Cannot access “certain occasions” without being vaccinated against the coronavirus. The cabinet will “think deeply through this possibility,” said Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday during the debate in the Lower House on the corona crisis.
“The cabinet will not be for coercion, but you can also indirectly nudge, stimulate people,” said Rutte. “That is really a medical ethics issue. We are currently considering this. “Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) was later more cautious. With “thoughts of some sort of vaccination passport,” you have to “be very careful,” he said. Before you know it, there is “implicit coercion.”
Now that the day that the first Dutch person is vaccinated against the corona virus is slowly approaching, the question arises whether and by whom an injection may be made mandatory. There is no support in Parliament or the cabinet for a real vaccination obligation imposed by the government. But there is no such certainty as to whether vaccination can be required at the entrance to certain buildings or locations. Will a festival organizer or restaurant owner be allowed to ask for a prick receipt at the front door?
On Wednesday, the VVD threw the bat into the chicken coop. Member of Parliament Hayke Veldman stated that the largest government party is open to “thinking about what is needed” to get the vaccination coverage high enough. That can also be such an “indirect obligation”, says Veldman. “If you don’t get vaccinated, it will have consequences.”
It was the first time that a government party had made such a clear statement about a vaccination requirement. Veldman’s words did not come completely out of the blue: at the end of October, his VVD already voted against a motion that categorically ruled out a direct or indirect vaccination obligation. In it, the party only found coalition partner D66 at its side.
The small parties SGP and Denk were opposed to the VVD on Wednesday, averse to any duty or requirement. Tunahan Kuzu (Denk) alluded to the law forbidding the refusal of unvaccinated people. Most other parties kept quiet in the debate. ChristenUnie leader Gert-Jan Segers spoke of an ethical dilemma and proposed an “ethical guideline” to determine how far organizations can go. A good idea, according to Minister De Jonge.
“Freezers are ready”
The CDA leader announced that he will “shortly” make a preliminary decision on the vaccination strategy. On Thursday, the Health Council will issue an opinion on which population groups are the first to be eligible for an injection. Do not expect a definitive order, De Jonge warned. Much will depend on the precise effect of the vaccines; Vaccinating the elderly is pointless if they work particularly well with young people. The cabinet “must therefore be agile”.
Various parties insisted on good preparation in the run-up to the vaccination: will sufficient staff be hired, are there enough freezers to be able to store the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech at minus seventy degrees? The cabinet has “been working on this for months,” De Jonge replied. The RIVM already had “ultralow freezers”. Additional copies have been ordered in recent months and will be ready in December. When the first vaccine is finished, “the freezers are ready”.
