Stacy Park/ Staff reporter
Is it correct to restrict public places depending on whether people are vaccinated? Currently, the vaccination completion rate in Canada is 74.7 percent. The government restricts access to public businesses, such as restaurants, for 26.3 percent of unvaccinated people. There may be various reasons why 26.3 percent of people are not vaccinated. Those who do not get vaccinated should not be banned from using these public places because this is against the rights of individuals who might choose not to get vaccinated because of religious or medical reasons.
Canada is a very diverse country with many different cultures. And all people deserve respect. Also, the right to follow religion and beliefs must be guaranteed. Some religious people think that God causes diseases to punish humans because of their bad actions. So, we should not fight against them and let them do what they want. For example, British theologian Edward Messi argued in the middle of the book, “Dangerous and sinful practice of vaccination”: “smallpox is a punishment from God, and any attempt to prevent it with a vaccine is the work of the devil.” Additionally, they also believe the body is a gift from God. It is also argued that it is not right to insert foreign substances to deteriorate the relationship between God and humans and interfere with its communication.
Some conservative Christian groups also oppose vaccination against sexually transmitted diseases, such as human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer because it can lead to promiscuous sex culture. Some people have negative views on people exempt from vaccination for religious reasons. Still, everyone’s religious freedom should be respected, and public places should be available regardless of whether or not they are vaccinated.
Some people have not been vaccinated for medical reasons. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been reports of cases of COVID-19 vaccine causing anaphylaxis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia (TTS), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination. Of course, these are all sporadic cases. However, in the case of anaphylaxis, people who have previously experienced it with other drugs may be reluctant to get vaccinated. Moreover, when I was vaccinated, I suffered several severe side effects, such as a contrast medium. I had anaphylaxis in the past with contrast and unfortunately suffered anaphylaxis when I was vaccinated this time. Five minutes after vaccination, hives appeared all over the body, and my face and airways were swollen. Fortunately, the vaccination didn’t cause any significant problems in my case, but some people will have more severe side effects. Thus, people who can’t be vaccinated for some medical reasons should have the right not to be banned from public places.
To sum up, Canada restricts access to public places to unvaccinated people. This violates the rights of those who have not been vaccinated for religious and medical reasons. By Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” that the rights of those who did not get vaccinated should not be infringed upon. Therefore, a policy prohibiting unvaccinated people from using public places is incorrect.
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Image souces:
https://fortune.com/2021/06/30/covid-vaccines-global-vaccination-rates-by-country/