don't in fact have the freedom we thought we did.
That freedom of choice needs to be protected.
MANDURAH MAIL
