Vaccine passports are wrong on liberty and personal responsibility grounds, but they also just don't work because the vaccinated can (and do) pass on the virus too, a doctor writes.
While the number of U.S. employees only willing to take on new staff who are vaccinated against Covid remains low, the 'no jab, no job' trend appears to be increasing at a worryingly high pace.
by George Santayana Informed consent is one of the cornerstones of modern medicine and the foundation of the patient/doctor relationship. The principle of informed consent is a core part of the Nuremberg Code on human research ethics and states that consent for any medical treatment must come from the patient themselves who needs to understand both the benefits and risks. Likewise, the opposite, which we might call “informed refusal”, is just as important and a patient can refuse treatment or withdraw consent at any time. The “informed’ part of informed consent can occur in a number of ways such as provision of written materials (the piece of paper you throw away when you open a packet of headache tablets) or a discussion with your doctor. Regardless, the information given to a patient needs to be accurate, balanced and cover both the benefits and risks. Consent must also be given freely and without undue influence or coercion. Of course, a clinician can express their opinion and offer advice as to what course of action a patient might take, but ultimately the decision to proceed (swallow the pill, take the test, have the operation) resides with the patient. Informed consent places the individual patient at the heart of clinical practice and given that they are the person receiving the treatment and taking any associated risks that intrinsically feels like the right thing. And so it used to be for vaccinations, where it was up to the individual whether they wished to have a specific vaccination or not. Yes, there ...
Almost a third of English adults aged 18-30 have not had the first dose of a Covid vaccine, despite the constant efforts to "coax and cajole" them into getting 'jabbed'.
Fully vaccinated Brits will not have to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid from Monday, unless they also test positive. The rules will not change for the unvaccinated.
The most educated are the least likely to get a Covid vaccine, according to a new U.S. study. While hesitancy rates have fallen across populations, it has held constant in those with PhDs.
Another milestone has been reached in the U.K.’s Covid vaccine roll-out, with more than three-quarters of all adults having had two ‘jabs’.
Almost a quarter of U.S. hospitals are requiring their staff to get 'jabbed' against Covid as a condition of employment, despite the efforts of some state leaders to ban vaccine mandates.
American workers could soon be charged a health insurance 'surcharge' of up to $50 a month for not getting 'jabbed', under new plans being considered by some U.S. employers.
Covid vaccine hesitancy rates have fallen across most of the U.K., according to new research by the ONS. Hesitancy among Brits aged 18 to 21 dropped to five per cent just before 'Freedom Day'.
