tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/vaccine-mandates-108864/articlesVaccine mandates – The Conversation2024-02-29T04:33:26Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246462024-02-29T04:33:26Z2024-02-29T04:33:26ZQueensland ruling doesn’t mean all COVID vaccine mandates were flawed. Here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578830/original/file-20240229-18-brmq8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bandaid-on-hand-person-after-vaccination-2197701537">Andriy B/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, Queensland Supreme Court Justice Glenn Martin <a href="https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2024/QSC24-002.pdf">declared</a> the state’s COVID vaccine mandate for police officers was unlawful. Martin also found the director-general of Queensland health did not have the power to make vaccine mandates for ambulance service workers.</p>
<p>Those who are <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/bmjgh/7/5/e008684.full.pdf">critical</a> of vaccine mandates have been pleased by the decision. Clive Palmer, who funded the case, touted it as a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/27/clive-palmer-claims-great-victory-in-funding-challenge-to-queenslands-covid-vaccine-mandate">great victory</a>” and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said it was <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fpolitics%2Fqueenslands-unlawful-covid19-vaccine-mandate-ruling-just-tip-of-the-iceberg-experts%2Fnews-story%2F37435eb2aa0d983422c42734bde381d0&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-2-SCORE&V21spcbehaviour=appendend#:%7E:text=A%20landmark%20legal%20decision%20%E2%80%9Cvindicating,to%20ride%20on%20the%20coat%2D">vindication</a> for those who opposed vaccine mandates introduced around Australia during the pandemic. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1762570251328491579"}"></div></p>
<p>But the ruling doesn’t mean vaccine mandates are inherently flawed. Here’s what the ruling actually found – and what this means for future legal challenges to vaccine mandates across Australia. </p>
<h2>What was the case about?</h2>
<p>A group of Queensland police employees, ambulance officers and a nurse initiated Supreme Court proceedings against, among others, the Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll and the then Queensland health director-general John Wakefield. The applicants sought a declaration that the vaccine mandates to which they were subjected were unlawful. </p>
<p>The mandates the police commissioner and director-general imposed were very similar. Each required employees of the police and ambulance services to receive doses of an approved COVID vaccine by a specified deadline. </p>
<p>The mandates rendered vaccination against COVID a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X21015309?via%3Dihub">condition of employment</a>. Anyone who refused to be vaccinated could therefore be subject to disciplinary proceedings, including dismissal. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unfair-dismissal-rulings-show-personal-circumstances-matter-in-vaccine-refusals-188987">Unfair dismissal rulings show personal circumstances matter in vaccine refusals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By the time the case went to trial, the mandates had already been revoked. This meant there were limited practical remedies available to the applicants. They had already held onto their jobs, at least temporarily – Martin made orders in the early stage of proceedings restraining the commissioner and director-general from dismissing any of the applicants from their jobs. </p>
<h2>What did the court find?</h2>
<p>When it comes to the broader impacts on policy, the main takeaways from the 115-page judgement are:</p>
<p><strong>1) the police mandates were unlawful</strong> </p>
<p>The police commissioner failed to give proper consideration to relevant human rights that would be affected by the mandates. Martin found it was “more likely than not that the commissioner did not consider the human rights ramifications” of the mandates.</p>
<p>This does not mean there was anything wrong with the mandates themselves – the problems lay in the process. </p>
<p><strong>2) the mandates affecting ambulance service workers were unlawful for a different reason</strong> </p>
<p>The director-general did not have the power to make the health mandates under employment and contract law. </p>
<p>The director-general claimed the employment contracts covering those who brought the case against the mandates contained an implied term that the director-general may give lawful and reasonable directions to employees. </p>
<p>However, the director-general did not provide sufficient evidence about the terms of the applicants’ employment contracts and therefore could not show the mandate was a reasonable direction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tomorrows-covid-safety-guidelines-will-be-different-from-todays-but-that-doesnt-mean-yesterdays-were-wrong-179262">Tomorrow's COVID safety guidelines will be different from today's – but that doesn't mean yesterday's were wrong</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>3) only one human right was limited by the mandates</strong></p>
<p>Queensland has human rights legislation recognising, among other rights, a person’s right not to be subjected to medical treatment without full, free and informed consent (section 17(c) of the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/act-2019-005">Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)</a>). </p>
<p>Martin concluded the vaccine mandate limited this right, in the sense that the consent was not “free”. However, that limitation was “reasonable and demonstrably justified” (or proportionate), as required by the act, in the context of the pandemic. </p>
<p>We can read this as a conclusion that it was acceptable for policymakers to place limits on consent to vaccination in the face of other pressing considerations created by the pandemic. Policymakers had to <a href="https://jme.bmj.com/content/medethics/early/2022/04/26/medethics-2022-108229.full.pdf">weigh up</a> the risk of infection for their populations, including the risk of being infected by those providing essential services, and how best to keep their health and governance systems functioning, against the requirement that consent be full, free and informed.</p>
<p>In summary, the police commissioner failed to turn her mind to the human rights affected by her decision. The director-general made an oversight in failing to submit sufficient evidence to the court. But the requirement to consider human rights did not mean the mandates were unjustified.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for policymakers?</h2>
<p>There are lessons for policymakers in future pandemics: attention to detail is important when making and defending vaccine mandate policies. It is important to <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/215_11/mja251269.pdf">consider</a> the people a vaccine mandate is going to affect directly. </p>
<p>The legal necessity to consider human rights in Queensland is only one example. Deep in the pandemic, the Fair Work Commission overturned a private-sector vaccine mandate imposed at a BHP site. The basis for this decision was that the mandate was not reasonable: BHP had <a href="https://www.landers.com.au/legal-insights-news/bhp-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-overturned">not sufficiently consulted</a> with affected workers as required under the Commonwealth <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2011A00137/2018-07-01/text">Work Health and Safety Act 2011</a>.</p>
<p>Considering and involving affected populations in the process is the right thing to do. It is also prudent for protecting vaccine mandates from legal challenges. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-going-to-mandate-covid-vaccination-at-your-workplace-heres-how-to-do-it-ethically-166110">If you're going to mandate COVID vaccination at your workplace, here's how to do it ethically</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Will we see more legal challenges to mandates?</h2>
<p>In future, a vaccine mandate may be challenged on a range of technical or legal bases, unrelated to the mandate’s substance or legitimacy. </p>
<p>Previous legal challenges to Australian state and territory vaccine mandates have largely been unsuccessful, particularly in the discrimination and industrial relations contexts.</p>
<p><a href="https://ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au/eCourtsPortal/Decisions/DownloadDecision?id=d05d28f1-ab59-430d-b825-f7add55e23f3">Two similar cases</a> brought by <a href="https://ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au/eCourtsPortal/Decisions/DownloadDecision?id=ea8d77d7-ddf1-4cd5-889d-bcbfd210c626">police officers</a> in Western Australia were unsuccessful (although both applicants have appealed). There is considerable breadth of powers and discretion afforded to the police commissioner by the <a href="https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/filestore.nsf/FileURL/mrdoc_44518.pdf/$FILE/POLICE%20ACT%201892%20-%20%5B14-m0-00%5D.pdf?OpenElement">Police Act 1892 (WA)</a>. This includes making directions to employees. </p>
<p>Only Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have human rights legislation, so similar challenges may only be possible in those jurisdictions. </p>
<p>Previous plaintiffs tried to challenge New South Wales’ vaccine mandates on the basis that they infringed the common law right to bodily integrity. They <a href="https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/17c7d62628b9735ac213a597">failed</a>.</p>
<p>This week’s decision in Queensland is a landmark case, but probably not for the reasons vaccine mandate opponents hope. </p>
<p>It will be instructive for policymakers seeking to protect vaccine mandates from legal challenge in the future. The public will benefit when this prompts more careful consideration of affected populations when imposing vaccine mandates. </p>
<p>But the decision is unlikely to be be the death knell of workplace vaccine mandates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Thomasson is part of the Mandate Evaluation (MandEval) project, which is partially funded by the Medical Research Future Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Attwell receives institutional research funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for the Mandate Evaluation (MandEval) project which she leads. She has previously received research funds paid to her institution from Australian Research Council and the Government of Western Australia. She is a special advisor to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.</span></em></p>Here’s what the court found – and what this means for future legal challenges to vaccine mandates across Australia.Amy Thomasson, Associate Lecturer of Law, The University of Western AustraliaKatie Attwell, Associate Professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229892024-02-27T18:00:31Z2024-02-27T18:00:31ZUnintended consequences of NZ’s COVID vaccine mandates must inform future pandemic policy – new research<p>During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy was being made in crisis management mode. Decisions had to be made faster than usual, and there was limited ability to undertake wider consultation and impact analysis.</p>
<p>Now the worst of the pandemic is over, we have the luxury of being able to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t. </p>
<p>One of the more controversial policies implemented during the height of the pandemic was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vaccine-mandates-for-nzs-health-and-education-workers-are-now-in-force-but-has-the-law-got-the-balance-right-171392">vaccine mandates</a>. Thousands of workers across a range of professions had to get vaccinated to keep their jobs. </p>
<p>This mandate presented a trade-off between public health considerations and the right of individuals to refuse medical treatment and earn a living in their chosen profession.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://workresearch.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/867876/Vaccine-Mandates-Final-Version.pdf">research</a> looked at whether these vaccine mandates increased COVID-19 vaccination rates among these workers, and what their employment, earnings and workplace experiences were. </p>
<p>The stated purpose of the mandates was to increase vaccination rates among these workers to <a href="https://www.simpsongrierson.com/insights-news/legal-updates/the-end-of-vaccine-mandates">ensure the continuity</a> of public services. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-vaccines-dont-violate-the-nuremberg-code-heres-how-to-convince-the-doubters-171217">COVID vaccines don't violate the Nuremberg Code. Here's how to convince the doubters</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In reality, the mandates had limited effect on increasing vaccine uptake. But they had a substantive negative effect on the employment, earnings and wellbeing of unvaccinated health workers.</p>
<h2>The importance of choice</h2>
<p>Vaccination rates among healthcare, education and corrections workers were already high when the government announced the mandates in October 2021.</p>
<p>Almost 90% of healthcare workers and 86% of corrections workers had already received two doses of the vaccine. The share among education workers was somewhat lower (82%), but they also did not have early access to the vaccine. There were only six weeks between the vaccine becoming available to everyone over 12 years and the mandates being announced. </p>
<p>While vaccination rates among these mandated workers did increase after the mandates were announced, the data shows a continuation of an upward trend rather than a jump in uptake. </p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>It won’t surprise anyone that people don’t like being told what to do. And this appears to have some bearing on mandatory vaccine uptake. </p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2118721119#:%7E:text=While%20fluid%2C%20opposition%20to%20vaccination,opposed%20if%20vaccination%20were%20mandated.">German survey</a> found just over 3% of people said they would not want the COVID-19 vaccination if it was voluntary. But more than 16% said they would not want to get vaccinated if it was mandatory. </p>
<p>A consequence of vaccine mandates is that they can erode trust in government and provoke more resistance. This erosion of trust could potentially <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102240">strengthen anti-vaccination sentiment</a> generally and reduce uptake, not just of COVID-19 vaccinations, but also other vaccines. </p>
<p>This outcome is especially concerning given research has found New Zealand’s <a href="https://workresearch.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/851555/Assessing-the-impact-of-the-COVID-19-pandemic-on-childhood-vaccine-uptake-with-integrated-administrative-data_revised-20240111.pdf;%20https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2023.2301626">routine childhood immunisation rates have decreased</a> since the pandemic. </p>
<h2>Earnings took a hit</h2>
<p>In addition to not causing a noticeable increase in vaccination rates, the mandates also had negative consequences for the employment and earnings of unvaccinated health workers. </p>
<p>Their employment rate fell by 15% and their earnings fell by 19%, compared with vaccinated health workers and those not subject to the mandates.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parents-were-fine-with-sweeping-school-vaccination-mandates-five-decades-ago-but-covid-19-may-be-a-different-story-168899">Parents were fine with sweeping school vaccination mandates five decades ago – but COVID-19 may be a different story</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even after the health worker mandates were lifted in September 2022, the employment and earnings of unvaccinated workers never fully recovered. </p>
<p>This exacerbated existing health worker shortages. Closed borders and a global shortage of healthcare workers meant fewer moved into the health sector compared with the number leaving. </p>
<h2>The trauma of being branded ‘anti-vax’</h2>
<p>The effect of the mandates on health workers also went beyond financial consequences. </p>
<p>Affected health workers talked to us about the loss and ongoing trauma they have experienced. Those opposed to mandates are often incorrectly labelled as “anti-vaxxers”, or even conspiracy theorists. </p>
<p>All health workers we spoke to were pro-vaccination, but had legitimate reasons for not completing, or struggling to complete, the required vaccinations. They had researched the vaccine and made informed decisions based on their circumstances. </p>
<p>Some health workers pointed out that the case for mandates was not strong based on available evidence. While the vaccine reduces symptom severity, its ability to prevent transmission is <a href="https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/bioe.13141">currently limited</a>. </p>
<p>As one health worker said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I looked at the Australian data and couldn’t see the logic of me potentially being exposed to another vaccine where my potential benefit was so low […] the evidence wasn’t really strong.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some workers had health conditions that put them at elevated risk from the vaccine. Or they had a history of adverse reactions to vaccines. But the mandates meant they either had to get vaccinated, sometimes against their doctors’ advice, or lose their jobs. While some medical exemptions were available, the threshold for these was very high.</p>
<p>In addition, even those with medical exemptions faced stigma. One health worker who got an exemption after suffering a stroke following their vaccination, described people’s reaction upon showing them the exemption.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That look on people’s faces, it was disgust […] it was really, really awful. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As another health worker explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re supposed to be a caring profession. Nothing about this is caring […] Due to no fault of my own, I have now been labelled an anti-vaxxer and anti-science, and in some people’s opinion, not worthy of calling myself a nurse. This hurts me immensely. This is what mandates have done. There is no room for individual circumstances.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The people we spoke with said they lost their sense of control, and it eroded their trust in the health system and government. </p>
<h2>The risk of mandates</h2>
<p>What does this tell us about the use of vaccine mandates during future pandemics? </p>
<p>In the context of high voluntary compliance, mandates should be used judiciously. Mandating something is not always the most effective way to get people to do something for the greater good. </p>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, a strong motivator for vaccination was the “feel-good” factor of knowing you were protecting yourself and others. </p>
<p>Ironically, the increase in distrust that resulted from the use of mandates in the COVID-19 pandemic may actually lower voluntary vaccine uptake in future pandemics.</p>
<p>As one health worker summed it up:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Someone who’s been vaccinated badly, the trauma of that – it’s not just them, it’s their entire social circle, it’s their entire whānau. You’re seeding distrust in the health system, not just for COVID vaccinations, but the whole system, everything to do with medicine and the whole immunisation programme […] if there’s a policy that’s as big as a mandate for a whole population or health professionals, you really need to think about what are the unintended consequences.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research received funding from the Ministry of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denise Wilson, Gail Pacheco, and Lisa Meehan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mandates were meant to ensure continuity of public services during the pandemic. But a new study suggests they had limited impact on vaccination rates, while significantly hurting careers and eroding trust.Jan Dewar, Head of Nursing, Auckland University of TechnologyDenise Wilson, Associate Dean Māori Advancement | Professor Māori Health, Auckland University of TechnologyGail Pacheco, Professor of Economics, Director of the NZ Work Research Institute, Auckland University of TechnologyLisa Meehan, Deputy Director, NZ Work Research Institute, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2063892023-10-18T12:32:09Z2023-10-18T12:32:09ZCOVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553070/original/file-20231010-15-y48qlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Proof of COVID-19 vaccination was once required to access many venues during the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-hand-of-doctor-put-label-covid-19-vaccine-royalty-free-image/1313591390">skaman306/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ending pandemics is a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-not-science-decide-when-a-pandemic-is-over1/">social decision, not scientific</a>. Governments and organizations rely on <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/who-ends-pandemic-emergency-covid-19-deaths-fall">social, cultural and political considerations</a> to decide when to officially declare the end of a pandemic. Ideally, leaders try to minimize the social, economic and public health burden of removing emergency restrictions while maximizing potential benefits.</p>
<p>Vaccine policy is a particularly complicated part of pandemic decision-making, involving a variety of other complex and often contradicting interests and considerations. Although COVID-19 vaccines have <a href="https://doi.org/10.26099/whsf-fp90">saved millions of lives</a> in the U.S., vaccine policymaking throughout the pandemic was often <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3680832">reactive</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12432-x">politicized</a>.</p>
<p>A late November 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-december-2022/">one-third of U.S. parents</a> believed they should be able to decide not to vaccinate their children at all. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund reported that between 2019 and 2021, global childhood vaccination experienced its <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2022-covid-19-pandemic-fuels-largest-continued-backslide-in-vaccinations-in-three-decades">largest drop</a> in the past 30 years.</p>
<p>The Biden administration formally <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/01/the-biden-administration-will-end-covid-19-vaccination-requirements-for-federal-employees-contractors-international-travelers-head-start-educators-and-cms-certified-facilities/">removed federal COVID-19 vaccination requirements</a> for federal employees and international travelers in May 2023. Soon after, the U.S. government officially <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/end-of-phe.html">ended the COVID-19 public health emergency</a>. But COVID-19’s burden on health systems <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.1760">continues globally</a>.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wSbI9hUAAAAJ">public health ethicist</a> who has spent most of my academic career thinking about the ethics of vaccine policies. For as long as they’ve been around, vaccines have been a classic case study in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/phe/pages/vaccination-ethics">public health and bioethics</a>. Vaccines highlight the tensions between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2F1742-7622-3-13">personal autonomy and public good</a>, and they show how the decision of an individual can have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1731324100">populationwide consequences</a>. </p>
<p>COVID-19 is <a href="https://www.unc.edu/discover/covid-19-has-become-endemic/">here to stay</a>. Reflecting on the ethical considerations surrounding the rise – and unfolding fall – of COVID-19 vaccine mandates can help society better prepare for future disease outbreaks and pandemics.</p>
<h2>Ethics of vaccine mandates</h2>
<p>Vaccine mandates are the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmjgh-2020-004877">most restrictive form</a> of vaccine policy in terms of personal autonomy. Vaccine policies can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.10.019">conceptualized as a spectrum</a>, ranging from least restrictive, such as passive recommendations like informational advertisements, to most restrictive, such as a vaccine mandate that fines those who refuse to comply. </p>
<p>Each sort of vaccine policy also has different forms. Some recommendations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2022.100205">offer incentives</a>, perhaps in the form of a monetary benefit, while others are only a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105%2FAJPH.2014.302425">verbal recommendation</a>. Some vaccine mandates are mandatory in name only, with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/enforcing-vaccine-mandates-is-messy-business-11630582742">no practical consequences</a>, while others may trigger <a href="https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2022-12-27/thousands-of-workers-were-fired-over-vaccine-mandates-for-some-the-fight-goes-on">termination of employment</a> upon noncompliance. </p>
<p>COVID-19 vaccine mandates took many forms throughout the pandemic, including but not limited to <a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2021/covid-19-vaccine-mandates-and-incentives-under-federal-law">employer mandates</a>, <a href="https://nashp.org/states-address-school-vaccine-mandates-and-mask-mandates/">school mandates</a> and <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/key-questions-about-covid-19-vaccine-passports-and-the-u-s/">vaccination certificates</a> – often referred to as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/travel/coronavirus-vaccine-passports.html">vaccine passports</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30766-0">immunity passports</a> – required for travel and participation in public life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sign on window reading 'New York City requires you to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter this business,' with a person sitting at a desk inside the room" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553072/original/file-20231010-21-irjnph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">COVID-19 vaccine requirements were intended to protect the health and safety of the public.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreak/409216582fb54b8f9f74c207206f789e">Seth Wenig/AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of ethical considerations, vaccine mandates are typically <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13141">not the first option</a> policymakers use to maximize vaccine uptake. Vaccine mandates are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.10.019">paternalistic by nature</a> because they limit freedom of choice and bodily autonomy. Additionally, because some people may see vaccine mandates as invasive, they could potentially create challenges in maintaining and garnering trust in public health. This is why mandates are usually the last resort. </p>
<p>However, vaccine mandates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13141">can be justified</a> from a public health perspective on multiple grounds. They’re a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0140-6736(22)00875-3">powerful and effective</a> public health intervention. </p>
<p>Mandates can provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00875-3">lasting protection</a> against infectious diseases in various communities, including schools and health care settings. They can provide a public good by ensuring widespread vaccination to reduce the chance of outbreaks and disease transmission overall. Subsequently, an increase in community vaccine uptake due to mandates can protect immunocompromised and vulnerable people who are at higher risk of infection.</p>
<h2>COVID-19 vaccine mandates</h2>
<p>Early in the pandemic, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/vaccine-mandates-are-more-popular-than-you-think/">arguments in favor</a> of mandating COVID-19 vaccines for adults rested primarily on evidence that COVID-19 vaccination prevented disease transmission. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 vaccines seemed to have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fcid%2Fciab079">strong effect on reducing transmission</a>, therefore justifying vaccine mandates. </p>
<p>COVID-19 also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs40615-021-01170-w">posed a disproportionate threat</a> to vulnerable people, including the immunocompromised, older adults, people with chronic conditions and poorer communities. As a result, these groups would have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1004086">significantly benefited</a> from a reduction in COVID-19 outbreaks and hospitalization.</p>
<p>Many researchers found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/forefront.20211029.682797">personal liberty and religious objections insufficient</a> to prevent mandating COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally, decision-makers in favor of mandates appealed to the COVID-19 vaccine’s ability to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34924609">reduce disease severity and therefore hospitalization rates</a>, alleviating the pressure on overwhelmed health care facilities. </p>
<p>However, the emergence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-new-covid-19-variant-ba-2-and-will-it-cause-another-wave-of-infections-in-the-us-179619">even more transmissible variants</a> of the virus dramatically changed the decision-making landscape surrounding COVID-19 vaccine mandates.</p>
<p>The public health intention (and ethicality) of original COVID-19 vaccine mandates became less relevant as the scientific community understood that achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00728-2">probably impossible</a> because of uneven vaccine uptake, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00283-4">breakthrough infections</a> among the vaccinated became more common. Many countries like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o353">England</a> and <a href="https://www.venable.com/insights/publications/2022/02/as-the-federal-vaccine-mandates-fall-one-by-one">various states in the U.S.</a> started to roll back COVID-19 vaccine mandates.</p>
<p>With the rollback and removal of vaccine mandates, decision-makers are still left with important policy questions: Should vaccine mandates be dismissed, or is there still sufficient ethical and scientific justification to keep them in place?</p>
<p>Vaccines are lifesaving medicines that can help everyone eligible to receive them. But vaccine mandates are context-dependent tools that require considering the time, place and population they are deployed in. </p>
<p>Though COVID-19 vaccine mandates are less of a publicly pressing issue today, many other vaccine mandates, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/16/health/vaccines-public-opinion.html">particularly in schools</a>, are currently being challenged. I believe this is a reflection of decreased trust in public health authorities, institutions and researchers – resulting in part from <a href="https://theconversation.com/18-months-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-retrospective-in-7-charts-166881">tumultuous decision-making</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>Engaging in transparent and honest conversations surrounding vaccine mandates and other health policies can help rebuild and foster trust in public health institutions and interventions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Gur-Arie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vaccine policies fall on a spectrum, from mandates to recommendations. Deciding what to use and when is not so much a science but a balancing act between personal autonomy and public good.Rachel Gur-Arie, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2018072023-03-22T20:11:59Z2023-03-22T20:11:59ZThe COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on Albertans. Here’s how they’re faring now<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516664/original/file-20230321-690-dwu3l6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3994%2C2500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A pedestrian wearing a mask crosses a street in Calgary in November 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On March 11, 2020, <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. </a></p>
<p>The weeks that followed were filled with fear and uncertainty for many as governments began to implement protections that included school and daycare closures, work-from-home orders and other social distancing measures. These days seem both recent and far in the past. </p>
<p>In Alberta, a lot has changed since March 2020 and a lot has remained the same. Conducting five waves of the <a href="https://www.commongroundpolitics.ca/viewpoint-alberta">Viewpoint Alberta Survey</a> puts us in a special position to gauge Albertans’ experiences and perspectives over the course of the pandemic. </p>
<p>By limiting the spread of the virus, government measures to contain the virus <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13546-6">saved countless lives</a>. Even still, since that date, there have been more than <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/stats/covid-19-alberta-statistics.htm#highlights">half a million recorded COVID-19 cases in Alberta, more than 34,000 hospitalizations and at least 5,500 deaths from the virus</a>. </p>
<p>Today, many Albertans also live with the continuing consequences of long COVID, burnout and a health-care system pushed to the brink. </p>
<p>Drawing on surveys from August 2020, March 2021, September 2021, April 2022 and January 2023 shows how views on restrictions evolved, attitudes have changed and economic situations have diverged. </p>
<h2>Pandemic’s toll</h2>
<p>The last three years have taken a toll on many Albertans. When asked to consider how their financial, physical and mental health situations have changed over the course of the pandemic, 49 per cent said they experienced worsening financial situations, 35 per cent saw declines in their physical health and 43 per cent thought their mental health was worse in January 2023 than in March 2020. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph shows changing financial, physical health, and mental health situations of Albertans." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516736/original/file-20230321-20-5ouz9x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Graph shows changing financial, physical health, and mental health situations of Albertans between March 2020 and January 2023. (January 2023 Viewpoint Alberta Survey)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With these financial impacts, many Albertans had trouble managing their expenses and paying their bills over the pandemic. These struggles were more obvious early in the pandemic — in August 2020 — and in more recent months. Throughout, 38 to 48 per cent of Albertans had trouble meeting their monthly expenses, but these experiences differed across groups. </p>
<p>Over time, the situation appears to diverge by both gender and education. Similar percentages of men and women and people with and without university degrees had trouble meeting expenses in August 2020, which could be linked to larger economic struggles early in the pandemic. </p>
<p>Over time, however, women and people with less education were more likely to report economic struggles. Older adults and members of the so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/millennials-gen-x-gen-z-baby-boomers-how-generation-labels-cloud-issues-of-inequality-106892">silent and boomer generations</a> — those born before 1964 — were also much less likely to experience economic insecurity throughout the pandemic, emphasizing age divides in pandemic experiences.</p>
<p>Looking back on the province’s pandemic response, Albertans were often divided about what approach the government should take, with some advocating for more stringent measures and others arguing that the measures in place were too harsh. </p>
<p>Controversy over the pandemic response caused internal divisions in the governing United Conservative Party that eventually resulted in <a href="https://ucp.manifoldapp.org/read/blue-storm/section/481cba86-37e0-47b2-b927-35069c1fbf5b#_idParaDest-36">Jason Kenney stepping down as premier</a> during his first term in office. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of police officers on horseback stand in front of a man carrying a sign reading No Vax Pass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516663/original/file-20230321-2166-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Police officers on horseback keep watch as hundreds of demonstrators gather at city hall in Calgary, Alta., in March 2022 to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Divided views</h2>
<p>The Viewpoint Alberta surveys show that over the three years of the pandemic, a sizeable group — ranging from 10 to 25 per cent — consistently believed that the pandemic measures were too strict. An even larger group — ranging from 25 to 55 per cent — thought the measures weren’t strict enough. </p>
<p>It was only at the end of the first wave of the pandemic — when measures were being relaxed — and in January of 2023, when most measures had been removed for almost a full year, that a majority of respondents thought the measures in place were “about right.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph illustrates views on COVID-19 restrictions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516737/original/file-20230321-1318-3ummnz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Graph shows percentages of respondents reporting differing views of COVID-19 restrictions over time. (Viewpoint Alberta Surveys)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We asked survey respondents to evaluate four organizations that were important to the pandemic response, scoring them on a scale from one (poor) to 10 (excellent). They gave each a passing grade, but not a strong positive endorsement. Alberta Health Services and the Chief Medical Officer of Health scored highest, while the provincial and federal governments fared worse.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, most respondents now believe that Alberta is more divided than it was in March 2020. Almost 40 per cent said they thought the province was somewhat more divided, and another 32 per cent thought it was much more divided. Only eight per cent thought it was more united. </p>
<p>Despite the dominant beliefs that Alberta has grown more divided, survey results also showed a growing optimism about Alberta’s future. In August 2020, only 35 per cent of respondents were optimistic. By January 2023, half of Albertans were optimistic about the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Horses graze on a field as the sun rises." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516747/original/file-20230321-1320-t81h3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is the sun rising for Alberta? Horses graze a field as the sun rises over a misty landscape near Fort Macleod, Alta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The road ahead for Alberta</h2>
<p>Many Albertans have struggled over the past three years — financially, socially and physically. The pandemic has taken its toll on many people. But, on the eve of a highly consequential provincial election in May, there is a growing sense of hope across the province. </p>
<p>The pandemic isn’t likely to be an issue on the campaign trail, but it has shaped public attitudes in ways that matter. </p>
<p>One challenge for parties in the 2023 election will be to harness the fragile sense of optimism: things were bad, but the future is bright. A party able to make a plausible case that it would heal the divisions might harness this sense of optimism in the campaign.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201807/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Maroto receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Albertans struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Alberta Viewpoint Survey shows there’s a fragile optimism about the future as a provincial election approaches.Michelle Maroto, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of AlbertaLisa Young, Professor of Political Science, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1912382022-10-07T03:06:31Z2022-10-07T03:06:31ZHow Danielle Smith won in Alberta and what it means for Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488704/original/file-20221007-18-hfi9uy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2568&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Danielle Smith celebrates after being chosen as the new leader of the United Conservative Party and next Alberta premier in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-danielle-smith-won-in-alberta-and-what-it-means-for-canada" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Danielle Smith rode a wave of Alberta populism to <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/watch-live-alberta-united-conservative-party-leadership-results/wcm/ae18bf54-9565-4cf2-9fec-d4198f21a494">win the United Conservative Party leadership on the sixth ballot</a>.</p>
<p>When she is sworn in as premier, she will be a new and potentially disruptive force in Canadian politics. </p>
<p>“No longer will Alberta ask permission from Ottawa to be prosperous and free,” Smith said in her acceptance speech Thursday night.</p>
<p>“We will not have our voices silenced and censored. We will not be told what we must put in our bodies in order to work or to travel. We will not have our resources landlocked or our energy phased out of existence by virtue-signalling prime ministers.”</p>
<p>Alberta politics includes a long tradition of populism: a belief that ordinary people are being kept down by an elite. That elite might be the federal government, global environmental activists, scientists or eastern Canadians. Populist leaders often rise to power by offering <a href="https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/12892.pdf">simplistic but grand plans</a>, like <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1397/build-wall-and-make-mexico-pay-it/">Donald Trump’s promise to “build a wall” across the border with Mexico</a>. </p>
<h2>Populist playbook</h2>
<p>Smith’s win in the UCP leadership race follows the populist playbook. She positioned herself as an outsider, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-danielle-smiths-rise-has-been-fuelled-by-albertans-marginalized-by/">sided with the protesters angry about COVID-19 restrictions</a> and vaccine mandates and promised she <a href="https://daniellesmith.ca/resume-home/">would put “Alberta First” and fight Ottawa with her sovereignty act.</a> </p>
<p>The UCP leadership race was primed for a populist to win. </p>
<p>The party’s membership is predominantly located <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ucp-membership-riding-breakdown-analysis-1.6561359">outside Calgary and Edmonton</a>. Unlike many other parties’ rules for electing a leader, there was no weighting of votes by electoral district to ensure the new leader has support from across the province. </p>
<p>Each vote was counted equally. Anti-establishment populist sentiment <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423920000694">is strong in rural Alberta</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A bald man with glasses drives a combine and looks out at his wheat field from the cab of the vehicle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488085/original/file-20221004-14-9591j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Alberta farmer drives a combine as he harvests his wheat crop near Cremona, Alta., in September 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Outsider appeal</h2>
<p>Being seen as an outsider is important for politicians who want to ride a populist wave into office. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068808097890">Only an outsider</a> is able to make credible claims they will sweep away the elite. </p>
<p>Smith was the only candidate for UCP leader without a seat in the legislature; many served in former premier Jason Kenney’s cabinet. For party members angry at the Kenney government, her claim to be an outsider was an asset. </p>
<p>Smith is not new to Alberta politics, though. She was leader of the Wildrose party, losing an election in 2012 and then <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/opinion-danielle-smith-resurrected-1.6510295">crossing the floor</a> to the government in 2014, ending that chapter of her political career. She then spent six years as a radio talk show host. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman smiles as she talks to a man in a cowboy hat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488088/original/file-20221004-14-ria76y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wildrose leader Danielle Smith greets supporters in High River, Alberta, in April 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The COVID-19 connection</h2>
<p>During the pandemic, Smith criticized COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates; her views played a role in her departure from her radio job. In <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7568250/danielle-smith-departure-corus-radio/">her statement</a> when she left, she said she was “gravely troubled by how easily most in our society have chosen to give up on freedom.” </p>
<p>Alberta <a href="https://angusreid.org/covid-restrictions-precautions-masking-trudeau/">stands out</a> in Canada for its relatively low public support for public health measures and negative assessment of the province’s pandemic response. As protests over COVID-19 mandates turned into the so-called freedom convoy, UCP supporters were <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JPbeLDek6h9VKHU1H3Fb-q7u8Zs4BuKF/view">more likely to approve</a> of that protest movement than other Albertans. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-every-canadian-should-remember-about-the-freedom-convoy-crisis-178296">What every Canadian should remember about the 'freedom convoy' crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Smith was able to mobilize support from Albertans angry about public health restrictions. </p>
<p>One of her earliest campaign videos stated: “What happened over the last two years must never happen again… Let me be clear: As your premier, our province will never lock down again.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1539319149293232130"}"></div></p>
<h2>Alberta First and the sovereignty act</h2>
<p>While the backlash over COVID-19 restrictions gave Smith momentum to launch her leadership bid, her Alberta First stance solidified her as the leading candidate in the race. </p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://www.commongroundpolitics.ca/albertan-orientations-toward-confederation">widespread belief</a> among Albertans that the province is not treated fairly or given the respect it deserves. Although a minority of about 20 per cent, separatists are a persistent force in Alberta politics. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-spectre-of-alberta-separatism-means-for-canada-186897">What the spectre of Alberta separatism means for Canada</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many UCP supporters have been frustrated that Kenney’s efforts to <a href="https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/cb/2021/38663-38781-39116-eng.aspx">eliminate the federal carbon tax</a>, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8277077/albertas-equalization-vote-what-it-means/">renegotiate the equalization formula</a> and build pipelines to tidewater have not been successful. </p>
<p>Smith’s strategy was to adopt a more radical stance on Alberta’s place in Confederation. The centrepiece of her Alberta First platform is her proposed Alberta sovereignty act, which she has promised will be her first priority as premier. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark-haired man gestures while speaking, a Canadian flag behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488094/original/file-20221004-19-w4ru12.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kenney answers questions during a news conference in Victoria, B.C., in July 2022 about Smith’s proposed sovereignty act bill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The sovereignty act was first proposed as part of the <a href="https://www.freealbertastrategy.com/the_strategy">Free Alberta Strategy</a>. The document argues that Canada has “expropriated” Alberta’s wealth for decades and has “breached its constitutional agreement with Alberta.” It advocates for the Alberta legislature to grant itself the power to refuse to enforce federal legislation or judicial decisions that, in its view, interfere with provincial jurisdiction or attack the interests of Albertans.</p>
<p>Most of the other candidates for the UCP leadership, Kenney, and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-alberta-conservatives-sovereignty-act/">constitutional experts</a> have criticized the proposal as blatantly unconstitutional and destabilizing to investment in the province. Despite these criticisms, the proposal is popular with Smith’s supporters. </p>
<h2>Disrupting Canadian politics</h2>
<p>When she is sworn in as premier, Smith will be a new and potentially disruptive force in Canadian politics. She will have to hold together a divided caucus, satisfy her supporters and position her party for a provincial election in spring 2023.</p>
<p>If she’s able to unite her caucus to pass the sovereignty act, the courts will almost certainly strike it down as unconstitutional, leaving Smith fighting against the Canadian constitutional order during the provincial election. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether Smith’s time in office will be a brief interlude, or the start of a significant challenge to national unity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191238/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Danielle Smith’s win in the UCP leadership race follows the populist playbook. Will her time in office be a brief interlude, or the start of a significant challenge to national unity?Lisa Young, Professor of Political Science, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1889872022-08-23T05:29:55Z2022-08-23T05:29:55ZUnfair dismissal rulings show personal circumstances matter in vaccine refusals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480295/original/file-20220822-2925-bipvq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C985%2C5868%2C2920&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While legal challenges against federal and state vaccine mandates have come to nothing, in recent months two Australian workers have won unfair dismissal cases after being sacked for not complying with their employer’s vaccination orders.</p>
<p>These wins in the federal industrial relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, confirm employers do not have carte blanche to insist employees be vaccinated.</p>
<p>The victories do not signal a “change in the narrative” – or that future legal claims against government mandates in other courts may succeed. But they do affirm and refine principles previously applied in vaccination-related cases heard by the commission. </p>
<p>The cases have turned on matters of procedure. </p>
<p>The commission’s rulings have confirmed the general validity of employer-imposed vaccination policies but highlighted the need for fair processes when applying such policies.</p>
<p>Key to these two unfair dismissal rulings were that the employers went about things the wrong way and failed to consider individual circumstances. </p>
<h2>Robyn Pskiet vs Nocelle Foods</h2>
<p>One <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/document-search/view/aHR0cHM6Ly9zYXNyY2RhdGFwcmRhdWVhYS5ibG9iLmNvcmUud2luZG93cy5uZXQvZGVjaXNpb25zLzIwMjIvMDcvUFI3NDQxNjgyNTA1NTA4NGQ0ZTE5ZWI2LTUzN2YtNDY1NS1iNjRkLWJjMzk4OTVhNDFhY2Q2NjYyMzMzLTEzNDctNDU5NC04ZWQxLTE3ZDcwNTg4YWU5Ni5wZGY1/1/b5f9d236-c75f-4dfa-9834-2ced45b46855/Pskiet">case</a> involved Adelaide woman Robyn Pskiet, sacked on 12 January 2022 by Nocelle Foods, a food wholesaler and distributor. </p>
<p>Pskiet was working as a quality assurance manager alongside about 60 office and factory workers at Nocelle’s Adelaide factory. She had been with the company since 2005.</p>
<p>The company told staff in late November 2021 it was considering implementing a COVID vaccination policy, due to workplace health and safety concerns and increasing levels of community transmission after South Australia opened its borders on November 22. </p>
<p>It implemented its vaccination policy on December 29. Staff were required to show evidence of their first vaccination by January 10 2022. Pskiet was dismissed for failing to provide a vaccination certificate or medical exemption. </p>
<p>Pskiet’s case to the Fair Work Commission was that she was concerned about the safety of then available COVID vaccines but willing to take a “safer vaccine”, such as Novavax, which the Therapeutic Goods Administration did not provisionally approve until <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/tga-provisionally-approves-novavax-biocelect-pty-ltds-covid-19-vaccine-nuvaxovid">January 20 2022</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/havent-yet-been-vaccinated-for-covid-novavax-might-change-your-mind-176694">Haven't yet been vaccinated for COVID? Novavax might change your mind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>She argued Nocelle’s vaccination policy was not reasonable or lawful because it did not give her the option to work from home or grant her leave until Novavax was approved. </p>
<p>Commissioner Peter Hampton agreed. </p>
<p>He ruled Nocelle Foods’ vaccination policy was a lawful and reasonable direction, and refusing to comply was a valid basis for termination. But Pskiet’s dismissal was still unfair, because of her position and long-standing service, and the timing and manner of applying the policy to her. </p>
<p>He said “proper consideration of her circumstances” could have avoided, or at least delayed, the need to sack Pskiet.</p>
<p>He ordered the company to compensate her $3,462 plus superannuation. He did not, however, order the company to reinstate Pskiet – the first option when workers win unfair dismissal cases.</p>
<h2>Bradley Dean vs Rex Airlines</h2>
<p>The second unfair dismissal case involved pilot Bradley Dean, <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/document-search/view/aHR0cHM6Ly9zYXNyY2RhdGFwcmRhdWVhYS5ibG9iLmNvcmUud2luZG93cy5uZXQvZGVjaXNpb25zLzIwMjIvMDcvRGVhbnZSZWdpb25hbEV4cHJlc3NIb2xkaW5ncy1EZWNpc2lvbjI0NDc1ODM0MmQ4NDVmMzgtYjI5OC00OWI1LWEzMzItNzEyOWVhOWJkOTQ3N2QwZTM1MGMtMmE1YS00ZmI4LWI0ZTgtNjI4Nzg1NzFlZGMxLnBkZg2/1/d7f5ccdf-bd46-4d0a-86c9-6e9d56698df2/Bradley%24%24John%24%24Dean%24%24Regional%24%24Express%24%24holdings%24%24ltd">sacked by regional airline Rex</a>, on December 1 2021, after 27 years of service, for breaching a policy requiring staff members to be fully vaccinated by November 1. </p>
<p>Dean’s position was similar to Pskiet’s. He wanted to wait for the Novavax vaccine. He asked to be given alternative duties – for example, working as a flight simulator – and requested more time to get vaccinated. </p>
<p>In finding for Dean, Commissioner Donna McKenna ruled the airline could validly dismiss an employee for failing to be vaccinated, but the way it had treated Dean had been unfair. </p>
<p>Rex’s failure to comply with procedural considerations included not discussing options to dismissal, despite assuring Dean it would. </p>
<p>Dean received his two Novavax vaccinations once they became available, after he was sacked. Commissioner McKenna ordered his reinstatement, with no loss in continuity of service. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/qantas-has-grounds-to-mandate-vaccination-but-most-blanket-policies-wont-fly-166416">Qantas has grounds to mandate vaccination, but most blanket policies won't fly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Individual circumstances matter</h2>
<p>A key message from these rulings is that employers making COVID vaccination a condition of employment is generally lawful and reasonable – at least where COVID remains a significant hazard and workers are in roles requiring proximity to others. </p>
<p>These principles were affirmed in a December 2021 <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/html/2021fwcfb6059.htm">decision</a> of the
Fair Work Commission’s full bench.</p>
<p>In that case, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union successfully challenged a vaccine policy introduced by the BHP subsidiary operator of the Mt Arthur coal mine in NSW’s Hunter Valley.</p>
<p>The full bench agreed the vaccination mandate was unreasonable because the employer had failed to properly consult with employees in introducing the policy – but confirmed the general validity of vaccination policies.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bhps-vaccine-policy-not-lawful-and-reasonable-but-this-is-no-win-for-mandate-opponents-173234">BHP's vaccine policy 'not lawful and reasonable' – but this is no win for mandate opponents</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Procedure also counts when it comes to dismissing an employee for failing to comply with a vaccination requirement. The same general principles have also been upheld in unfair dismissal cases concerning mandatory influenza vaccination policies.</p>
<p>Employers can have a general vaccination policy but must treat every individual case on its own merits and circumstances – including the timing and manner of applying the vaccination policy to the particular employee.</p>
<p>Extra latitude must be given to longer serving, senior employees or those with good performance records.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giuseppe Carabetta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fair Work Commission rulings on employer vaccination mandates highlight the need for fair processes.Giuseppe Carabetta, Associate professor, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1871362022-07-24T12:28:51Z2022-07-24T12:28:51ZBusinesses have the responsibility to invest in health and safety when governments fail to<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475482/original/file-20220721-10125-b05lmy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4456%2C2951&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With governments seemingly giving up their responsibility to keep people safe, it is time for businesses to take the lead on health and safety. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the lifting of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00620-7">public health measures</a> all over North America and Europe, some governments seem to believe the pandemic is over. Restaurants and theatres are <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/remaining-capacity-limits-covid-19-vaccine-passport-system-dropped-in-ontario-1.5800267?cache=%2F7.548484">operating at full capacity and without proof of vaccination</a>. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/limit-pcr-testing-rapid-test-results-1.6301128">PCR testing has been scaled back</a> or nearly eliminated. Masks are gone — even in crowded and <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-transmission-in-schools-experts-call-for-better-ventilation-monitoring-1.5836746">poorly ventilated school classrooms</a>.</p>
<p>This is despite many people continuing to be highly susceptible to the disease — especially as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2118946">vaccine-derived and prior infection immunity starts to wane</a> — booster campaigns stall and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-many-new-omicron-sub-variants-like-ba-4-and-ba-5-will-i-be-reinfected-is-the-virus-mutating-faster-182274">increasingly contagious variants keep emerging</a>. </p>
<p>And while medical professionals have been <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220603/dq220603a-eng.htm">driven beyond the breaking point</a> and are quitting in droves, <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality">thousands of people continue to die</a> and the number of people living with <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-long-covid">debilitating long-term effects</a> of the disease are growing. </p>
<p>By any objective measure, it is not the pandemic that is over, but rather government efforts to minimize the human toll of the pandemic. With governments seemingly giving up their responsibility to keep people safe, it it time for businesses to take the lead on health and safety. </p>
<h2>Corporate social responsibility</h2>
<p>Protecting the health and safety of employees, customers and suppliers in the absence of government mandates is the very essence of corporate social responsibility. While <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F000765039903800303">the definition of corporate social responsibility has evolved</a> over the decades, it is now known as a company’s obligation to act in service of the public good. </p>
<p>Early in the pandemic, many businesses invested in the health and safety of customers and employees by <a href="https://www.thestar.com/podcasts/thismatters/2021/04/28/how-hero-pay-came-went-and-is-pushing-business-to-be-more-responsible.html">offering “hero pay.”</a></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-corporate-social-responsibility-or-csr-and-what-do-investors-need-to-know-169256">Explainer: what is corporate social responsibility or CSR – and what do investors need to know?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But recently, we have seen some businesses go in the opposite direction. Instead of investing in protections for workers and customers, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/24/1088669929/airlines-federal-travel-mask-mandate">airline CEOs have demanded</a> that <a href="https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2022/06/02/westjet-air-travel-restrictions/">mask mandates be ended</a> and business leaders have been <a href="https://www.insauga.com/travel-industry-calls-for-end-to-covid-19-measures-at-mississaugas-pearson-airport/">some of the most vocal advocates</a> of going “back to normal.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A worker pushing a row of shopping carts towards the entrance of a store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475480/original/file-20220721-14484-kvgeej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At the start of the pandemic, many companies provided frontline workers with extra pay to both incentivize and thank them for putting their lives at risk for their job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It appears as though businesses found it easier to be socially responsible when there was a clear social consensus about COVID-19 and governments were willing to provide clear guidance. But now, more than ever before, it is time for businesses to step up.</p>
<h2>Fighting the lonely fight</h2>
<p>We expect businesses to be more socially and environmentally responsible by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and eliminating socially harmful business practices, such as sweatshop labour — why don’t we do the same for COVID-19? </p>
<p>We should be applying similar pressures to businesses that are unwilling to mandate masks for employees and customers during surges, thereby contributing to spread of COVID-19.</p>
<p>Similarly, we should commend the businesses that are fighting the lonely fight to protect customers and employees. Chapman’s Ice Cream, for instance, has promoted vaccination among its employees and paid for regular testing for those who refuse to be vaccinated. As a result, it has become a frequent <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/chapmans-ice-cream-1.6447871">target for anti-vaxxers</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.restaurantji.com/on/mississauga/the-apricot-tree-cafe-/">Apricot Tree Café</a>, a restaurant in Mississauga, Ont., has sought to ensure safety for its staff and patrons by investing in <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/03/11/one-restaurants-fight-against-covid-15000-four-filters-and-a-co2-monitor.html">HEPA filters and carbon dioxide monitors</a>. These practices are <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/guidance-documents/guide-home-ventilation-covid-19-pandemic.html">recognized by public health experts as crucial for combating airborne pathogens</a>, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. </p>
<p>More businesses should take inspiration from these two companies and make good on their commitment to corporate social responsibility. If companies truly care for their employees and customers, they will prioritize their safety and well-being.</p>
<h2>Business schools have a role to play</h2>
<p>There is a key voice that has been missing from this conversation — business schools. This silence might be because business schools, like any other faculty, defer to university administrators to implement government-mandated COVID-19 health and safety policies. </p>
<p>At the same time, health and safety issues have not been identified as a “business issue,” unlike forced labour or climate change, both of which have been identified as business responsibilities. This needs to change.</p>
<p>Business schools cannot remain silent in the face of society’s ongoing failure to address a crisis that is vastly disruptive, despite widespread availability of solutions, including masking in crowded spaces, improving ventilation, offering sick days to employees and encouraging or mandating up-to-date <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/09/why-business-leaders-need-to-mandate-the-covid-19-vaccine">vaccination regimens</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman giving a lecture to a room of people" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475481/original/file-20220721-14641-8bk6rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Business schools have the responsibility to ensure future business leaders are aware of and ready to take on current and emerging global challenges, including pandemics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Business schools conduct cutting edge research and educate future business leaders. They have the responsibility to ensure leaders are aware of and ready to take on current and emerging “<a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.4007">grand challenges</a>,” like the <a href="https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/inequalities-deaths/index.html">rampant inequality</a> that has been <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-has-made-global-inequality-much-worse/">exacerbated by the pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Business schools should lead by example by modelling best business practices and equipping future business leaders with the skills to tackle the issue of health and safety as a business responsibility — even beyond the current pandemic. Speaking up and taking the lead on public health and safety will prove that the business world is ready and willing to take on other pressing issues, like climate change.</p>
<p>Carrying out voluntary actions for social good is not easy and, in our increasingly polarized society, these efforts may alienate some stakeholders. For example, customers that just want to “move on” from the pandemic might be displeased by businesses imposing mask mandates, but that is the essence of corporate social responsibility — doing the right thing, even when it’s hard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maxim Voronov receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Burkard Eberlein receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>We expect businesses to be more socially and environmentally responsible by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and eliminating harmful business practices — why don’t we do the same for COVID-19?Maxim Voronov, Professor of Organization Studies and Sustainability, York University, CanadaBurkard Eberlein, Professor of Public Policy and Sustainability, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1808562022-04-19T03:58:34Z2022-04-19T03:58:34ZMany places are starting to wind back COVID restrictions, but this doesn’t mean the pandemic is over yet<p>This month, mask mandates were lifted in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-12/sa-drops-mask-wearing-mandate-and-mothballs-qr-codes/100984492">South Australia</a>, and vaccine requirements for dining and nightlife were removed in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-06/qld-coronavirus-covid19-lifting-vaccine-mandate-on-venues/100968630">Queensland</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/3/11/who-begins-discussing-when-and-how-to-declare-end-of-pandemic">Public health experts at the World Health Organization</a> have begun discussing what conditions would eventually signal the public health emergency declared on January 30, 2020 can be ended. However, they stress we are not there yet. </p>
<h2>What’s happening in other countries?</h2>
<p>By <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-living-with-covid-19/covid-19-response-living-with-covid-19">spring 2022, the UK government</a> will see all social and public health measures removed in England, including the need to isolate and the availability of free testing. The rationale is based on the costs of maintaining these policies, including testing, often at the expense of other essential services such as mental health support.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/time-to-remove-vaccine-mandates-not-so-fast-it-could-have-unintended-consequences-180781">Time to remove vaccine mandates? Not so fast – it could have unintended consequences</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some countries across Europe have rolled back the use of vaccine passports, whereas others have moved forward with mandates. <a href="https://theconversation.com/greece-to-make-covid-vaccines-mandatory-for-over-60s-but-do-vaccine-mandates-work-172672">Greece</a> approved mandatory vaccination for over-60s in late December, with a monthly €100 fine added to tax bills for those who refuse (exempting those with a recent COVID infection). </p>
<p>In New Zealand, mandatory vaccinations will end next month for teachers, police officers and members of New Zealand’s military.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/new-zealand-to-scrap-some-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandates/6497397.html">New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern</a> said expert advice and an expectation that the current wave of omicron cases will soon pass — and not the protests — had prompted the change in policy. They will, however, continue to use them for health, aged care, and corrections staff, and border and MIQ (managed isolation and quarantine) workers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-new-zealand-relaxes-restrictions-heres-what-we-can-still-do-to-limit-covid-infections-179746">As New Zealand relaxes restrictions, here’s what we can still do to limit COVID infections</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In settings such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skorea-reports-record-new-daily-covid-cases-deaths-kdca-2022-03-17/">South Korea</a> – which has already pivoted to “living with COVID” and has relaxed several COVID mitigation strategies – cases have risen, but hospital admissions and deaths have remained manageable due to high vaccine coverage.</p>
<p>In comparison, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7115e1.htm">data from Hong Kong</a> has suggested higher mortality rates during the fifth wave have been driven by low vaccination coverage among older adults. Leading into the outbreak, overall two-dose vaccination coverage was 64%, however rates varied between age groups. </p>
<p>While other countries may follow suit with the relaxation of public health measures, as of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01787-2">early February 2022</a> the use of face coverings in all public spaces was required in 152 of 196 countries, contact tracing in 136 and mass testing in 114. </p>
<h2>The pandemic is not over</h2>
<p>While Omicron has ended up being less severe than previous variants, there is still the potential for a new variant that is more transmissible and which has the ability to evade the immune system, resulting in a prolonged pandemic. </p>
<p>As outlined by <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/3/11/who-begins-discussing-when-and-how-to-declare-end-of-pandemic">David Heymann</a>, a former WHO and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist, a key metric for countries considering declaring an end to the emergency is population immunity. This is the proportion of people who have some antibodies to the virus either from immunisation, infection, or both.</p>
<p>We have not reached the point yet of declaring the pandemic over. Potentially, if we continue to have <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2788213">high levels of vaccination coverage</a>, we may see more endemic (when a disease exists at a predictable level not requiring society-defining interventions), less severe disease outcomes in the community. However, we need to ensure there is no longer a large influx of hospital patients. </p>
<p>A disease becoming endemic does not mean it no longer poses a risk, nor does it mean all public health strategies will be removed. </p>
<p>Some settings may still require vaccine requirements, and we would need to ensure vulnerable populations, including those who are at heightened susceptibility due to their occupation, and those who are at risk of severe outcomes (such as the immunocompromised) are protected.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-time-to-rethink-vaccine-mandates-for-dining-fitness-and-events-we-asked-5-experts-176356">Is it time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events? We asked 5 experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is the ending of restrictions a health risk to me?</h2>
<p>In March <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114062">the WHO saw an 8%</a> increase in the detection of COVID-19 cases, with more than 11 million positive test results. Based on the experiences overseas, there is a chance Australia will see an increase in COVID cases (especially going into winter).</p>
<p>At a local level, it is now understood <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-must-get-serious-about-airborne-infection-transmission-heres-what-we-need-to-do-164622">most people become infected</a> with the virus that causes COVID-19 by inhaling it from shared air. The risk is predominantly indoors and so the lifting of vaccine and mask mandates will result in a shift in the level of risk to individuals (especially the unvaccinated) who are sharing the same airspace. </p>
<p>It is important we continue to highlight the rationale for voluntary mask use and for catching up outdoors to the community, as well as stress the effectiveness of booster shots at preventing severe infection. </p>
<p>Based on data from 2020, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7010e3.htm?s_cid=mm7010e3_w">US CDC recently released findings</a> linking mask requirements with a more than 1 percentage point decrease in the daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths 20 days after the implementation of the mask mandate. The authors of the study cautioned against the premature lifting of prevention measures.</p>
<p>There remains complexity and uncertainty ahead, and governments will need to continue to review their decisions as we enter a period where we may need to rapidly adjust public health measures in the event of a new, more virulent variant emerging. Omicron is not the last variant we will be dealing with.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180856/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Seale is an investigator on research studies funded by NHMRC and has previously received funding for investigator driven research from NSW Ministry of Health, as well as from Sanofi Pasteur and Seqirus. She is the Deputy Chair of the Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation.</span></em></p>Many countries are winding back COVID-19 restrictions, but governments should be continuing to promote the importance of voluntary mask use and catching up outdoors.Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1807812022-04-13T01:58:33Z2022-04-13T01:58:33ZTime to remove vaccine mandates? Not so fast – it could have unintended consequences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457339/original/file-20220411-15-341a2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C5089%2C2774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-latin-american-female-barista-face-1882428868">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Several Australian states have used mandates to drive up COVID vaccination rates. Governments justified the mandates on the basis of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=479962466825937&set=pb.100044365632393.-2207520000..&type=3">preventing the spread of disease</a> and <a href="https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/93754">protecting the vulnerable</a>. </p>
<p>Now many states are rolling back these mandates, with Queensland <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-05/qld-coronavirus-covid19-vaccination-mandate-eased-april-14/100958850">removing the requirement to show you’re vaccinated</a> before entering cafes, pubs, galleries and other public spaces from tomorrow. </p>
<p>It would be nice to think that when mandates have served their purpose, they can be removed. In practice, removing mandates may affect public attitudes about the importance of vaccination and the likelihood of getting boosters. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-time-to-rethink-vaccine-mandates-for-dining-fitness-and-events-we-asked-5-experts-176356">Is it time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events? We asked 5 experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Remind me, what were the mandates?</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/vaccine-passports-are-coming-to-australia-how-will-they-work-and-what-will-you-need-them-for-167531">Public space mandates</a> involve governments mandating that venues (such as restaurants, libraries and sporting venues) check individuals’ vaccination status and <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-time-to-rethink-vaccine-mandates-for-dining-fitness-and-events-we-asked-5-experts-176356">exclude the unvaccinated</a>. This is facilitated by <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-a-france-style-vaccine-mandate-for-public-spaces-work-in-australia-legally-yes-but-its-complicated-165814">vaccine passports and certificates</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X21015309?via%3Dihub">Government employment mandates</a> involve governments requiring workers in specific industries to be vaccinated. Businesses and organisations may also implement their own policies requiring the vaccination of their staff, their clients, or both.</p>
<p>Most states and territories embraced public space mandates and all have required vaccination of aged and health-care workers. </p>
<p>But many are on their way out. NSW eased its requirements last year. South Australia has recently revoked mandates for police, teachers and transport workers. Queensland’s new policy is noted above. </p>
<p>Victoria, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory are sitting with their existing requirements for now.</p>
<h2>What could happen next?</h2>
<p>It’s unclear what impact removing vaccine mandates will have in Australia. However, we can learn from other public health measures and COVID vaccine mandates implemented overseas. </p>
<p>Seat-belt laws converted a government requirement into a widespread social norm. Car manufacturers reinforced the norm with vehicles that beep at us when we don’t comply. </p>
<p>But just because something has become habitual doesn’t mean we can lose the law. If governments removed the seat-belt law now and expected us to comply because we are informed, educated, and socialised, some people would still conclude that seat belts are no longer important. Removal of a requirement can send a bad message.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smallpox-seatbelts-and-smoking-3-ways-public-health-has-saved-lives-from-history-to-the-modern-day-128300">Smallpox, seatbelts and smoking: 3 ways public health has saved lives from history to the modern day</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Italian government learned this when the region of Veneto suspended childhood vaccine mandates for four childhood vaccines in 2007. Officials thought the region’s wealthy and educated population would continue to vaccinate their children if the regional government provided strong education and messaging. </p>
<p>They were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-021-09427-1">wrong</a>. Their strategy worked until there was a national vaccine scare in 2012. Vaccination rates in Veneto plummeted faster than anywhere else in the country. </p>
<p>Eventually, the national government <a href="https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/recent-vaccine-mandates-in-the-united-states-europe-and-australia">mandated more vaccines</a> for the whole country.</p>
<p>Other countries have already experimented with introducing, removing, and sometimes re-introducing mandates. Some, such as <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(22)00063-7/fulltext">Austria</a> and the <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/vaccine-mandates">United Kingdom</a>, have flip-flopped, providing little opportunity to study the impact of their mandates’ introduction or removal. </p>
<p>Israel, which vaccinated its population promptly with Pfizer to the envy of the world, used a “public space” mandate (with an opt-out of a negative COVID test). The mandate has been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8582817/">switched on and off</a> depending on the disease situation at the time. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Israelis’ uptake of subsequent doses has <a href="https://datadashboard.health.gov.il/COVID-19/general">dropped over time</a>, but its government still <a href="https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/global/israel-rolls-back-green-pass-as-prime-minister-declares-the-covid-wave-is-breaking/news-story/b6f9ce495359166126b16c477af062b3">ended the mandate</a> in February.</p>
<p>Mandates are also not without <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/11/policy-considerations-mandatory-covid-19-vaccination-collaboration-social">risks and costs</a>. They can provoke reactance, making those who are reluctant to vaccinate more determined not to do so. They may also prompt activism against vaccines and mandates.</p>
<h2>High vaccination rates help contain COVID</h2>
<p>One of the biggest challenges is nobody knows what the next phase of COVID will look like. Neither infection nor the current vaccines provide long-lasting immunity. We don’t know whether the next strain will continue the trajectory towards less serious symptoms started by Omicron (and helped by high vaccination rates). </p>
<p>Whether we continue to be able to stay on top of COVID and whether the disease continues to remain less severe in most people infected will depend on maintaining high vaccination coverage rates. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-mask-mandates-might-be-largely-gone-but-here-are-5-reasons-to-keep-wearing-yours-177824">COVID mask mandates might be largely gone but here are 5 reasons to keep wearing yours</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Governments across the nation and the world have struggled to get third doses into populations at the same level and with the same enthusiasm people showed towards the first two. </p>
<p>Uptake in paediatric populations is also lagging in Australia – and there are no mandates. </p>
<p>Now adults are being asked to prepare for and accept our fourth doses. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1511817127094718468"}"></div></p>
<h2>Leading the way</h2>
<p>Western Australia has one of the highest rates of uptake in the country, with 76.7% of people aged over 16 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=533610064794510&set=a.263657845123068">triple dosed</a>. This compares with the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/04/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-update-8-april-2022.pdf">national average</a> of 52.3%.</p>
<p>It’s no coincidence the state’s employment mandates, which cover 75% of the workforce, require workers have their third dose within a month of becoming eligible. </p>
<p>The WA mandate did not contain three doses to begin with, but it was very easy for the government to build it in. </p>
<p>Faced with rolling back the mandate or keeping it operational for the fourth dose, the government will have to grapple with whether the population continues to support these measures – and there are definitely people who reluctantly accepted two doses and are not prepared to keep having more. </p>
<p>WA’s public space mandate only covers two doses for now. </p>
<p>WA’s COVID vaccination experience has shown that mandates, including for third doses, drive high levels of uptake, and are <a href="https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4210.html">easy for governments to implement</a>. </p>
<p>However, much of the rest of Australia is moving in an opposite direction to WA in removing its mandates. </p>
<p>As we live through the continued natural experiment of living with COVID – and not allowing it to defeat us – we now move into a new phase of making sense of what to do with the policy instruments governments used.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Attwell receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the WA Department of Health. She is funded by ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DE1901000158. She is a specialist advisor to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) COVID-19. All views presented in this article are her own and not representative of any other organisation.</span></em></p>Queensland is removing the requirement to be vaccinated before entering cafes, pubs, galleries and other public spaces. But this could affect public attitudes about the importance of vaccination.Katie Attwell, Associate professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1787142022-04-03T12:14:43Z2022-04-03T12:14:43ZClose to home: The Canadian far right, COVID-19 and social media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454248/original/file-20220324-25-1xauaur.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3888%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A small group of COVID-19 mandate protesters remain on the street as the group packs up and prepares to head home on Memorial Blvd in Winnipeg, Man. on Feb. 23, 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Weeks after the so-called “freedom convoy” protests ended, a familiar quietness has returned to the streets of downtown Ottawa. No more sounds of blaring horns and people partying into the wee hours. The only remaining visible traces are <a href="https://driving.ca/auto-news/local-content/ottawa-convoy-protest-participants-start-retrieving-towed-vehicles-from-impound-yard">abandoned trucks in impound yards</a> and barriers on streets. </p>
<p>But these too will be cleared, just like the <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/canada/40-trucks-worth-of-garbage-ottawa-cleans-up-after-the-freedom-convoy-clears-out/">40 trucks worth of litter and debris the convoy amassed</a>. However, the convoy isn’t just an event for the history books. It’s still happening.</p>
<p>The convoy’s reach — <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8608963/paris-freedom-convoy-ottawa-trucker-protests/">inspiring similar movements globally</a> — amazed the world and shocked Canadians, prompting suspicions of “<a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/government-wont-elaborate-on-claims-foreign-interference-played-role-in-freedom-convoy-protests">foreign interferences</a>,” linking it to <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-s-freedom-convoy-attracts-support-from-u-s-and-around-the-world-1.5776238">American funders</a> and <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/stephanie-carvin-how-the-freedom-convoy-was-fuelled-by-online-activism">Russian bots</a>. </p>
<p>While not denying the roles of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/10/1080022827/a-canadian-judge-has-frozen-access-to-donations-for-the-trucker-convoy-protest">non-Canadian participants</a>, it’s misleading to construe the protests as being imported from outside Canada — it’s also inaccurate to view it as an emergent, novel phenomenon. The “freedom convoy” was a culmination of years of the far-right’s persistent mobilization. </p>
<h2>A breeding ground for the far-right</h2>
<p>Far-right networks grew during the last two years as they <a href="https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/the-conspiracy-consortium-examining-discussions-of-covid-19-among-right-wing-extremist-telegram-channel/">digitally tapped into grievances about the pandemic</a>. The convoy was a far-right-led and co-ordinated event that exploited COVID-19-related gripes and existing discontents on various socio-political issues, shared among Canadians who harboured growing distrust in the Liberal government. </p>
<p>Hijacking truckers for their brand, the convoy is a far-right movement masquerading as a working-class revolution.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-every-canadian-should-remember-about-the-freedom-convoy-crisis-178296">What every Canadian should remember about the 'freedom convoy' crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The convoy’s leadership included veteran far-right activists like <a href="https://www.straight.com/covid-19-pandemic/news/freedom-convoy-organizer-james-bauder-announce-plans-for-a-major-convoy-to-victoria-to">James Bauder, the creator of Canada Unity</a>, <a href="https://albertapolitics.ca/2022/01/maverick-party-obviously-has-no-problem-with-its-party-secretarys-role-in-anti-vaccine-mandate-truck-convoy-protest/">Tamara Lich and Patrick King, members of the Maverick Party</a> and <a href="https://pressprogress.ca/conservative-mp-pictured-with-ex-wexit-campaigner-who-said-covid-19-restrictions-should-be-fought-with-bullets/">veterans of Wexit</a>. </p>
<p>They partnered with relatively newer figures, <a href="https://www.toronto.com/news/toronto-danforth-conservatives-name-benjamin-dichter-as-new-candidate/article_16872f1b-e613-50fb-9f95-3d26972f3b65.html?">BJ Dichter, a former conservative candidate</a>, and <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/national/swift-current-man-leading-freedom-convoy-in-ottawa-arrested-by-police">Chris Barber, a truck company owner</a>. These people all have <a href="https://www.antihate.ca/the_freedom_convoy_is_nothing_but_a_vehicle_for_the_far_right">a history of publicly posting discriminatory messages on social media and are super-spreaders of conspiracy theories online</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a mask hugs two people, a crowd is behind her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454251/original/file-20220324-25-f2x6o1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tamara Lich, an organizer of the so-called ‘freedom convoy’ embraces supporters as she leaves the courthouse in Ottawa after being granted bail, on March 7, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The convoy can be seen as a continuation of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-united-we-roll-convoy-organizer-1.5031454">the 2019 United We Roll</a> (UWR) organized by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/yellow-vests-canada-alberta-1.4974721">the Yellow Vests Canada movement</a>. </p>
<p>The convoy and UWR share many of the same organizers, notably Lich and King, and participants, like <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-first">Canada First</a> and <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/what-is-the-diagolon-extremist-group-and-what-does-it-want-1.5785646">Diagolon networks</a>. Both were supported by the same political figures, including Maxime Bernier (People’s Party of Canada) and Andrew Scheer (Conservative Party). </p>
<p>While they differ in the main issue they exploited, namely oil and pipelines versus COVID-19, both grew out of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4830265/facebook-removes-comments-yellow-vests-canada-trudeau-threats/">extreme communities where explicit anti-Muslim racism and calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s execution were rampant</a>. Boosted by the COVID-19 conspiracy movement <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/02/17/freedom-convoy-givesendgo-canada-oath-keepers-funding/">and million-dollar funding</a>, the convoy is UWR on steroids.</p>
<h2>Social media and the far-right</h2>
<p>From the spread of <a href="https://www.jta.org/archive/documents-show-klan-in-canada-organized-by-american-leaders">the Ku Klux Klan</a> in the 1920s to a pre-Second World War <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-swastika-and-the-maple/9780889021228-item.html">Nazi “Swastika” movement</a> in the 1930s, to <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/797627/pdf">the Edmund Burke Society</a> in the 1960s, <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/creativity-movement-0">the Creativity Movement</a> in the 1970s and <a href="https://cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/659/565">neo-Nazi skinheads</a> in the 1980s-90s Canada has always been home to hateful far-right groups and movements. </p>
<p>Now, Canada has far-right groups like <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-first">Canada First</a>, <a href="https://www.socialist.ca/node/3489">ACT! For Canada</a>, <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/countering-radical-right/transatlantic-islamophobia-pegida-and-during-pandemic/">PEGIDA</a>, <a href="http://anti-racistcanada.blogspot.com/2016/01/">The Canada Defence League</a> and terrorist entities like the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/06/25/canada-three-percenters-terrorist-entity/">Three Percenters</a>, <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/the-base">The Base</a>, <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/atomwaffen-division">Atomwaffen Division</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/02/992846086/proud-boys-named-terrorist-entity-in-canada">the Proud Boys</a>. In the past decade, they have all found a welcoming audience across Canada, primarily by extensive <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/canadian-right-wing-extremism-online-1.5617710">use of social media</a>. </p>
<p>Due to limited mainstream media access, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/31/far-right-alt-right-white-supremacists-rise-online">far-right groups were among early adopters of digital media</a>. Social media platforms are the far-right’s primary tool to form community and mobilize action. And social media’s lack of regulation allows the far-right to circulate disinformation and conspiracy theories to feed on people’s fears. </p>
<p>Far-right groups commonly use <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/system/files/2021-04/ran_conspiracy_theories_and_right-wing_2021_en.pdf">conspiracy theories to justify the belief that out-groups — “the others,” the Muslims, the left, the liberal, the immigrants — are always in secret actions to control in-groups’ welfare</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man wearing a green sweater sits at a white table typing on his laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454255/original/file-20220324-32585-d4r6ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Far-right networks’ grew during the last two years as they digitally tapped into grievances about the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once the pandemic hit, far-right narratives switched from being predominantly racist and xenophobic to those based on civil rights, freedom and COVID-19-related conspiracies. Many far-right groups alleged that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/technology/bill-gates-virus-conspiracy-theories.html">the pandemic was plotted by Bill Gates and a “New World Order” to facilitate the injection of 5G enabled microchips into the population</a>, none of which is true. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory-explained">they may be dismissed by some as bonkers</a>, these false claims continue to be believable for people looking for certainty while living through unprecedented times. </p>
<h2>Alliances and disinformation</h2>
<p>To reach a wider audience, the far-right spread false claims that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rights-freedoms-charter-vaccine-alberta-government-1.6186034">vaccine mandates violate Canadians’ charter rights and freedoms</a>. Using freedom and rights as umbrella terms, they easily formed alliances with existing anti-COVID-19 mandate groups in Canada like <a href="https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/">Vaccine Choice Canada</a>, <a href="https://hugsovermasks.ca/">Hugs Over Masks</a> and <a href="https://www.canadianfrontlinenurses.ca/">Canadian Frontline Nurses</a> as well as networks with similar interests outside of Canada, notably in the United States. </p>
<p>These alliances allowed for the expansion of offline and online networks, much wider dissemination of conspiracies and disinformation and increased the capacity to mobilize protests and fundraising. </p>
<p>The far-right benefited from social media’s tendency to privilege reductionist and simplified narratives. By providing <a href="https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2877">simplified explanations of complex crisis and clear identification of the enemy that caused the crisis conspiratorial messages are more memeable</a> and, therefore, more likely to be popular and viral than any scientific explanations about the virus. </p>
<p>The far-right also capitalized on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/26/facebook-angry-emoji-algorithm/">algorithmic biases that privileges content that evoke emotions</a>. The algorithmic dynamics helped the far-right in propagating <a href="https://carleton.ca/align/wp-content/uploads/Lim_Algorithmic_Enclaves_2020.pdf">the binary populist framework</a> — “we, the people” versus “the corrupt and evil elites,” “bad politicians and leaders” who implemented COVID-19 measures versus “good politicians and leaders” who don’t — to foster and incite rage among discontent Canadians. </p>
<p>This binary logic was powerful not only in fuelling the rage of those who share far-right ideologies, but also in striking a chord with those angriest over COVID-19 restrictions. The pandemic will eventually be over, but the Canadian far-right networks are here to stay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The “freedom convoy” was a culmination of years of persistent mobilization by far-right networks whose growth intensified as they digitally tapped into COVID-19 related grievances.Merlyna Lim, Canada Research Chair in Digital Media & Global Network Society and Founding Director of ALiGN Media Lab, Carleton UniversityBrandon Rigato, PhD Candidate, Communication Studies, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1792622022-04-01T12:46:28Z2022-04-01T12:46:28ZTomorrow’s COVID safety guidelines will be different from today’s – but that doesn’t mean yesterday’s were wrong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455646/original/file-20220331-25-8ir350.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C69%2C3755%2C2224&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">COVID guidelines have changed a lot over the past few years as the pandemic has ebbed and flowed.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakRestaurantsEconomicImpact/97f93c4de7c34ad088b649160b8fc964/photo?Query=mask%20restaurant%20sign&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=120&currentItemNo=15">AP Photo/Jeff Chiu</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>No one gave a second thought to the safety of dining out before the pandemic. Fast-forward to today, and it’s normal to wonder whether there is a city, state or <a href="https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA4099.pdf">federal policy around whether you need a mask or proof of vaccination to eat in a restaurant</a>. The public policies around dining and many other activities have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/10/nyregion/mask-or-vax-rule-covid.html">changed multiple times over the course of the pandemic</a>. These rules are also often <a href="https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/california-nyc-roll-back-covid-mandates-restaurants">different from place to place</a>. For millions of parents like my wife and me, the guidelines regarding children can be especially frustrating, as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html">they seem to change constantly</a>.</p>
<p>I am the former director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Health Policy and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=s7A-LdEAAAAJ">a practicing surgeon</a>. I have followed both the development and rapid implementation of public policy in response to COVID-19, and I, like many people, have struggled to stay up to date. </p>
<p>Typically, meaningful changes to federal health policy happen at a glacial pace. But the modern world has never faced a public health crisis that <a href="https://asm.org/Resource-Pages/COVID-19-Resources">has changed as quickly as the pandemic</a>. The constant back and forth of rules can be frustrating, but policy changes aren’t usually a sign of mistakes. Rather, they show that for the most part, policymakers are getting things right over and over again.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Five different colored spherical coronaviruses representing some of the existing variants." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455296/original/file-20220330-5911-1mygbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Each new variant came with its own set of unique challenges, and policymakers had to respond accordingly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/covid-19-omicron-sign-royalty-free-image/1356934479">Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Rapid changes require rapid responses</h2>
<p>The continued evolution of the coronavirus and resultant public policy changes <a href="https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220318/Characteristics-of-super-spreaders-of-novel-coronaviruses.aspx">don’t look like a normal public health crisis</a>. It’s happening like a hurricane.</p>
<p>The danger of a hurricane depends heavily on the strength and path of the storm, and these things <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-timing-affects-hurricane-evacuation-decisions-40141">can and do change unexpectedly</a>. Government officials use the best evidence available to give general information or orders to take certain precautions, shelter in place or evacuate an area, all within a very narrow window of time. Sometimes evacuation orders for a town or region will be issued, only to have a hurricane strike elsewhere. </p>
<p>This virus has similarly changed – and continues to change – very quickly. In a little over two years, researchers have <a href="https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/">found dozens of COVID-19 variants</a>. Many of these have clinically important <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-new-covid-19-variant-ba-2-and-will-it-cause-another-wave-of-infections-in-the-us-179619">differences in their transmissibility</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/alpha-then-delta-and-now-omicron-6-questions-answered-as-covid-19-cases-once-again-surge-across-the-globe-174703">severity of the illness they cause</a> and the degree to which they are preventable and treatable with existing therapies. </p>
<p>When the coronavirus first emerged, health officials knew very little about it and did not have systems in place to track or predict its behavior; there was a hurricane approaching and the world had neither satellites nor weather models. But as epidemiologists and public health officials gained greater understanding of the virus, they quickly gained the ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03626-1">deploy effective countermeasures</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-07-27/timeline-cdc-mask-guidance-during-covid-19-pandemic">adapt as the virus also changed</a>.</p>
<p>University researchers and the pharmaceutical industry <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24552-4">rapidly developed COVID-19 tests</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-best-mask-for-covid-19-a-mechanical-engineer-explains-the-science-after-2-years-of-testing-masks-in-his-lab-175481">Mask testing</a> began at once. And as soon as scientists mapped the coronavirus’s genome, work began to quickly use existing mRNA vaccine technologies to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02483-w">develop a vaccine in record time</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="President Biden signing a document in the oval office." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455301/original/file-20220330-5642-1q8euqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Presidents Biden and Trump employed executive orders to quickly react to changing conditions of the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Biden50DaysPromises/57d59e31729a438799838fd93c30c9ba/photo?Query=biden%20executive%20order%20covid&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=5&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Evan Vucci</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Public health done fast</h2>
<p>With science and situations on the ground evolving rapidly, policymakers had no choice but to be equally as nimble. This has manifested in two unique ways.</p>
<p>First is the use of executive power. Both Presidents Trump and Biden – as well as a <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/executive-orders/">host of governors</a> from coast to coast – have leveraged executive orders to <a href="https://essentialhospitals.org/covid-19/emergency-declarations-executive-orders/">shorten the time between the development and implementation of policies</a>. Executive orders are also much easier to roll back or reinstate as coronavirus cases ebb and flow over time, and states in particular have relied on the ability to do this.</p>
<p>Second is the fast-tracking of drug and vaccine approvals. The normal <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/types-applications/investigational-new-drug-ind-application">process by which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves new drugs</a> is slow – usually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7472">around a 10-year process</a> or so, depending on the treatment. Drug companies can use the FDA’s emergency use authorization process to speed this up slightly, but not by very much. To shorten this process even more, the FDA created a fast-track program specifically intended to <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/coronavirus-covid-19-drugs/coronavirus-treatment-acceleration-program-ctap">accelerate the approval of treatments and vaccines for COVID-19</a>. As a result, it took <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-emergency-use-authorizations-and-do-they-guarantee-that-a-vaccine-or-drug-is-safe-151178">less than a year for vaccines to get emergency use authorization</a> from the discovery of the coronavirus.</p>
<p>Just as a hurricane response needs to adapt to conditions on the ground and implement the best available information at a moment’s notice, so too has the pandemic response.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of the New York City skyline." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455305/original/file-20220330-5868-1hi72ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Densely populated places like New York City will implement vastly different guidelines on vastly different timelines than rural areas, where the virus spreads very differently.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYC_Downtown_Manhattan_Skyline_seen_from_Paulus_Hook_2019-12-20_IMG_7347_FRD_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:NYC_Downtown_Manhattan_Skyline_seen_from_Paulus_Hook_2019-12-20_IMG_7347_FRD_(cropped).jpg">Fred Hsu via WikimediaCommons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Different places, different policies</h2>
<p>Hurricanes are intensely local and relatively short-lived. The pandemic is like dozens of different hurricanes repeatedly hitting all over the U.S. simultaneously. This has created a complicated web of policy that can and should be different depending on where you are and what bodies govern there.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus">U.S. Congress</a>, <a href="https://www.virginia.gov/coronavirus/">state governors</a>, <a href="https://coronavirus.dc.gov/healthguidance">city mayors</a>, <a href="https://covid19.ca.gov/">departments of health</a> and even <a href="https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Page/66330">local school boards</a> have each needed to develop and implement policies for their own hurricanes at their own levels of control. </p>
<p>Despite its complexity, this approach to public policy is another example of getting it right over and over. New York City public health officials must respond to the unique situation in New York at any given time. These actions may be very different from the issues confronted by the mayor of Barstow, California – a far smaller, far more rural city. Local conditions require local solutions, all of which can evolve over time. This is very different from most other public health problems in the U.S. During flu season, for example, the correct response tends to be relatively similar from place to place.</p>
<h2>Getting it right over and over again</h2>
<p>I and many others have been guilty on occasion of thinking of policymakers as <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/cdc-expected-to-backpedal-on-some-masking-guidelines/">backpedaling when guidance changes back and forth</a> or being inconsistent when <a href="https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/california-nyc-roll-back-covid-mandates-restaurants">one state makes a certain decision while another does something else</a>. But I’ve come to appreciate that that isn’t the correct framing. </p>
<p>As variants emerge, targeted policies to counteract the new reality follow in quick order. Reinstating mask requirements after they have been dropped or recommending additional vaccine doses between waves may seem like 180-degree course corrections. But in reality, these policy changes are the right reactions to the hurricane of COVID-19 that continues on its meandering path across the globe. </p>
<p>When the next change comes, I submit that you shouldn’t be frustrated or angry. Rather, we should all applaud the fact that researchers and public health experts are getting it right over and over again.</p>
<p>[<em>Research into coronavirus and other news from science</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-corona-research">Subscribe to The Conversation’s new science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The constantly changing COVID-19 rules can be frustrating. But this pandemic is like no other public health crisis in history. It is better to think of the virus and US responses the way we think about hurricanes.Michael Williams, Associate Professor of Surgery and Public Policy, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1797982022-03-24T20:00:19Z2022-03-24T20:00:19ZPandemic vaccine passports in Canada: A brief history and potential future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453987/original/file-20220323-17-r3rrfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C184%2C5955%2C4125&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon has his COVID-19 vaccine QR code scanned in September, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/pandemic-vaccine-passports-in-canada--a-brief-history-and-potential-future" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The simple idea of tracking and requiring proof of vaccination created some of the most <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/anti-mandate-protests-cripple-canada-us-trade-1.6345414">disruptive protests</a> in Canadian history, and the declaration of a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-premiers-cabinet-1.6350734">national emergency</a>.</p>
<p>How did this happen? It’s complicated.</p>
<p>It’s easy to forget that, at the outset of the pandemic, the initial lockdowns were extremely harsh and had a severe <a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2021/05/staff-analytical-note-2021-8/">impact on economies</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/11-631-x2021001-eng.htm">people’s lives</a>. In attempts to mitigate these effects while protecting the health of populations, the idea of natural immunity passports was considered. </p>
<p>There were many scientific questions about this approach, including how to determine if someone was infected and how long immunity would last. And there were also <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-pandemic-coronavirus-immunity-passport-1.5551528">important ethical questions</a> to consider, such as creating incentives to be infected and creating a two-tier society.</p>
<p>This idea <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6868198/coronavirus-immunity-passports-canada-trudeau/">didn’t move forward for several reasons</a>, not the least of which was because so few people had evidence of infection, for this approach to have any value.</p>
<h2>Vaccine-induced immunity</h2>
<p>Flash forward to the publication of the Phase 3 studies for the mRNA vaccines. The results were better than many expected: 95 per cent protection against symptomatic infection. The idea of proof of immunity was revisited, but this time it was <a href="https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-news/speeches/2021/s-d_20210519/">vaccine-induced immunity</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People carrying signs reading 'No more tax pass' and 'Make Canada free again' in front of a parked trucks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453984/original/file-20220323-27-1as5ekg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protests against vaccine mandates led to a state of emergency in Ontario in February.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the argument against it now was that if the vaccine was that effective, individuals <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2021/09/covid-19-the-unvaccinated-pose-a-risk-to-the-vaccinated/">wouldn’t need others to be vaccinated, if they were vaccinated themselves</a>. Also, based on the transmission rate of the original strain of the virus, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00728-2">herd immunity threshold was in the 60-70 per cent range</a>, which was potentially achievable through voluntary programs. </p>
<p>The Delta variant changed this calculus and became the poster child for vaccine passports. Vaccine <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1960">effectiveness dropped</a> to the 70 per cent range against infection, and the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/covid-19-unvaccinated-final-push-herd-immunity-delta-1.6113769">herd immunity threshold increased to 90 per cent range</a>, a target that would be challenging without mandates of some sort. Furthermore, the Delta variant was causing serious illness in broader segments of the population and hospitals. In particular, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.211248">intensive care units</a> were being overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Reluctant Conservative governments had no choice but to <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/hit-a-wall-kenney-relents-on-vaccine-passports-to-mitigate-alberta-hospitals-grave-collapse">acquiesce to vaccine passports</a>. When a federal election was called, this was a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/vaccine-passport-king-vaughan-the-house-1.6180018">key platform issue</a> of the Liberal party. </p>
<p>As a physician innovator in <a href="https://www.canimmunize.ca/en/about">digital immunization records</a> with expertise in <a href="https://www.ottawahealthlaw.ca/faculty">health law, policy and ethics</a>, I understood the challenges in balancing public health benefits with individuals rights and freedoms. </p>
<p>At that time, my thoughts were that the reason to have mandates was primarily for settings in which the virus could spread easily. During the Delta wave, stories of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7921830/ontario-covid-peel-region-delta-variant/">vulnerable essential workers</a> contracting the virus in warehouses and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7754875/cargill-london-ont-covid-19-outbreak/">meat packing plants</a> and spreading it to their families who fell seriously ill, were terrible. </p>
<p>In my mind, you simply could not allow individuals to go to these high-risk settings unvaccinated. However, the <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1000750/ontario-makes-covid-19-vaccination-policies-mandatory-for-high-risk-settings">broader application of the policy</a> also resulted in increased vaccination rates, and helped control the Delta wave.</p>
<h2>The spread of Omicron</h2>
<p>The Omicron wave changed the story again. Omicron was milder, but more infectious. But more importantly, two doses of vaccine provided <a href="http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2119451">minimal protection against infection</a>, although it did <a href="https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/omicron-and-vaccines-your-questions-answered">protect against serious illness and death</a>. </p>
<p>The rationale for vaccine passports was now different. Herd immunity through vaccination alone was unattainable. If the goal was to prevent transmission to others, any mandate should be three vaccines which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00214-3">provide 60-70 per cent protection against infection</a>. However, if the goal is to protect against serious illness then two doses provided reasonable protection, although this would be improved with a booster. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a mask uses a smartphone to scan another smartphone held by a woman in a mask" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453988/original/file-20220323-25-djwvbo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A customer has their proof of vaccination scanned entering a restaurant in Montréal in September, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And here is where it gets complicated. People not wishing to be vaccinated could argue that an unvaccinated person was no more likely to become infected by Omicron than a two-dose vaccinated person. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, our fragile health-care system complicates this decision. Individuals getting seriously ill place strains on hospitals, health-care workers and have spillover effects, including the cancellation of medical procedures. And, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-ontario-province-announces-curbs-prevent-spread-omicron-tsunami-2022-01-03/">as we saw with the “mild” Omicron wave</a>, this triggers a lockdown which affects all of us.</p>
<h2>Future policy</h2>
<p>So where do we go from here? I think we will end on a middle ground for a potentially endemic virus. This could mean a policy <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.202755">already in use for health-care workers</a> and the influenza vaccine: You don’t neccesarily have to be vaccinated, but if there are cases at work or at school, you and your child will be asked to stay home for your own protection. This may vary based on the risk to your demographic. Proof of previous infection may be also considered in these policies. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canada-vaccine-mandate-passport-covid-19-omicron-boosters-1.6349038">Vaccine passports did work</a>. They increased vaccination rates, saved countless lives and reduced the duration of lockdowns, preserving parts of the economy.</p>
<p>But, as we have seen, these policies are highly divisive and are impacted by the changing science of the pandemic, which will require more targeted and adaptable approaches moving forward. And importantly, the messaging around these policies will need to change from penalizing the sub-optimally vaccinated to protecting them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kumanan Wilson is the Chief Executive Officer of CANImmunize Inc. Dr Wilson served as a member of the independent data monitoring committee for the Medicago COVID-19 vaccine trial. Dr Wilson has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Immunity Task Force, the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr Wilson is an internal medicial physician at The Ottawa Hospital, Professor of Medicine and Chair in Digital Health Innovation at the University of Ottawa, an innovation advisor at Bruyere Hospital and CEO of CANImmunize Inc. He is a member of the University of Ottawa Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics.</span></em></p>Vaccine passports became one of the most divisive issues of the COVID-19 pandemic. These policies were affected not only by public opinion but by new variants and changing goals for herd immunity.Kumanan Wilson, Professor of Medicine, physician, scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1797462022-03-22T23:23:45Z2022-03-22T23:23:45ZAs New Zealand relaxes restrictions, here’s what we can still do to limit COVID infections<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453703/original/file-20220322-21-mfo752.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C138%2C4007%2C2879&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Phil Walter/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealanders are about to enjoy cautiously relaxed COVID restrictions under the country’s <a href="https://covid19.govt.nz/traffic-lights/covid-19-protection-framework/">COVID-19 Protection Framework</a>, starting from this weekend.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the relaxations today, signalling the end “for now” of vaccine passes, QR codes and vaccine mandates in the education, police and defence sectors from April 4. </p>
<p>Mandates will still apply for health, aged-care, corrections and border control workers, pending more official advice. Settings within the traffic light system have also been revised, but the country remains at the red level and indoor mask use is still required.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s vaccine pass system was designed when we were in the middle of the vaccine rollout, only about one in 400 New Zealanders had had COVID-19, and nobody had even heard of Omicron. </p>
<p>At that time, unvaccinated people had a <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-unvaccinated-friend-is-roughly-20-times-more-likely-to-give-you-covid-170448">much higher risk</a> of catching the virus and spreading it to others. </p>
<p>For this reason, vaccine passes were an important part of safely relaxing the Auckland lockdown. They helped us enjoy a summer with very low case numbers and minimal restrictions. Crucially, this meant we avoided the dual Delta-Omicron epidemic that significantly added to the health burden in places such as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/explained/127440590/covid19-the-nsw-omicron-outbreak-is-not-what-you-think">New South Wales</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1506392989945368580"}"></div></p>
<p>The situation we face today is very different. Vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe illness but aren’t as good at stopping people catching Omicron. And the protection they do provide against infection wanes fairly quickly. </p>
<p>At the same time, increasing numbers of people have some temporary immunity as a result of having had the virus. This means vaccine passes are far less effective as a public health intervention now than they were a few months ago. </p>
<p>But as vaccine passes are phased out, it is important to consider what measures we can use to reduce transmission.</p>
<h2>Vaccines still work</h2>
<p>Vaccines are still highly effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19. Like New Zealand, Hong Kong is now experiencing a major Omicron wave after initially following an elimination strategy. But in the last two months, Hong Kong has had close to 4,000 deaths per five million people compared to New Zealand’s 130. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1503420660869214213"}"></div></p>
<p>Why such a big difference? Vaccines. Hong Kong has much <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6e610cac-400b-4843-a07b-7d870e8635a3">lower vaccine coverage in older groups</a> than New Zealand does. </p>
<p>But it’s clear vaccines are less effective at preventing infection with Omicron. The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1061532/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_11.pdf">UK Health Security Agency</a> estimates the effectiveness of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine against symptomatic COVID-19 drops to just 10% after about 25 weeks following the second dose. This jumps to 65% after a booster but also wanes quite quickly to around 40% 15 weeks later.</p>
<p>The proportion of unvaccinated people testing positive is <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/tracking-omicron-in-new-zealand-latest-charts-and-data">not that different</a> from fully vaccinated people. So if you go to a cafe, a hairdressers or a bar, whether or not there are unvaccinated people there makes little difference to your risk of catching the virus.</p>
<p>Other risk factors are more important: are people wearing masks, is it crowded, is the venue well ventilated or outdoors, are people staying away if they have symptoms? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-covid-patients-in-nzs-omicron-outbreak-are-vaccinated-but-thats-no-reason-to-doubt-vaccine-benefits-179648">Most COVID patients in NZ's Omicron outbreak are vaccinated, but that's no reason to doubt vaccine benefits</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We still need public health measures to mitigate COVID</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-be-truly-ethical-vaccine-mandates-must-be-about-more-than-just-lifting-jab-rates-169612">limitations</a> the vaccine pass system has placed on people’s freedoms are much harder to justify now. But that doesn’t mean we can end all vaccination requirements or remove all public health measures.</p>
<p>COVID-19 is an airborne disease but a comparison with diseases spread through contaminated water is useful. The spread of cholera from contaminated water is one of the earliest examples of an <a href="https://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/snowcricketarticle.html">effective public health response</a> to an infectious disease. </p>
<p>The first response was a “boil water” notice, the equivalent of mask wearing to prevent the spread of infections. Longer-term measures involve systemic changes, such as infrastructure for clean water or, in the case of COVID, infrastructure for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-study-shows-ventilation-can-cut-school-covid-cases-by-82-2022-03-22/">clean air</a> through ventilation and filtration. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-catching-omicron-is-not-inevitable-heres-why-we-should-all-still-avoid-the-virus-178276">No, catching Omicron is not 'inevitable' – here's why we should all still avoid the virus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The time to remove boil-water notices is not when case numbers are peaking, or even when they are back at half of their peak level. It is when there are sufficient systemic changes in place to keep people safe.</p>
<p>Similarly, isolation periods are intended to stop people from infecting others. For Omicron, studies suggest half of all cases were still <a href="https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/37370587">infectious on day five</a> and the infectious period may be as long as ten days. Given wider availability of rapid antigen tests, we could introduce a test-to-return policy to require a negative test before people leave isolation. </p>
<h2>Some vaccine mandates remain</h2>
<p>People working in specific high-risk situations, like healthcare and aged residential care, will still be required to be up to date with their vaccinations to protect the vulnerable people they work with. </p>
<p>We are currently in the middle of a major Omicron wave, with hospitalisations and deaths at record levels. At least as many people will get infected on the way down from the peak as on the way up. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/evidence-supports-mandatory-covid-vaccination-for-aged-care-workers-but-we-need-to-make-it-easier-too-163569">Evidence supports mandatory COVID vaccination for aged-care workers. But we need to make it easier too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And even when this wave subsides, COVID-19 isn’t going to go away. It’s likely we will continue to see daily case numbers in the thousands for some time. Added to other respiratory illnesses like influenza and RSV, this could cause significant strain on healthcare over the winter months. </p>
<p>Altogether, this means we still need <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/covid-19-hospitalisations-now-peaking-in-aotearoa-nz-but-key-covid-19-control-measures-still-need-to-be-maintained/">a set of sustainable mitigations</a> to reduce transmission and the health impacts of the virus. This includes strategies to address <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300482666/government-breached-treaty-principles-in-covid19-response-waitangi-tribunal-finds">vaccine inequity</a> and increase booster uptake, mask use when cases are high, better ventilation and adequate financial support for people to take time off work when they are sick. </p>
<p>COVID vaccine passes have outlived their usefulness at least for now. But COVID-19 is going to be with us for the forseeable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179746/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Plank is affiliated with the University of Canterbury and is funded by the New Zealand Government for mathematical modelling of Covid-19.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dion O'Neale receives funding from the NZ Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for providing modelling and analysis related to COVID-19 and from the NZ Health Research Council for research on modeling and equity impacts of COVID-19 in Aotearoa. He is affiliated with COVID Modelling Aotearoa, The University of Auckland, and Te Pūnaha Matatini. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Harvey receives funding from the NZ Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for providing modelling and analysis related to COVID-19 and from the NZ Health Research Council for research on modeling and equity impacts of COVID-19 in Aotearoa. She is affiliated with COVID-19 Modelling Aotearoa, ME Research, Te Pūnaha Matatini, and the University of Auckland.</span></em></p>Vaccine passes have outlived their usefulness, at least for now. But as New Zealand’s Omicron wave begins to subside, other public health measures remain vitally important.Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of CanterburyDion O'Neale, Project Lead - COVID Modeling Aotearoa; Senior Lecturer - Department of Physics, University of Auckland; Principal Investigator - Te Pūnaha Matatini, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauEmily Harvey, Principal Investigator, Te Pūnaha Matatini, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1797512022-03-22T17:59:28Z2022-03-22T17:59:28ZThe parliament occupation is over – now New Zealand needs new laws to protect the ‘epicentre of its democracy’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453469/original/file-20220322-21-s8is0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C8%2C5359%2C3573&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand is no stranger to protest, or protest violence. But what happened in the grounds of parliament over 23 days in February and March was unique – and, in the end, extreme.</p>
<p>A country that grinds its teeth at unruly <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2011/0061/latest/DLM3742849.html">freedom camping</a> by tourists ended up with an unapproved campsite in one of the least appropriate places imaginable. And it <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/462610/parliament-grounds-reclaimed-police-operation-ends-23-day-protest">ended violently</a>.</p>
<p>How the government and parliament responds to what happened is important for both the future of legitimate protests and for the security of parliament itself.</p>
<p>A review of security arrangements <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/462630/overall-security-arrangements-for-parliament-to-be-reviewed-following-anti-mandate-protest-deputy-prime-minister-grant-robertson">for parliament</a> has already been signalled, but the nature and funding of the protest itself also demands scrutiny. Overall, it may be that a law change, specific to the parliamentary precinct, is needed.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1505780022828699656"}"></div></p>
<h2>Keeping the grounds open</h2>
<p>There is no specific legal right to protest. Rather, it is a manifestation of the wider rights to freedom of movement, <a href="https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/DLM225516.html">association</a> and <a href="https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/DLM225515.html">peaceful assembly</a>. Internationally, these are protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its related framework of human rights treaties, and domestically by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-pretty-communist-to-jabcinda-whats-behind-the-vitriol-directed-at-jacinda-ardern-179094">From ‘pretty communist’ to ‘Jabcinda’ – what’s behind the vitriol directed at Jacinda Ardern?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In practice, the right to protest is evident in the country’s history. Events that shaped generations and made New Zealand one of the freest and most liberal democracies occurred outside on the parliamentary grounds as much as within the legislative chamber.</p>
<p>From women’s rights and redress for injustices done to Māori, to workers’ rights and foreign policy reform, parliament grounds have been a forum for dissent. Indeed, if there was room for another sculpture in the grounds, it should be of ordinary people delivering a petition to lawmakers.</p>
<p>Keeping the grounds as open and unfenced as possible is therefore critical. A new, bespoke law for the parliamentary precinct – including clear pathways for lawful and orderly protest – should be created.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453470/original/file-20220322-25-a2jxq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parliament grounds are undergoing repairs after damage caused during the 23-day occupation by anti-government protesters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Rules with consequences</h2>
<p>It’s important to remember that the right to protest is not absolute. There is no right to violent or unlawful protest. But while existing laws for prosecuting lawbreakers are adequate, there are clear gaps.</p>
<p>Firstly, New Zealand has more laws about <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1981/0047/latest/DLM52211.html">respecting the flag</a> than about protecting the epicentre of its democracy. Even at a symbolic level, this needs to change.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-extremism-visible-at-the-parliament-protest-has-been-growing-in-nz-for-years-is-enough-being-done-177831">The extremism visible at the parliament protest has been growing in NZ for years – is enough being done?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A starting point would be to place parliament alongside Te Pitowhenua, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as a <a href="https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/national-historic-landmarks">national historic landmark</a>. Citizens should be encouraged to look at the capital of the nation’s political and legal history with the same respect.</p>
<p>Currently, parliament grounds are <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2000/0017/latest/DLM56307.html">vested in the Queen</a> under the effective control of the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2000/0017/latest/DLM56310.html">Speaker of the House</a>, whose job it is to allow and moderate protests. The rules prohibit a variety of actions, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>damaging lawns and flower beds</p></li>
<li><p>interfering with traffic flows and driving onto the grounds</p></li>
<li><p>mounting the main steps of parliament or interfering with the use of parliament buildings</p></li>
<li><p>excessive amplified sound and erecting structures such as tents</p></li>
<li><p>general breaches of the peace and protests lasting more than eight hours or into the night.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>To enforce the rules, the speaker can issue a notice under the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1980/0065/latest/DLM36927.html">Trespass Act</a>. But the ineffectual nature of these powers was laid bare during the occupation, with protesters largely indifferent to the weak penalties.</p>
<p>Any new law specific to the parliamentary precinct should uphold the existing right and ability to lawfully and peacefully protest, but increase the penalties for non-compliance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453471/original/file-20220322-19-gcladc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Riot police move in to end the occupation of parliament’s grounds and surrounding streets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Funding and foreign interference</h2>
<p>Beyond the behaviour of protesters, their ideological origins and funding need to be better understood. Similar “anti-mandate” protests elsewhere are suspected of having received <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/14/foreign-money-funding-extremism-in-canada-says-hacker">foreign funding</a>. Did this happen in New Zealand?</p>
<p>It’s an important and difficult question. The flow of charitable support across borders for lawful purposes is a good thing. But charitable or other financial support may not always be benign.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-protesters-demanding-freedom-from-covid-restrictions-ignore-the-way-liberty-really-works-178287">How protesters demanding ‘freedom’ from COVID restrictions ignore the way liberty really works</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are already <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-ban-foreign-donations">laws</a> to protect New Zealand elections from foreign interference by banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates. That concern needs to extend to foreign interests trying to foster lawless or extremist behaviour within New Zealand protest movements.</p>
<p>Such transparency will necessarily involve examining the events at Parliament (and other protest locations) as a starting point, to see whether groups and individuals, either here and/or overseas, attempted to “<a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/1.0/DLM328549.html">incite, procure, or encourage violence, lawlessness, or disorder</a>” under the Crimes Act, or breached <a href="https://www.bsa.govt.nz/">broadcasting</a> standards and <a href="https://www.asa.co.nz/">advertising</a> codes. There are also civil law questions, such as whether there was any <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0039/latest/DLM345050.html">wrongdoing by registered charities</a>.</p>
<p>And beyond the legal considerations, there is the vexed question of how <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/02/27/experts-want-more-digital-regulation-as-misinformation-grows/">misinformation has spread</a> as fast as the COVID virus itself.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protesting-during-a-pandemic-new-zealands-balancing-act-between-a-long-tradition-of-protests-and-covid-rules-171104">Protesting during a pandemic: New Zealand's balancing act between a long tradition of protests and COVID rules</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Defending dissent</h2>
<p>None of this is simple. And in the past, New Zealand has sometimes responded to protest or dissent heavy-handedly – for example after the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/psca193222gv1932n3363/">hunger marches in 1932</a> and the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/num_reg/wser1951422/">waterfront lockout</a> of 1951.</p>
<p>At other times, wiser counsel prevailed when it came to mending the fabric of society. An example of this was the creation of <a href="https://www.ipca.govt.nz/">Independent Police Conduct Authority</a> in the decade after the 1981 Springbok tour protests.</p>
<p>The challenge for lawmakers this time is to reach for deeper solutions that address the importance of protest, but also the problem of how poorly the epicentre of our democracy was respected and defended. At the same time, understanding how this protest was different will be important.</p>
<p>Clamping down on future protests is not the answer. Equally, preventing another episode such as the country has just witnessed is urgent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealand has more laws about respecting the flag than about protecting parliament and its grounds. The 23-day occupation in Wellington showed how much needs to change.Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoClaire Breen, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1782872022-03-04T00:27:17Z2022-03-04T00:27:17ZHow protesters demanding ‘freedom’ from COVID restrictions ignore the way liberty really works<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449645/original/file-20220302-15-1kiwk0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5422%2C3530&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Like the many similar movements against vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions around the world, New Zealand’s protests have expressed a unifying concern with personal freedoms.</p>
<p>One of the highest-profile groups at the occupation of parliament grounds in Wellington was “Voices for Freedom”. The occupation itself began with a “freedom convoy”, and many of the signs and placards around the makeshift camp made “freedom” their focus.</p>
<p>And while that particular protest <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/02/parliament-grounds-closed-after-protest-comes-to-violent-end/">ended in chaos</a>, it seems likely the various movements behind it will continue to make “freedom” their rallying cry.</p>
<p>The extent to which personal freedoms are limited as part of living in a functioning society is ultimately a moral concern about the role of government. But this also requires a clear understanding of the nature of freedom in the first place, and what it means to be a free person in a free society. </p>
<p>At the heart of this lies the distinction between a narrow conception of freedom known as “negative liberty” and the wider concept of “positive liberty”. The former, seemingly preferred by the protesters, implies a freedom <em>from</em> imposed restrictions on people’s behaviour – such as lockdowns and vaccine passes or mandates. </p>
<p>The counter-argument is that reasonable restrictions, if justified to prevent significant harm from COVID-19, actually increase overall freedom. In that sense, the freedom <em>to</em> behave in certain ways becomes a “positive liberty”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449646/original/file-20220302-30478-1duhy1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Negative liberty: a sign erected by protesters camped outside parliament buildings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Understanding liberty</h2>
<p>Drawing on a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-lockdowns-dont-necessarily-infringe-on-freedom-149205">long intellectual tradition</a>, the philosopher Isaiah Berlin defined the two forms of liberty in an <a href="https://berlin.wolf.ox.ac.uk/published_works/tcl/tcl-a.pdf">influential 1958 lecture</a> at Oxford University. </p>
<p>Negative liberty, he said, means the absence of external obstacles or constraints, such as coercive interference by governments. </p>
<p>By contrast, positive liberty means the ability to do the things you want to do. It is associated with self-realisation or self-determination – being in control of one’s own destiny. The protest slogan “my body, my choice”, for instance, is an appeal to individual negative liberty – freedom from mandates and restrictions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-rights-of-children-at-the-parliament-protest-and-who-protects-them-177356">What are the rights of children at the parliament protest – and who protects them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But it’s not possible to simultaneously maximise both negative and positive liberty. There are inevitably trade-offs. If the protesters had their way, New Zealanders would have more negative liberty but less positive liberty. Overall, we argue, people would be less free.</p>
<p>Nearly all laws restrict negative liberty, but their effect on positive liberty varies dramatically. For example, laws prohibiting theft restrict negative liberty — they restrict people’s freedom to steal with impunity. </p>
<p>But do such restrictions make you feel un-free? Quite the contrary, laws against theft increase positive liberty. They allow us to feel more secure, and because we don’t have to keep a constant eye on our property, we can do other things.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449657/original/file-20220302-23-11ocsmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Positive and negative liberty: Isaiah Berlin (standing) at a music festival in Britain in 1959.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Justified limits on liberty</h2>
<p>Thinking of freedom only through a lens of negative liberty involves a critical problem – it ignores the fact that our actions affect other people: the freedom to drink and drive restricts other people’s ability to use the streets safely; the freedom to smoke in public places exposes others to the potential harms of secondhand fumes. </p>
<p>In general, the choices we make – even concerning our own bodies and what we choose to consume – have moral implications for how and where we can participate in society. Giving people freedom to visit certain places while unvaccinated against COVID-19 <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10730-013-9221-5">restricts other people’s ability</a> to visit those places safely.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-freedom-convoy-reveals-about-the-ties-among-politics-police-and-the-law-176680">What the 'freedom convoy' reveals about the ties among politics, police and the law</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Vaccinated New Zealanders currently enjoy high levels of positive liberty. Life is nearly normal. Crucially, though, this freedom depends on policies designed to reduce the threat of the disease – high rates of vaccination, vaccine certificates and mandates for certain key roles, masks and temporary restrictions on large gatherings to reduce the spread.</p>
<p>Such policies constitute a slight loss of negative liberty. Without these policies, however, positive liberty would be much reduced. New Zealanders could not visit places like gyms, pools, restaurants and shops without fear of catching a potentially deadly disease. </p>
<p>New Zealand has <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freedom-index-by-country">enjoyed more freedom</a> over the past two years than nearly anywhere else, but it has only been possible through restrictions on negative liberty to reduce the risk of COVID-19.</p>
<h2>Restriction and risk</h2>
<p>Isaiah Berlin was rightly concerned about the potential slippery slope towards totalitarian control inherent in <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/#ParPosLib">appeals to positive freedom</a>, as witnessed in the USSR where severe restrictions on speech, movement, assembly, literary expression and much else were imposed in the name of “freedom” (namely the freedom to be a good Soviet).</p>
<p>But slippery slopes can be resisted and the risk here seems slight. For COVID policies that restrict negative liberty to enhance overall freedom, they must be necessary to promote positive liberty, responsive to the evidence, and proportional to the threat. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vaccine-mandates-for-nzs-health-and-education-workers-are-now-in-force-but-has-the-law-got-the-balance-right-171392">Vaccine mandates for NZ’s health and education workers are now in force – but has the law got the balance right?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One sign we are not on a slippery slope to totalitarianism: COVID restrictions change with, and are proportional to, the risk. Last year, when New Zealand had zero COVID-19 cases, lockdowns ended and restrictions were few; when the threat increased, restrictions did, proportionally.</p>
<p>Restrictions on negative liberty should be adopted with care and subject to continual review. All citizens, protesters included, are right to value freedom and to be wary of heavy-handed, top-down control. </p>
<p>But that is not the same as calling for an end to COVID-19 rules because such rules limit freedom. A clearer understanding of positive liberty allows us to see that restrictions designed to protect us from COVID-19 actually enhance our overall freedom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178287/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a difference between ‘negative liberty’ and ‘positive liberty’. Real freedom involves unavoidable trade-offs between the two.Andrew Vonasch, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of CanterburyMichael-John Turp, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1774392022-03-02T19:07:11Z2022-03-02T19:07:11ZNo, you cannot ‘devaccinate’ yourself with snake venom kits, bleach or cupping<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449381/original/file-20220302-13-rbog2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C7%2C997%2C658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/buren-netherlands-march-25-2020-sawyer-1694029711">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Claims you can “devaccinate” yourself have been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/bleach-among-grim-devaccination-procudres-hyped-conspiracy-theorists-2021-11">circulating on social media</a>, another example of extreme and dangerous misinformation about COVID vaccines.</p>
<p>Methods said to remove COVID vaccines from the body include using snake venom extractors or a type of traditional therapy known as “wet cupping”.</p>
<p>If you encounter claims like this online, you need to ask yourself four questions, to figure out whether these claims really are too good to be true.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-want-to-use-bleach-and-antiseptic-for-covid-and-are-calling-us-for-advice-168660">People want to use bleach and antiseptic for COVID and are calling us for advice</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cupping</h2>
<p>Misinformation circulating on Instagram and other social media includes a video of someone using cupping therapy, suggesting this removes or sucks out the COVID vaccine.</p>
<p>The video shows someone cutting the skin, before applying a cup over the cuts to create suction – a type of therapy known as “wet cupping”. </p>
<p>Cupping has been used for thousands of years, mostly in traditional Chinese medicine. Practitioners believe this eases pain or promotes healing by drawing fluid towards the treated area and improve the flow of energy. However, there are few high-quality studies to support its effectiveness.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cups on someone's back as part of cupping therapy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449383/original/file-20220302-17-qxgdh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cupping therapy is said to ease pain or promote healing by drawing fluid towards the treated area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/detail-woman-therapist-hands-giving-cupping-1551105344">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why this doesn’t remove vaccine</h2>
<p>Cupping usually affects only the superficial layers of the skin. COVID vaccines are generally deeper, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-get-shots-in-the-arm-its-all-about-the-muscle-161259">injected into muscle</a>. </p>
<p>After injection, vaccines train the body’s immune system to fight SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/approved-vaccines/how-they-work">They do this</a> by either presenting a weakened or inactivated part of the virus (the spike protein antigen) to the immune system, or by delivering the instructions for the body to make these antigens.</p>
<p>It’s important to note, this period of “training” is very short, and once the body has learnt how to respond, the vaccines are cleared from your body in mere days or weeks. </p>
<p>That’s because after the vaccine has primed the immune system, the body <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-covid-vaccines-dont-stay-in-your-body-for-years-169247">breaks down these components naturally</a>, just as it does with other genetic fragments, proteins and fats.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-covid-vaccines-dont-stay-in-your-body-for-years-169247">No, COVID vaccines don't stay in your body for years</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Snake venom kits</h2>
<p>Others have tried to devaccinate using venom extraction kits. These kits include a plunger-type device you place over a snakebite, which is supposed to suck out venom. </p>
<p>Again, venom extractors will not remove the antigen in COVID vaccines, for the same reasons we’ve already described.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447467/original/file-20220221-27-1rcl22b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Venom extractors don’t remove enough snake venom, let alone COVID vaccine (Author supplied).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They also <a href="https://doctorross.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/bush-sp-snakebite-suction-devices-suck-emerg-med-clin-n-am.pdf">cannot remove</a> enough venom to prevent serious systemic (widespread) effects of a snakebite. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14747805/">One study</a> found the kit only removed 0.04% of the total load of venom, and ended up just removing body fluid.
Critically, they can destroy tissue around the site of the snakebite. </p>
<h2>We all play a part</h2>
<p>Information about devaccination continues to circulate on some platforms, such as BitChute and Telegram.</p>
<p>If you come across someone selling a wonder cure or drug online – whether that’s related to COVID or some other illness – here are <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-to-spot-online-misinformation-132246">some tips for thinking</a> about what you see: </p>
<p><strong>1. Is it hard to believe?</strong> </p>
<p>When you see something posted that looks sensational, it is even more important to be sceptical. </p>
<p>In a popular TikTok video, an osteopathic physician, who <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/madej-madness">no longer practices</a>, suggests people “detox” by take a bath in baking soda, epsom salt and borax to get rid of “radiation, poisons and nanotechnologies”.</p>
<p>She says people need to detox because COVID vaccines have “RNA-Modifying Transhumanism-Nano-Technology”, and “the people pushing these injections want to change what it is to be human”. </p>
<p>She <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/madej-madness">also claims</a> to have identified a jellyfish-like tiny invertebrate called “Hydra Vulgaris” that can:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>multiply and form independent neural networks inside those who have received COVID-19 vaccines and could ultimately influence their thoughts and actions.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Jellyfish" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449386/original/file-20220302-13-1x1nah0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Now, we have to worry about jellyfish controlling our minds?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/jellyfish-439825462">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even though sometimes we want to believe that someone has found the cure or answer to a question we are seeking, go with your gut reaction. If it sounds ridiculous, it probably is. If you are unsure whether the information is legitimate, talk to a family member, friend or your GP.</p>
<p><strong>2. Have you checked the facts?</strong></p>
<p>If a resource is provided in another language, how can you be sure what it says?</p>
<p>Using the cupping video as an example, Stephen Dickey, a professor of Slavic languages and literature at the University of Kansas, identified the dialogue in the video as Russian. But he <a href="https://checkyourfact.com/2021/09/29/fact-check-video-doctor-removing-covid-vaccine-cupping/">said</a> “there was no mention of the vaccine” and “there is no mention at all of exactly what is being extracted”.</p>
<p>When reviewing the resource, do you know who the author is and does that author specialise in the field the article is concerned with? Check LinkedIn or do a quick Google search to see if the author can speak about the subject with authority and accuracy. </p>
<p><strong>3. Is there a hidden agenda?</strong></p>
<p>Have you considered whether the person or organisation attempting to sell you a new drug or treatment has a hidden agenda? This can be increasing their reach on social media or making money. </p>
<p>For example, American “archbishop” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/11/coronavirus-miracle-cure-bleach-covid-mark-grenon">Mark Grenon and his sons</a> are reported to have sold more than <a href="https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/us-family-charged-for-selling-bleach-as-miracle-remedy-for-covid19-out-of-florida-church/news-story/557e1e318f202f647b9938ca423510d9">US$1 million</a> of their bleach-type “Miracle Mineral Solution”. They said it was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/florida-family-indicted-selling-toxic-bleach-fake-miracle-cure-covid-19-and-other">a cure for</a> COVID, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson’s, herpes, HIV/AIDS and other serious medical conditions.</p>
<p><strong>4. What’s the source?</strong></p>
<p>When an article cites sources, it’s good to check them out. The post about the snakebite kit included references to three published papers. These were dated 1979-1992, decades before COVID.</p>
<p>It’s also important to look at the topic of the cited paper. In the case of the 1979 paper, this looked at measures for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673679905804">a particular type of snakebite</a>, which included examining the effects of applying firm crepe bandages on monkeys. There was no mention of the use of snake venom removal kits or COVID. </p>
<p>So, when you come across any videos or social media posts about fantastical new drugs or treatments that promise otherwise impossible cures or outcomes, it is important to <a href="https://utopia.ut.edu/FakeNews/factcheck">always think</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If what you’re reading seems too good to be true, or too weird, or too reactionary, it probably is.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177439/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Seale is an investigator on research studies funded by NHMRC and has previously received funding for investigator driven research from NSW Ministry of Health, as well as from Sanofi Pasteur and Seqirus. She is the Deputy Chair of the Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margie Danchin receives funding from the Commonwealth and State government, NHMRC, DFAT and WHO. She is chair, Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation (COSSI). </span></em></p>If what you’re reading seems too good to be true, it probably is.Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW SydneyMargie Danchin, Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1771342022-02-27T23:11:12Z2022-02-27T23:11:12ZTwo years on from the first COVID case, New Zealand’s successful pandemic response still faces major challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448758/original/file-20220227-32564-1ai6b20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C165%2C5207%2C3287&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fiona Goodall/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two years ago today, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in Aotearoa New Zealand. Few of us could have imagined the huge impact this pandemic would still be having two years later.</p>
<p>As New Zealand enters its third year of the pandemic, we are facing widespread community transmission as an epidemic wave of the Omicron variant sweeps across the country. A majority of New Zealanders <a href="https://cpb-ap-se2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.auckland.ac.nz/dist/c/828/files/2021/07/omicron-preliminary.pdf">may become infected</a> in coming months, but many with few or no symptoms. </p>
<p>Australian experience suggests we might see a peak of around <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/covid-19-hospitalisation-peaks-in-australian-states-since-omicron-emerged-potential-relevance-to-aotearoa-nz/">1,100 people with COVID-19 in hospitals</a> during March and April.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1485315114333274114"}"></div></p>
<p>We have previously written about the challenges apparent after <a href="https://theconversation.com/6-months-after-new-zealands-first-covid-19-case-its-time-for-a-more-strategic-approach-144936">six months</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-year-on-from-the-arrival-of-covid-19-in-nz-5-lessons-for-2021-and-beyond-155367">one year</a> of the pandemic. Today, we examine what we’ve learned — the major challenges that have persisted or emerged and how New Zealand can manage them to achieve the best possible outcomes.</p>
<h2>Shifting strategies</h2>
<p>New Zealand has demonstrated the benefits of a science-informed response with a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4907">strong strategic focus</a>. During the first year of the pandemic when there were no vaccines available, the <a href="https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/new-zealands-elimination-strategy-for-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-what-is-required-to-make-it-work">elimination strategy</a> protected people and the economy. </p>
<p>Following the emergence of the Delta variant, <a href="https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/the-next-phase-in-aotearoa-new-zealands-covid-19-response-tight-suppression-may-be-optimal-for-health-equity-and-wellbeing-in-the-months-ahead">tight suppression</a> was also highly effective. Now, with the growing surge driven by the Omicron variant, New Zealand has been forced to shift to a <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/preparing-for-omicron-a-proactive-government-response-is-urgently-needed-to-minimise-harms/">mitigation strategy</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nzs-confirmed-covid-case-numbers-are-rising-fast-but-total-infections-are-likely-much-higher-heres-why-177901">NZ's confirmed COVID case numbers are rising fast, but total infections are likely much higher – here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>New Zealand’s strategic approach has supported the country in achieving some of the world’s <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/mortality-declines-in-aotearoa-nz-during-the-first-two-years-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/">lowest COVID-19 mortality rates and increased life expectancy</a>. New Zealand has also had a relatively small amount of time in lockdown and comparatively <a href="https://www.oecd.org/economy/new-zealand-economic-snapshot/">good economic performance</a>.</p>
<p>To achieve these successes, New Zealand has had to deliver major public health interventions very rapidly and their limitations have become apparent over time. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1496743964707196935"}"></div></p>
<p>Border quarantine is <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/7/failures-quarantine-systems-preventing-covid-19-outbreaks-australia-and-new">difficult to maintain</a> if not done well and creates <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/its-a-case-of-wait-and-see-grounded-kiwis-wrap-up-two-day-bid-for-judicial-review/X43JEMEEEL47I7JBPHTZIBJPFI/">severe consequences for some</a>. The vaccine rollout has been <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o180">highly inequitable</a>. Mandates for vaccine and mask use have been divisive and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/09/lets-remember-why-we-are-here-new-zealand-anti-vax-protest-splinters-into-jibes-and-jabs">sometimes vigorously opposed</a> by a vocal minority.</p>
<h2>Challenges and opportunities ahead</h2>
<p>The experience of the last two years highlights five major opportunities to enhance New Zealand’s pandemic response and achieve lasting benefits for our ability to manage other major public health threats.</p>
<p><strong>1. Taking a precautionary approach in the face of uncertainty</strong></p>
<p>Possibly the biggest challenge has been the changing nature of the pandemic threat itself. The virus <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03792-w">continues to evolve</a> and new variants of concern with increased infectiousness have emerged. We do not know whether future variants will be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/11/will-covid-19-become-less-dangerous-as-it-evolves">more or less virulent</a>. </p>
<p>Omicron shows a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00438-3">high capacity for reinfection</a> which will need to be managed if this variant remains dominant. Optimistically, we may see the <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00100-3/fulltext?s=09">end of the pandemic</a> though not the end of COVID-19. The full population impact of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02598-6">post-acute illness</a> (long COVID) is not yet known and evidence about <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00177-5">prevention</a> and management is still at an early stage.</p>
<p><strong>2. Enhancing equity and better protecting the most vulnerable</strong></p>
<p>The move to mitigation (from elimination and suppression) shifts protection away from the collective, population-level focus to individual measures like vaccination, mask use and self-isolation. </p>
<p>Despite a strongly stated commitment to equity, Māori and Pasifika have <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/23-02-2022/the-spinoff-covid-tracker-the-live-graphs-that-tell-the-story-of-delta-in-aotearoa">lower vaccine and booster coverage rates</a>. They are also <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics">over-represented among COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations</a>. </p>
<p>Mitigation aims to flatten the epidemic curve to protect the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. During such periods, there is potential for the most vulnerable (people who are Māori, Pasifika, low-income, living with other illnesses and disabilities) to miss out on care. </p>
<p>There are multiple ways of improving equity in the response. These include greater support for Māori and Pasifika <a href="https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/Covid-Priority-W.pdf">health providers</a>, further efforts to <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/eliminating-maori-inequities-in-covid-19-outcomes">raise vaccine coverage for Māori</a> in particular, policies to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125804726/sick-leave-increase-what-you-need-to-know">support sick workers staying at home</a> and a <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/making-the-most-of-masks/">national mask strategy</a> that makes effective masks freely available.</p>
<p>We also need a stronger focus on protecting children’s health and well-being, including a pivot to a whānau-centred approach and efforts to reduce transmission in <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/tag/ventilation-schools/">schools</a> and <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/strengthening-omicron-mitigation-strategies-in-early-childhood-education-settings/">early childhood education</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-protect-children-during-aotearoas-omicron-outbreak-we-need-to-consider-their-families-not-just-schools-176458">To protect children during Aotearoa's Omicron outbreak, we need to consider their families, not just schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>3. Improving communication, policy responsiveness and trust</strong></p>
<p>Pandemics are different from other public health emergencies because the behaviour of individuals directly affects the level of risk for the wider population. Inevitably, after two years, the response has become more contested and social cohesion has weakened. Some of this shift appears fuelled by the global pandemic of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/so-many-rabbit-holes-even-in-trusting-new-zealand-protests-show-fringe-beliefs-can-flourish">disinformation</a>.</p>
<p>The New Zealand government can enhance public trust by showing that the response is risk-based, for example by phasing out travel restrictions and border isolation requirements now that Omicron infection is widespread. Some mandates are needed for critical public health interventions but require continuing review to ensure they are proportionate. </p>
<p>Trust and <a href="https://informedfutures.org/social-cohesion/">social cohesion</a> will also be improved by maximising transparency around the pandemic response, with clear statements about the rationale and level of risk, supported with evidence and local surveillance data presented in meaningful ways. We also need <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/cracking-the-misinformation-code">specific strategies</a> to reduce misinformation and disinformation on social media.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Tent and sign from an anti-mandate protest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448759/original/file-20220227-95880-851xvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anti-mandates protests have been partly fuelled by misinformation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adam Bradley/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>4. Improving evidence-informed leadership and adaptability</strong></p>
<p>While New Zealand’s science-informed strategic response has been generally successful, it has at times been reactive rather than proactive in rapidly adapting to changes in the pandemic. We need better mechanisms, such as the multi-party <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/history-and-buildings/special-topics/epidemic-response-committee-covid-19-2020/">epidemic response committee</a> of parliamentarians, and advisory processes that ensure high-level science input into the all-of-government response. This could include the formation of a COVID-19 science council/rōpu. </p>
<p>Other measures include a <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/research-and-data/nzris/covid-19-research-database/">well-resourced research strategy</a> to provide high-quality scientific evidence and an <a href="https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/five-key-reasons-why-nz-should-have-an-official-inquiry-into-the-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/">official inquiry</a> to assess the pandemic response and drive wider system improvements.</p>
<p><strong>5. Investing in public health infrastructure</strong></p>
<p>The current <a href="https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/transition-unit/response-health-and-disability-system-review/information">health sector reforms</a> are an opportunity to establish essential infrastructure, including a Public Health Agency and Māori Health Authority. </p>
<p>Investment in the national immunisation register may help with reversing the recent <a href="https://www.immune.org.nz/sites/default/files/publications/Coverage%20Report%20-%20July%202021.pdf">decline in childhood immunisations</a>. The pandemic also demonstrates that <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/rethinking-rebreathing-how-to-end-the-pandemic">clean indoor air</a> is as essential to health as clean drinking water. </p>
<p>We should learn from other countries that have also delivered effective responses. <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065(20)30044-4/fulltext">Taiwan is an example</a> we have previously documented.</p>
<p>In summary, New Zealand is well placed to navigate the pandemic and the Omicron wave successfully. As we enter our third pandemic year, we can improve the effectiveness of our response by maintaining a precautionary approach in the face of uncertainty. We also need to improve equity, communication and trust, and evidence-informed leadership, as well as investing in public health infrastructure. </p>
<p>These improvements will provide legacy benefits that <a href="https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/6550/5715">prepare us well for other public health challenges</a> we face.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177134/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Baker receives funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand for infectious disease research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Kvalsvig receives funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand for infectious diseases research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matire Harwood receives funding from Health Research Council, National Science Challenge - Healthier Lives and Heart Foundation. She is e member of the COVID-TAG. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Now that Omicron infection is widespread, the government could improve trust by phasing out travel restrictions and border isolation and reviewing vaccine mandates to ensure they are proportionate.Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health, University of OtagoAmanda Kvalsvig, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Public Health, University of OtagoMatire Harwood, Associate Professor Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauNick Wilson, Professor of Public Health, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1774222022-02-22T18:19:45Z2022-02-22T18:19:45ZVaccine passports can be used for surveillance under the guise of public health measures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447332/original/file-20220218-47068-7kgnhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5390%2C4192&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vaccine mandates and passports have resulted in protests, like this one in London, U.K.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock/Loredana Sangiuliano)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked heated and passionate debates about the introduction of vaccine passports. The use of digital vaccination certificates is becoming increasingly common in cities around the globe. Whether they would become a prerequisite for international travel is yet to be determined. </p>
<p>In September 2021, proof of vaccination became mandatory for individuals in <a href="https://covid-19.ontario.ca/proof-covid-19-vaccination#where-proof-of-vaccination-is-required">Ontario</a>, <a href="https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/health-issues/a-z/2019-coronavirus/progress-of-the-covid-19-vaccination/covid-19-vaccination-passport">Québec</a> and <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/proof">British Columbia</a> to enter “non-essential locations” such as gyms, restaurants, cinemas and exhibition centres. </p>
<p>Canada is experiencing a wave of protests against vaccine mandates organized by the so-called “freedom convoy.” The protests were sparked by the federal government’s decision to require vaccines to cross the United States-Canada border.</p>
<p>Should vaccine passports become mandatory, it is crucial for the public to distinguish between how these documents can be used to ensure public health and how they may violate an individual’s privacy and threaten their security. While details on vaccine passports may vary in different jurisdictions, we should be asking what kind of data is being collected. How and where will the data be stored? How will data be encrypted and protected from misuse or crime? </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dp5ZlNiE874?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">CBC looks at the debate surrounding vaccine passports.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Liberal democracies and data collection</h2>
<p>When pressed, governments may indicate that vaccine passports only contain the information necessary to verify someone’s identity and vaccine status. How a government defines “necessity” is one of the best indicators of whether the country is adopting public health policies that primarily deal with COVID-19, or if they are expanding mass surveillance and further restricting movement and activities under the guise of public health. </p>
<p>A vaccine passport does not need to include health information that is unrelated to vaccination status, such as health card number or additional personal data like an address or phone number. For example, <a href="https://smarthealth.cards/en/">the SMART Health Card</a>, widely used in New York and California, displays only the holder’s legal name, date of birth and COVID-19-related information — test and vaccine dates and locations and test manufacturer or vaccine type. </p>
<p>In less liberal jurisdictions, additional information is often required. For example, <a href="https://www.healthcode.gov.hk/">Health Code</a> — an online platform introduced in Hong Kong last year — collects identity document numbers, phone numbers and addresses, as well as travel history and sites visited (including restaurants and other entertainment venues). Individual privacy is compromised.</p>
<p>Perhaps what is more alarming is that Health Code is a less intrusive version of other apps, such as the Chinese COVID-19 tracking app. In contrast to Ontario’s public health policy that only requires proof of vaccination for non-essential locations, the Chinese app is required for some public transportation and residential areas. </p>
<p>The Chinese app also has a GPS-tracking function, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/technology/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html">which sends users’ location and an identification code to the police</a>. The app uses colour coding — red, yellow and green — to indicate a person’s status, and whether they are qualified to enter public areas. Some people’s health code turned yellow or red without a seemingly apparent reason, implying <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0306422020935796">the potential for Chinese authorities use the pretext of public health policy to restrict people’s activities</a>.</p>
<p>Such practices indicates a new level of digital mass surveillance in the name of public health. As Human Rights Watch researcher Maya Wang noted, this is “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/business/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html">one of those landmarks in the history of the spread of mass surveillance in China</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two Chinese officials hold up mobile phones as they stand in front of a green background with a QR code" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447623/original/file-20220221-21-xlf5c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit, left, and Deputy Government Chief Information Officer Tony Wong hold mobile phones at the unveiling of a new COVID-19 tracking health code mobile app in Hong Kong on Dec. 2, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Convenience versus regulation</h2>
<p>It may make sense for to trade a certain amount of privacy for the greater good of public health. But this is not as simple for those not living in a democratic country where the public can hold the government accountable. Vaccine passports can and have been developing into a new tool for mass surveillance and crackdown on its opposition in totalitarian regimes. </p>
<p>A system designed to indicate health status can be used as a device for restricting people’s freedoms because of their political beliefs or professions. Even in more liberal democracies, the line between freedom and the public good could be easily crossed if not cautiously managed. </p>
<p>To ensure the Canadian government doesn’t walk on the same path, public policy needs to be transparent and in compliance with existing privacy laws. No additional information such as location data should be collected or shared, and any personal data must be encrypted and kept no longer than 14 days. Last and most importantly, the use of vaccine passport “<a href="https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-news/speeches/2021/s-d_20210519/">must not be required as a condition of service</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/what-will-it-be-like-when-covid-19-becomes-endemic/">As COVID-19 becomes endemic</a>, vaccine passports may become part of monitoring and managing outbreaks. Vaccine passports have the potential for mass surveillance, and the threat to individual security is real, especially in totalitarian states. But for more liberal democracies, prudent foresight will help protect the privacy rights of civilians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin C. M. Fung receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sze-Fung Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vaccine passports can and have been used to increase surveillance by governments. Transparency and accountability are crucial for protecting the privacy of civilians.Sze-Fung Lee, Research Assistant, Department of Information Studies, McGill UniversityBenjamin C. M. Fung, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Data Mining for Cybersecurity, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1765222022-02-18T14:27:39Z2022-02-18T14:27:39ZCanada’s legal disinformation pandemic is exposed by the ‘freedom convoy’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446786/original/file-20220216-17-1uxnhia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4490%2C3124&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A person holds a copy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the so-called freedom convoy protest on Parliament Hill. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The small minority of Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates have made international news, prompted <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-in-crisis-why-justin-trudeau-has-invoked-the-emergencies-act-to-end-trucker-protests-177017">the invocation of Canada’s Emergencies Act for the first time</a> and spurred <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sloly-ottawa-resigns-behaviour-leadership-1.6352295">the resignation of Ottawa’s police chief.</a></p>
<p>The self-styled “freedom convoy” descended upon Ottawa in the spirit of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-Capitol-attack-of-2021">Jan. 6. 2021, raid on the U.S. Capitol</a>, unwilling to retreat. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2022/01/29/canada-trudeau-moved-undisclosed-location-trucker-covid-protest-ottawa/3121643481386/">As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially hunkered down in an undisclosed location</a>, some protesters waved Donald Trump flags, <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/the-curse-of-the-convoy/">swastikas and Confederate flags,</a> and even hoisted the Tea Party’s signature “don’t tread on me” flag alongside their signature “Fuck Trudeau” signage.</p>
<p>The protesters oppose any further government intervention, even if aimed at mitigating the risks of a deadly virus that has already killed more than 34,000 Canadians, lessening the burden on health-care workers dealing with overflowing hospitals or protecting those with compromised immune systems or other vulnerabilities. </p>
<h2>Pseudo-legal language</h2>
<p>Crucially, the protesters have a list of demands they frame in pseudo-legal language. Canadian lawyers Richard Warman and Donald Netolitzky define <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2020CanLIIDocs498#!fragment/zoupio-_Tocpdf_bk_1/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zhoBMAzZgI1TMAjAEoANMmylCEAIqJCuAJ7QA5KrERCYXAnmKV6zdt0gAynlIAhFQCUAogBl7ANQCCAOQDC9saTB80KTsIiJAA">pseudo-legal phenomenon</a> as “spurious concepts that sound like law, and which may use legal terminology, but that are otherwise unrelated to ‘true’ or ‘conventional’ law.” </p>
<p>At the apparent centre of the so-called “freedom convoy” movement’s ideology is the mistaken belief that any individual freedom or liberty is absolute. However, the Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19.</p>
<p>This isn’t to suggest any individual rights-based or Charter objection to scientifically grounded public health directives is automatically in bad faith, or pseudo-legal. Obviously, every claim must be measured on its merits. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The official English document of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with the Canadian flag prominently displayed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=631&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=631&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446808/original/file-20220216-13-8n6zj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=631&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The official English document of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CP PHOTO)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But vaguely asserted and unspecified Charter claims about rights arising from COVID-19 mask and vaccine protocols aren’t the same as actual claims that can be measured or adjudicated. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the legal profession must earn the authority, trust and esteem that’s invested in it. After all, lawyers — like doctors and other professionals — rely on public trust. </p>
<p>Some might suggest legal or medical opinions are just that — opinions. One medical doctor might think X and the other Y, and the same goes for any two lawyers. But this is rarely true. Most medical and legal opinions are based on facts — for example, vaccination <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667193X21000612?via%3Dihub">is the best way to prevent hospitalization or death</a> from COVID-19 and the <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art1.html">Charter is about the proportionate weighing of rights rather than their absolute enforcement.</a> </p>
<p>The protesters, after taking down their <a href="https://canada-unity.com/mou/">Memorandum of Understanding</a> pledging to bring down the federal government, acknowledged <a href="https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/were-not-lawyers-ottawa-protest-organizer-says-mou-not-meant-to-endorse-toppling-the-canadian-government-100691492/">that some misunderstanding had been created by the document</a>. They “clarified” that the spirit of the document was to bring “the government of Canada and all Canadian citizens into agreement; that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be upheld for all.”</p>
<p>We agree and suspect most everyone does. However, “freedom convoy” organizers continuously demonstrate through their words and actions that they grossly misunderstand the nature of the protections the Charter provides and the types of rights and freedoms it encompasses. </p>
<h2>Misunderstanding the Charter</h2>
<p>As Errol Mendes, a constitutional law professor at the University of Ottawa, has stated: <a href="https://www.hilltimes.com/2022/02/02/the-mou-says-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-truckers-protest/341596">“Freedom is not absolute, and not being vaccinated endangers the freedom of others.”</a></p>
<p>Missing from pseudo-legal iterations of “rights” or “liberties” is an understanding of the careful balancing act of Canadian constitutional law. The <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/cases.html">Supreme Court of Canada</a> has repeatedly ruled that the freedoms we enjoy in a democratic society are not absolute. </p>
<p>On the contrary, Charter rights, from religious freedom to freedom of speech, are subject to Sec. 1 that “<a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-12.html">guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.</a>”</p>
<p>As all first-year law students in Canada know, the definitive legal test for the application of Sec. 1 was set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/117/index.do"><em>R. v Oakes</em></a> when it stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In each case courts will be required to balance the interests of society with those of individuals and groups.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/209/episode/15893211">Although media coverage</a> on the convoy has shown a lack of uniformity in what supporters believe the movement stands for or even whether they’re really truckers, there is credible reporting that some leaders of the movement hold <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8543281/covid-trucker-convoy-organizers-hate/">white supremacist views</a> and have association with far right and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/world/canada/canada-protests-right-populists.html">extremist causes</a> that pre-date the pandemic. </p>
<p>Organizers retracted their earlier manifesto that called for the overthrow of the government and Trudeau’s resignation, but they still appear to support this agenda. They count among their ranks <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/convoy-protesters-police-tactical-knowledge-1.6345854">Daniel Bulford, a former RCMP officer</a> involved with the prime minister’s security until he refused a vaccine. Bulford <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/here-s-what-we-know-about-the-police-operation-to-end-the-freedom-convoy-occupation-1.5787483">has reportedly surrendered to police</a> after serving as the convoy’s head of security.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1493617700031152132"}"></div></p>
<h2>Misinformation vs. disinformation</h2>
<p>Our ongoing research considers <a href="https://www.hewlett.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Social-Media-Political-Polarization-and-Political-Disinformation-Literature-Review.pdf">the role of misinformation and disinformation about the law</a>. Misinformation is false information that may be unintentionally spread, while disinformation is a broader category that includes information, typically encountered online, that could lead to misperceptions. </p>
<p>More insidious than misinformation, disinformation includes false information that is deliberately spread.</p>
<p>In our view, since the pandemic began, there are a small portion of lawyers who themselves risk promoting legal misinformation and disinformation that’s damaging to the integrity of the profession. At least one not-for-profit group in Canada that is affiliated with lawyers operates close to, or on, the margins of legitimate legal advocacy and the spread of pseudo-legal misinformation and disinformation. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.jccf.ca/">Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms</a> in particular blurs the line between misinformation, disinformation and legal advocacy in their public education efforts online by relying on propaganda films and hyperbolic language, among other techniques. Slightly less radical outfits like the <a href="https://theccf.ca/">Canadian Constitution Foundation</a> have an extreme libertarian litigation strategy with an increasingly narrow focus on COVID-19. </p>
<p>We fear that some members of the public might rely on websites of these sort to misunderstand the reality of the law and their rights. We call upon provincial law societies that regulate the profession to issue more and clearer guidelines on these matters. </p>
<h2>Manifesto espouses falsehoods</h2>
<p>An equally alarming pseudo-legal intervention is the “<a href="https://freenorthdeclaration.ca/">Free North Declaration</a>,” a bizarre manifesto created by a group of lawyers, most of whom have opted to remain anonymous (probably a wise choice). </p>
<p>The manifesto is also pseudo-legal because it is replete with misinformation and disinformation about the Charter and Canadian constitutional law, stating that “vaccine passports create the infrastructure for a global digital surveillance system” and that, “particularly for children and healthy young adults, (the vaccine) may be riskier than the virus.” </p>
<p>COVID-19 is not the only pandemic that is threatening Canada. So too is the spread of misinformation and disinformation about Canadians’ legal rights. Any argument that the Charter contains absolute rights is false. Canadians must be aware of the presence of misinformation and disinformation about the Charter and their relationship to COVID-19 health protocols. </p>
<p>If the trend continues unencumbered, it risks weakening the rule of law in Canada and eroding Canadian literacy about legitimate Charter rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.Jeffrey B. Meyers, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers UniversityEmily Dishart, Law Student, Legal Researcher, Thompson Rivers UniversityRose Morgan, Law Student, Legal Researcher, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767932022-02-17T19:40:38Z2022-02-17T19:40:38ZIn ‘freedom convoy’ and other vaccine protests, slogans cross the political aisle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446366/original/file-20220214-23-7hh8oh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1704%2C0%2C2566%2C4078&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People gather to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and masking measures during a rally in Kingston, Ont., in November 2021. A woman carries a sign using an abortion rights slogan. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The current political climate seems to discourage us from becoming overly invested in any one political slogan in case they suddenly change hands and take on a whole different meaning. But words still matter — perhaps even more so right now.</p>
<p>Politicians, pundits and protesters have appropriated slogans, symbols and ideas from the opposing side throughout the so-called freedom convoy and the protests leading up to it.</p>
<p>An example is “<a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjuXW1NA98">my body my choice</a>” now being transformed from an abortion rights slogan to an anti-vax rallying cry.</p>
<p>Appropriations like this are concerning because they create an equivalency between two political claims. By portraying anti-vax political claims as being equivalent to abortion rights, for example, protesters can draw on the legitimacy given to abortion rights while also holding that legitimacy hostage.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man stands at a side of a highway holding a sign that says Not Anti-Vax, Pro-Choice" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446370/original/file-20220214-15-1n2r8fl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A supporter holds a sign along the Trans-Canada Highway as a convoy of trucks passes over the Nipigon Bridge en route to Ottawa in Nipigon, Ont.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Jackson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Popular media is in a position to exacerbate this trend by repeating those appropriations, causing them to catch on. It’s also in a position to remedy the situation by questioning those appropriations critically. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/aug/15/anti-vaxxers-using-prochoice-slogans-makes-me-so-angry">the appropriation of “my body my choice” isn’t strictly new</a>. It has been floating around anti-vax movements for at least a year or two. But the ongoing convoy protests have brought anti-vax and anti-mandate forces into the spotlight, along with the slogans they have managed to appropriate since the broader movement began.</p>
<h2>Original meanings still matter</h2>
<p>The original purpose of the “my body, my choice” slogan remains relevant — especially so in light of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-supreme-court-looks-ready-to-overturn-roe">what’s been going on in the United States</a> on the issue of abortion.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhi1I5sxPxI">Cultural debates can spread quickly across the Canada-U.S. border</a>. To the extent that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWiMc7WefP8">political debates in G7 societies are interconnected</a>, we may have to contend with a situation where “my body my choice” is simultaneously used by both the left and the right in drastically different ways.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-roe-v-wade-be-overturned-and-what-would-this-mean-the-us-abortion-debate-explained-173156">Will Roe v Wade be overturned, and what would this mean? The US abortion debate explained</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>“My body, my choice” isn’t simply a conservative slogan that’s been stolen from the progressives. It remains a progressive slogan, one that will likely remain in use.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person in a grey winter hat with a pompom holds up a sign that reads 'my body, my choice' in front of a court building with columns." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446376/original/file-20220214-13-5q4918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pro-abortion rights supporter holds up a sign reading ‘my body, my choice’ during a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in March 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But that requires us to do a calculation when we encounter slogans like “my body my choice” over what political conflicts they are alluding to. We now have to unpack not just what the user of such slogans believe, but what they’re against. We also have be aware of moments when equivalencies are being drawn — for example, equating vaccine mandates to hasten the end of a deadly pandemic with forcing a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term — and be critical about those equivalencies. </p>
<p>This is crucial for preventing far-right appropriators from taking progressive ideals hostage.</p>
<h2>The appropriation of Holocaust symbols</h2>
<p>A pertinent example of the appropriation of symbols is the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPhV3hgJvEU">appearance of Holocaust symbols</a> during the ongoing “freedom convoy” protests. Although such actions have been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50kHdAumXvA&t=178s">swiftly criticized</a> in the media, comment sections accompanying media coverage have been flooded with grumbling about how the protesters and their sympathizers have been misunderstood.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Comments are shown disputing the notion that the 'freedom convoy' is racist." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446616/original/file-20220215-13-1b797m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Commenters react to a news clip that condemned hate symbols at the ‘freedom convoy’ protest in Ottawa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(A Feb. 15 screenshot of the comment section accompanying a City News article.)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These commentators argue that they themselves and many protesters don’t support fascism, but are just trying to highlight their belief that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does. They’re drawing parallels between vaccine mandates and authoritarianism.</p>
<p>That’s why it is not enough for the media to merely say that hate speech has occurred or that hate symbols have been used. It must also critically examine and explain the false equivalencies being drawn by the protesters between fascism and government efforts to contain <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">a virus that has killed almost six million people worldwide in two years.</a> </p>
<p>The media must highlight the dangers of appropriating the legitimacy of anti-hate advocacy and using that to legitimize anti-mandate advocacy. The media needs to make this clear, and to do so much more often.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in red face paint shouts while carrying a flag in front of Parliament." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446421/original/file-20220215-21-qi0tu6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A protester in the ‘freedom convoy’ on Parliament Hill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Longstanding political tropes playing a role</h2>
<p>Some conservatives believe <a href="https://www.tvo.org/article/why-federal-conservatives-should-drop-their-fixation-with-smaller-government">small government is democratic</a> while <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/25/how-conservatives-learned-love-big-government/">large government leads to fascism.</a> </p>
<p>If the so-called “freedom convoy” actually internalized this trope, then we can uncover a hidden reason why protesters draw false equivalencies between fascists and the federal Liberals. </p>
<p>Perhaps their allegations of governmental “fascism” stem from their belief in the superiority of smaller governments. If protesters already suspected the Liberals of being fascist prior to the vaccine mandates, they were always going to regard those mandates through that tinted glass.</p>
<p>Without a detailed study of the protest demographic, we cannot know for sure whether the protest convoy harbours this exact belief.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-canadian-flag-and-the-freedom-convoy-the-co-opting-of-canadian-symbols-176436">The Canadian flag and the 'freedom convoy': The co-opting of Canadian symbols</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What we do know is that some protesters <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-canadas-freedom-convoy-was-overtaken-by-a-radical-fringe-176111">have appropriated Holocaust symbols, used swastikas ostensibly to symbolize the incumbent government</a> and that they oppose a ruling party that has been portrayed as representing big government. Some have demanded nothing short of removing that party by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_rqXwrjYI&t=369s">overturning the September 2021 federal election</a>.</p>
<p>We need to dig deeper into the roots of false equivalencies, whether they’re equating anti-hate to anti-vaccine sentiments, fascism to government intervention or abortion to vaccine requirements. Journalists who have the opportunity to get close to the protesters are in a special position to ask them about why these equivalencies are being drawn. The rest of us need to know their answers because words matter — and can be lethal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Bing's doctoral research was funded in part by the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program.</span></em></p>Appropriating slogans associated with other causes creates false equivalencies and causes confusion.Alex Bing, Adjunct Professor in Sociology, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1765332022-02-14T18:47:04Z2022-02-14T18:47:04ZHow ‘freedom rally’ protesters and populist right-wing politics may play a role in the federal election<p>As the 2022 federal election draws nearer, there are many factors that may shape the outcome.</p>
<p>This is not Australia’s first experience of a pandemic, nor the first time this has played a role in state divisions and elections: the <a href="https://aph.org.au/2020/11/western-australia-and-the-commonwealth-spanish-influenza-and-covid-19/">1919 Spanish Influenza pandemic</a> is a case in point. </p>
<p>However, this is the first election in which the immense economic and social damage of a pandemic has combined with a global far-right populist surge, an increase in far-right-wing extremism and the disruptive power of social media. The most recent and visible example is the so-called “Canberra convoy”, which has just concluded. </p>
<p>In seeking to understand the potential influence of these factors, we cannot look at any one of them in isolation; they have to be understood as part of a symbiotic relationship. This is evident when we look at the make-up of the protesters.</p>
<p>They first gathered at old Parliament House, site of the Aboriginal tent embassy, the longest protest for Indigenous rights anywhere in the world. There, the “sovereign citizen” protesters initially sought to cloak themselves in the legitimacy of Aboriginal calls for sovereignty. Shortly after, in December 2021, old Parliament House, which holds significance within some sovereign citizen conspiracy theories, was set on fire. Several people <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-02/ryan-dean-harder-charged-arson-old-parliament-house-fire/100798448">have been charged</a> over the incident.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1489064857882091522"}"></div></p>
<p>While featuring a very small number of Indigenous activists, the fire and recently arrived protesters were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-31/indigenous-elders-condemn-protesters-old-parliament-house-fire/100732656">roundly condemned</a> by Aboriginal leaders at the Tent Embassy. </p>
<p>Since these events, anti-vaccine mandate protesters and other “freedom rally” protesters, including Q-Anon conspiracy theorists, militant wellness groups, religiously inspired actors and far-right extremists such as the Proud Boys, have converged on the nation’s capital. They have protested outside the old and new Parliament House, seeking to cause mass disruption. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446166/original/file-20220214-19-7m0pu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The fire in December 2021 caused damage to the entrance to Old Parliament House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Protesters on the ground are highly diverse. Many are keen to paint themselves as concerned “mums and dads”. Others frame their actions as an act of “love”, a pattern <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/honk-if-you-love-jesus-why-so-many-evangelical-christians-have-joined-the-freedom-convo">seen globally</a> at “freedom” protests.</p>
<p>Indeed, many may be merely exercising their democratic right to protest. </p>
<p>However, it is important to understand that the ideological underpinnings of the freedom movement range from libertarianism to far-right ideologies. We need to move beyond the notion of anti-vaxxers as left-wing hippies from Brunswick or Byron Bay (though they may well be concentrated there). </p>
<p>Many from the “wellness” communities are educated, wealthy, hold strong convictions and are active consumers in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/24/technology/joseph-mercola-coronavirus-misinformation-online.html">highly profitable enterprise</a>.</p>
<p>Likewise, it is important to move beyond the association of the far right as black-clad, swastika-wearing skinheads (<a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/inside-racism-hq-how-home-grown-neo-nazis-are-plotting-a-white-revolution-20210812-p58i3x.html">though some may be</a>). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-almost-like-grooming-how-anti-vaxxers-conspiracy-theorists-and-the-far-right-came-together-over-covid-168383">'It's almost like grooming': how anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right came together over COVID</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The modern far right is well organised and more sophisticated in its tactics (including the use of “citizen journalists”, memes and encrypted messaging applications). Most importantly, beyond the traditional neo-Nazi groups, it is multiracial. Restoring the “nation”, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/minorities-far-right-visible-role/2021/05/16/e7ba8338-a915-11eb-8c1a-56f0cb4ff3b5_story.html">rather than race</a>, to an imagined past greatness is central to their extremism.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446161/original/file-20220214-13-s06tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters have joined the ‘freedom’ convoy for many different reasons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is evident in groups such as the Proud Boys, who are present at the Canberra protests, and who were led in the US until recently by Enrique Tarrio, a Cuban American. We have witnessed numerous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usta%C5%A1e">Ustaše flags</a> at the protests, representing a resurgent Croatian <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/croatia-fascism-nazi-ustasa-sasenovac-antisemitism-zoran-milanovic-a9583146.html">ultranationalist fascist and antisemitic organisation</a> that was active during the second world war, perpetrating acts of genocide. The group also holds a wide variety of groups and individuals from QAnon conspiracy theorists and sovereign citizens (known for their use of the red ensign) to evangelical and Orthodox Christians. They represent a highly multicultural cluster who have opposed the use of vaccines from the earliest days of the pandemic. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-australian-merchant-navy-flag-the-red-ensign-and-why-do-anti-government-groups-use-it-170270">What is the Australian merchant navy flag, the red ensign? And why do anti-government groups use it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Importantly, this broad coalition, and the far right in particular, must be understood as part of a transnational movement. Even a cursory analysis of protest message boards indicates the protesters have been heavily influenced by groups and events overseas. They share a common vocabulary and symbology. </p>
<p>It is clear the January 6 2021 storming of the Capitol Building in the United States, and the more recent Ottawa “freedom convoy”, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8597478/ottawa-trucker-convoy-risk-of-violence/">described by Ottawa police</a> as a “threat to democracy”, have inspired some protesters.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446163/original/file-20220214-15-fqr9xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many in the Canberra convoy have been influenced by similar protests in Ottawa, Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Justin Tang/AP/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many actors within these movements have track records of violent rhetoric and extremist sentiment, and the threat of future violence cannot be discounted. Indeed, it must be considered likely. </p>
<p>These movements must be also be understood as associated with the global right-wing populist surge that has resulted in the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-New-Demagogues-Religion-Masculinity-and-the-Populist-Epoch/Roose/p/book/9781138364707">election of authoritarian governments</a>, led by “strong men”, in countries ranging from the United States, Hungary and Poland to the Philippines, India and Brazil. </p>
<p>These leaders claim to speak for the “people”, framing themselves as outsiders to a corrupt and broken political system. They promise to deliver radical change, though merely aim to replace the current powers. We saw this most famously with Donald Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp”. </p>
<p>While a key element of winning democratic elections is indeed to be the most “popular” party, far-right authoritarian populists prey on social division and seek to exploit anger and fear to gain political capital. We see this in the actions of United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly and some fringe members of the Liberal Party such as George Christensen. These men have sought to frame themselves as champions of the protest movement, but their actions may be understood as cynically stoking social division for political gain. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-are-the-original-sovereigns-who-were-camped-out-at-old-parliament-house-and-what-are-their-aims-174694">Who are the 'Original Sovereigns' who were camped out at Old Parliament House and what are their aims?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In this case, the prize is seats in parliament and the potential to hold the balance of power, forcing major parties to negotiate favourable outcomes for mining magnate Clive Palmer, via the United Australia Party.</p>
<p>In the Canberra convoy, we are witnessing the consolidation of an alliance between diverse, yet highly political, groups infected with conspiracy and far-right ideas. They then intersect with right-wing populist politicians intent on exploiting these events for political gain. </p>
<p>This is, in many respects, new ground in Australian politics. The question remains as to how successful this alliance will be at the ballot box.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176533/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Roose is part of a project funded by The Australian Research Council: 'Far Right in Australia: Intellectuals, Masculinity and Citizenship' (DP200102013).</span></em></p>This year’s federal election will have many strands that influence it, including the ‘freedom’ protest movement and its interaction with right-wing populist politics.Josh Roose, Senior Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1770542022-02-14T04:09:51Z2022-02-14T04:09:51ZThe occupation of NZ’s parliament grounds is a tactical challenge for police, but mass arrests are not an option<p>The continued occupation of parliament’s grounds by anti-vaccine mandate protesters (and others) provides a unique problem for police: how to lawfully and legitimately remove the occupiers without making the situation worse.</p>
<p>The Speaker of Parliament has <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/02/10/unprecedented-for-nz-police-respond-to-parliament-protest/">authorised police</a> to clear the grounds, which grants the operation legitimacy. But tactically the options are not as clear-cut.</p>
<p>In the background is an ever-present policing conundrum: taking action in favour of one group within society risks alienating another. The longer police tolerate the occupiers’ right to protest, the more frustrated the affected homeowners, businesses and workers become.</p>
<p>Some commentators and critics (especially on social media) have been quick to criticise police command decisions and the seeming unwillingness to use more force. But weighing up the rights of competing groups is never simple.</p>
<p>Nor is undertaking an operation that risks injury to police personnel (and protesters), and where perceived excessive force can lead to subsequent legal action against individual officers.</p>
<h2>Logistical impossibilities</h2>
<p>Despite the standoff, however, police and parliamentary security have successfully prevented the breach of parliamentary buildings – something that would have been on the minds of security planners since the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56004916">storming of the US Capitol</a> in Washington DC a year ago.</p>
<p>But police also face the problem of the occupiers’ <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/09/lets-remember-why-we-are-here-new-zealand-anti-vax-protest-splinters-into-jibes-and-jabs">unclear objectives</a> and the apparent lack of leadership with whom to negotiate. The disparate motives of the various protest groups preclude the kind of rational negotiation that would normally be undertaken in a siege situation. </p>
<p>Widespread arrests might be lawful, but appear logistically impractical. The arrest, custody and charging process is resource-heavy (especially when those arrested <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-convoy-parliament-protest-arrested-members-appear-in-court-refuse-to-wear-masks-show-vaccine-pass/QCIP5U4VYENVBCXFJ6R354HK5A/">refuse to comply</a> with vaccination or mask mandates). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protesting-during-a-pandemic-new-zealands-balancing-act-between-a-long-tradition-of-protests-and-covid-rules-171104">Protesting during a pandemic: New Zealand's balancing act between a long tradition of protests and COVID rules</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-convoy-parliament-protest-police-urge-protesters-to-move-vehicles-residents-feeling-unsafe/EE5XLFOOCDKXX35QZWKEBUUHPM/">moving occupiers’ vehicles</a> has been a challenge beyond the capabilities of the Wellington Council and adding to police concerns.</p>
<p>Moreover, the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/461259/parliament-protest-police-arrest-122-in-efforts-to-control-occupation">arrest of 122 people</a> last Thursday did not result in the remaining body of occupiers dispersing. There have been reports some of those arrested and bailed have <a href="https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-police-carrying-batons-as-more-protesters-arrive-at-parliament/">returned to the site</a>, contrary to their bail conditions. </p>
<p>And the parliamentary speaker’s own tactics (<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/127760434/parliament-protest-sprinklers-blasting-music-not-a-tactic-we-would-endorse-police-say">not endorsed</a> by police) of turning on the ground’s water sprinklers and playing supposedly annoying music over the PA system have not worked, either.</p>
<p>The arrests, charges, court appearances and even Barry Manilow have not acted as a sufficient deterrent, and have possibly even hardened protesters’ resolve. Clearing the occupation in a way that prevents protesters from returning to the site simply adds another layer of challenge.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1492975549404176384"}"></div></p>
<h2>Managing perceptions</h2>
<p>All <a href="https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/evaluation-use-force">force used by police</a> must be necessary, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances. Police will be rightly cautious about this, given the presence of children and young people at the site. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the actions of the protesters sit within the definitions of passive resistance (refusing to comply with verbal directions to move) and active resistance (pulling or pushing away). Even in the face of someone resisting arrest, force by police must be proportionate to the resistance offered.</p>
<p>As such, police procedure limits officer responses. For officers to employ tactics involving the use of weapons – batons, sprays or tasers – they would need to be responding to more assaultive behaviours from individual protesters. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-trucker-protest-an-epic-security-failure-or-a-triumph-of-democratic-freedom-176146">Canada's trucker protest: An epic security failure or a triumph of democratic freedom?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Force used to arrest those who have made death threats against MPs and media must also be made on the same basis of being proportionate and necessary. Police would need to weigh up the likelihood of a threat to justify immediate action.</p>
<p>Less common paramilitary-style tactics were on display last Friday when <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-police-carrying-batons-as-more-protesters-arrive-at-parliament/6WAGG52I4OPBALDMHIX5ROITSA/">some police carrying batons</a> assembled, again fodder for mainstream and social media debate. </p>
<p>Squads marching into position like this are a necessary overt display of organised coercive power in response to a perceived level of threat. But they have the potential to be portrayed as state oppression – something police commanders are aware of. The same day batons appeared, the Wellington police district commander <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/02/11/cops-stop-carrying-batons-at-parliament-concern-over-kids-at-protest/">instructed officers</a> not to carry them. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1491954354911330306"}"></div></p>
<h2>A waiting game</h2>
<p>How to break such an impasse? Parliament could pass emergency legislation giving police special powers to use all force necessary to clear and detain protesters en masse. </p>
<p>But such a tactic would be an affront to the constitutional and constabulary independence of police that is valued in Aotearoa New Zealand. As the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2008/0072/latest/DLM1102195.html">Policing Act</a> specifically prohibits ministerial interference in operational matters, some might perceive emergency legislation as an overreach. </p>
<p>Using chemical irritants like pepper spray may well disperse the crowd but might also only displace the problem to another site, with police bound to provide aftercare and medical treatment. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-disinformation-and-extremism-are-on-the-rise-in-new-zealand-what-are-the-risks-of-it-turning-violent-172049">COVID disinformation and extremism are on the rise in New Zealand. What are the risks of it turning violent?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Mounted police units, as used by Australian and British police, are an effective means of moving large groups of people, but no such capability exists in New Zealand.</p>
<p>The problem will not be resolved by arresting every occupier, given the significant financial cost and required resources. The police themselves have <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/02/coronavirus-latest-on-parliament-protest-covid-19-omicron-outbreak-sunday-february-13.html">acknowledged</a> they cannot arrest their way out of the problem.</p>
<p>Police are well resourced to wait the occupation out. While this might be the safest option, it may not be the most politically amenable one. So far, though, the police can be applauded for their patience, professionalism and commitment to maintaining the peace.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Hendy has previously worked for and received research funding from New Zealand Police.</span></em></p>With the occupation of parliament grounds entering its second week, police walk a thin blue line between enforcing the law and not inflaming the situation.Ross Hendy, Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1760312022-02-09T21:15:23Z2022-02-09T21:15:23ZRestoring community dialogue and resilience: The next COVID-19 emergency<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445319/original/file-20220209-32113-z7srh5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=146%2C73%2C5058%2C3549&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The psychosocial impact of the pandemic and responses to it have been immense, but the Canadian government's approach to COVID-19 remains divisive.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 is not the first health crisis to affect Canada. Previous emergencies, like the <a href="https://www.santeestrie.qc.ca/clients/SanteEstrie/Publications/Sante-publique/Initiatives_prometteuses_DSPublique2021-07-30.pdf">Lac-Mégantic train tragedy in 2013</a>, showed the importance of including the affected communities to promote better adherence to preventive measures and build resilient communities. Our research shows this is largely missing for COVID-19, <a href="https://nccid.ca/publications/psychosocial-impacts-of-the-covid-19/">with high costs on society as a whole</a>.</p>
<p>Resilience is the ability of a community to continue to live, function, develop and thrive after a crisis. Key elements of enhancing resilience include maximizing social cohesion, collaboration, empowerment, participation and consideration of local characteristics and issues. This means dialogue with, and inputs from, the affected communities. </p>
<p>There is a major risk of a community becoming “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3598443">corrosive</a>” if these elements are not appropriately taken into account. Corrosive communities are at risk of division, polarization and psychological impacts such as anxiety and depression. These are the costs Canadians may have to pay for the divisive approach used in response to COVID-19.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Table comparing corrosive and therapeutic pathways in response to crises." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444178/original/file-20220203-17-chi4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The corrosive versus therapeutic pathway in crisis response.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Blouin-Genest, Généreux, Roy)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our multidisciplinary research team at the University of Sherbrooke has been <a href="https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/42628">using surveys to evaluate and compare the different effects of the COVID-19</a> pandemic since February 2020. Different waves of <a href="https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/44448">national</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228390">international</a> surveys confirm our original findings: the psychosocial impact of the pandemic and responses to it are immense.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the governmental approach is still divisive, using arguments such as the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-unvaccinated-canadians-covid-hospitals-1.6305159">90 per cent vaccinated are paying for the inaction of the 10 per cent unvaccinated</a>, that some might be subject to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8532791/covid-unvaccinated-restrictions-tax-poll/">more restrictive measures than others</a>, or that vaccine hesitancy is only prompted by conspiracy seekers and non-believers of science, <a href="https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/chroniques/2022-01-27/portrait-robot-du-non-vaccine.php">which is contradicted by our data showing that one-third of unvaccinated people do not hold these beliefs</a>. </p>
<p>This “us against them” strategy is amplifying social division and has major psychosocial impacts, including stress and mental health issues. Our data indicates that this strategy has resulted in a significant decrease in trust toward public health authorities and governments.</p>
<h2>Pandemic fatigue</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking at a podium that advertises a COVID Alert app." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445322/original/file-20220209-27-op2457.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Governments should act in such a way that people and communities feel that they are seen as legitimate citizens, even when they disagree with the government.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We conducted our most recent survey online from Oct. 1-17, 2021 among 10,368 adults from all regions of Québec and 1,001 adults in the rest of Canada. The results showed half of the adults from across Canada (and, in Québec, nearly two-thirds of young adults) suffer from “pandemic fatigue.” </p>
<p>Pandemic fatigue is a normal and expected response to chronic adversity, but when exacerbated, it can jeopardize not only how we, as communities, respond to the current crisis, <a href="https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/relations-medias/communiques/2021/octobre/communiques-detail/46220">as shown by our data</a>, but also how we will react to future ones — a key ingredient in building resilient communities. </p>
<p>Our results showed pandemic fatigue manifests itself through anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, issues affecting 21.9 per cent, 25.6 per cent and 9.4 per cent of Canadians, respectively.</p>
<h2>The ‘public’ in public health</h2>
<p>There is an urgent need to rebuild a safe public space. The population and its representatives (including opposition parties, citizens’ groups and community leaders) need access to sufficient information to monitor the government’s actions, including real-time and raw COVID-19 data. They need to be able to offer criticism and propose alternative solutions, but also feel accepted despite their different viewpoints on the crisis. We must allow a return of the “public” in public health. </p>
<p>As underlined by the World Health Organization (WHO), governments should act in such a way that citizens and communities can regain some form of power and autonomy in their daily lives. They must feel and perceive that they are seen as legitimate citizens, even when they disagree with the government. This should be guided by five major principles: <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/335820/WHO-EURO-2020-1160-40906-55390-eng.pdf">transparency, consistency, predictability, fairness and co-ordination</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Table defining transparency, consistency, predictability, fairness and co-ordination." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444179/original/file-20220203-23-o6hgwu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The World Health Organization’s principles favouring compliance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Blouin-Genest, Généreux, Roy)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most important challenge, we argue, is one of coherence, where citizens’ questions and criticisms must be addressed directly rather than <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-protest-1.6335086">ignored, deemed irrelevant or used against those asking them</a>. This will help increase the “sense of coherence” of affected populations, a key factor in building resilient communities.</p>
<p>We define a sense of coherence as a “<a href="https://refips.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/COVID19_SOC_UIPES_REFIPS_final.pdf">psychological resource that helps to understand a stressful event, to give meaning to it, and to manage it</a>.” The higher the sense of coherence is, the better we can face adversity and stressful events. </p>
<p>For example, our data shows that <a href="https://nccid.ca/publications/psychosocial-impacts-of-the-covid-19/">those with a high sense of coherence are three times less likely to experience anxiety and depression</a>. The sense of coherence can be directly affected by the strategies put in place by governments and authorities to respond to crises. Our data suggests that, overall, Canadians’ sense of coherence decreased during the pandemic.</p>
<h2>Dialogue with communities</h2>
<p>The health emergency Canada still faces should not be underestimated, and as the WHO reiterates, the pandemic is far from over. However, not all policies and measures need to be implemented through “emergency” procedures or justified by the state of emergency, as seen widely in Canada right now. The response to COVID-19 must rely on a stronger democracy, where citizens and communities can express themselves, exchange and reflect and, by doing so, bring back meaning and coherence in their daily lives. </p>
<p>Dialogue with affected communities is still left aside in responses to the pandemic, <a href="https://nccid.ca/publications/psychosocial-impacts-of-the-covid-19/">amplifying skepticism and beliefs in erroneous information</a>. Our research also underlines an increase in political polarization, <a href="https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/relations-medias/communiques/2021/octobre/communiques-detail/46220">deepening already existing gaps between communities</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Table listing examples of citizen and community inclusion" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=131&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=131&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444180/original/file-20220203-27-8xdfvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A crisis strategy should not be based on information moving only in one direction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Blouin-Genest, Généreux, Roy)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The spectrum of citizen participation can be quite diverse, but our data suggest that the current COVID-19 strategy based on the information moving only in one direction — in which citizens and communities assume very little responsibility — is a wrong one. The recognition of past mistakes, humility and better community involvement should be the cornerstones of our responses to this crisis, with citizen and community inclusion.</p>
<p>Bringing back dialogues between authorities and communities affected by the pandemic is a real emergency. The long-term health of individuals and communities is at stake.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176031/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada’s ‘us against them’ COVID-19 strategy is amplifying social division, creating major psychosocial impacts, and has resulted in a significant decrease in trust toward authorities.Mélissa Généreux, Associate Professor, Faculty of medicine and health sciences, Université de Sherbrooke Gabriel Blouin-Genest, Associate professor, School of applied politics, Scientific codirector, CIDIS (Centre interdisciplinaire de développement international en santé), Université de Sherbrooke Mathieu Roy, Professeur associé, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1763102022-02-04T11:05:38Z2022-02-04T11:05:38ZIs this the end of the road for vaccine mandates in healthcare?<p>The UK government recently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/consultation-on-removing-vaccination-as-a-condition-of-deployment-for-health-and-social-care-staff">announced</a> a dramatic U-turn on the COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, originally scheduled to take effect on April 1 2022. Health or social care staff will no longer need to provide proof of vaccination to stay employed. The reason, as health secretary Sajid Javid made clear, is that “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/oral-statement-on-vaccines-as-a-condition-of-deployment">it is no longer proportionate</a>”.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://theconversation.com/vaccine-mandates-for-healthcare-workers-should-be-scrapped-omicron-has-changed-the-game-175554">several reasons</a> why it was the right decision at this point to scrap the mandate. Most notably, omicron causes less severe disease than other coronavirus variants; many healthcare workers have already had the virus (potentially giving them immunity <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2101">equivalent to the vaccine</a>); vaccines are not as effective at preventing re-infection and transmission of omicron; and less restrictive alternatives are available (such as personal protective equipment and lateral flow testing of staff).</p>
<p>But the question remains: what does this imply for vaccine mandates more generally? In a <a href="https://twitter.com/Jeremy_Hunt/status/1488220491374632963">Twitter thread</a>, former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt has expressed concerns that the U-turn will make it harder to implement vaccine mandates in the future. This might be true politically, but ethically, it doesn’t follow. Indeed, this provides an opportunity to reflect on when such mandates are ethically justifiable – or even required.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1488220491374632963"}"></div></p>
<p>The ethical principle that justifies some forms of mandatory vaccination of health professionals remains: healthcare professionals have a fundamental duty to minimise the risk of harm to patients. This includes taking reasonable steps to protect patients from infection. The General Medical Council and the Royal College of Nursing have previously made it clear that unless they have a medical reason, doctors and nurses have a duty to have vaccines against serious communicable diseases. It is, arguably, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/376/bmj.o206.full.pdf">required by the Hippocratic oath</a>. </p>
<h2>When would a mandate be ethical?</h2>
<p>At least four factors are relevant when considering whether it’s justifiable to make vaccines mandatory for healthcare workers. </p>
<ol>
<li>Will the mandate increase vaccine uptake? </li>
<li>Will the mandate reduce infection in hospitals and clinics?</li>
<li>Are the health benefits for patients proportionate to the risks for healthcare workers?</li>
<li>Are less restrictive policies available that can achieve similar outcomes? </li>
</ol>
<p>With omicron as the dominant variant, a mandate would not satisfy those conditions. But mandates for other vaccines might well do. </p>
<p>Take the flu, for instance. Most people aren’t aware of the risk of catching the flu in a hospital. However, COVID has made the problem of hospital-acquired infections more evident. During the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phe-and-lshtm-the-contribution-of-nosocomial-infections-to-the-first-wave-28-january-2021">up to a quarter </a> of COVID hospitalisations may have been caught in hospital. Up to a third of COVID deaths in Scotland in 2020 <a href="https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/7183/2021-02-24-covid19-hospitalonset-mortality-mar-dec-2020-summary.pdf">were considered</a> “definitive hospital onset”. </p>
<p>A similar problem occurs with flu. For example, during the 2018-19 flu season, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/irv.12679">15% of patients hospitalised with the flu</a> at London University College hospitals were estimated to have caught it in hospital. Hospital-acquired flu infection is <a href="https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-020-4792-7">associated with high mortality</a> - with about <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2217">27% of cases being fatal</a>. And the uptake of the flu vaccine among healthcare workers is patchy. In the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/996100/Seasonal_influenza_vaccine_uptake_HCWs_2020-21_FINAL_v2.pdf">last winter season</a> (2020-21), around a quarter of frontline healthcare workers in England hadn’t had the flu jab. Some NHS Trusts had only around 50% uptake. </p>
<p>For the flu vaccine, mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6468130/">much more effective</a> than <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26619125/">less restrictive alternatives</a> (condition four), at increasing vaccine uptake (condition one), and at reducing hospital transmission (condition two). </p>
<p>It has also been shown to reduce overall deaths from <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M20-0413">pneumonia and flu</a> and it is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10493337/">effective at reducing staff absenteeism</a> due to illness. Importantly, the flu vaccines have been extensively researched over decades and there is a high degree of confidence about their safety. This makes even a small marginal benefit resulting from a vaccine mandate worth the mandate for healthcare workers (condition three). </p>
<p>There is a strong ethical case that those who work in the health and social care sector should be required to have the seasonal flu vaccine as a condition of employment. If a new, more serious – but vaccine-preventable – variant of SARS-CoV-2 were to emerge, that might also apply. </p>
<p>One reason provided for the U-turn on COVID vaccines is the fear of critical staff shortages. But that would not necessarily apply if staffing problems in the NHS are addressed. In the US, large hospitals that have mandated flu vaccination <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/indiana-hospital-fires-nurses-refusing-flu-shot/story?id=18116967">have not had significant staff losses as a result</a>. </p>
<p>Ethical principles are not relative, but what course of action they prescribe depends on the circumstances and the facts. While the U-turn on the COVID vaccine mandate was ethically justified, we shouldn’t rule out mandates altogether.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominic Wilkinson receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. This work was supported by the UKRI/ AHRC funded UK Ethics Accelerator project, grant number AH/V013947/1.’ The UK Ethics Accelerator project can be found at <a href="https://ukpandemicethics.org/">https://ukpandemicethics.org/</a></span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alberto Giubilini receives funding from Wellcome Trust</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Savulescu He is a Bioethics Committee consultant for Bayer. He receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. He is a Partner Investigator on an Australian Research Council Linkage award (LP190100841, Oct 2020-2023) which involves industry partnership from Illumina. He does not personally receive any funds from Illumina.</span></em></p>Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is concerned that the U-turn on vaccine mandates for NHS staff will make it harder to implement them in the future.Dominic Wilkinson, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor of Ethics, University of OxfordAlberto Giubilini, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of OxfordJulian Savulescu, Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1763232022-02-03T21:54:58Z2022-02-03T21:54:58ZMajority of Canadians disagree with ‘freedom convoy’ on vaccine mandates and lockdowns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444158/original/file-20220202-21-1kob8g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C97%2C4581%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A 'Freedom Convoy' has been protesting vaccine mandates at Parliament Hill, but most Canadians don't share their views on COVID-19 restrictions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The self-styled “freedom convoy” in Ottawa has dominated headlines, but do the demonstrators represent the views of most Canadians? When it comes to their stark opposition to government-imposed restrictions and vaccine mandates, research shows the protesters clearly represent a minority view — no matter how vocal they are. </p>
<p>Most Canadians support government measures to help control the spread of COVID-19, according to our ongoing public opinion study. Known as the <a href="https://covid19monitor.org/">COVID-19 Monitor</a>, the study of Canadians’ attitudes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and public policy interventions has been running since shortly after the first COVID-19-related government restrictions were <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-seven-days-that-shook-canada-how-the-covid-19-crisis-escalated/">introduced in March 2020</a>. It has amassed more than 100,000 respondents, making it one of the largest continuing studies of Canadian attitudes toward the pandemic.</p>
<p>The study is a partnership between McMaster University’s <a href="http://digitalsocietylab.org/">Digital Society Lab</a> and <a href="https://voxpoplabs.com/">Vox Pop Labs</a>, a social enterprise that conducts public opinion research polling. We hold positions with both organizations.</p>
<p>Our findings indicate that a majority of Canadians support most of the measures that have been employed by federal and provincial governments aimed at preventing the transmission of COVID-19. In most cases support has remained relatively stable since the beginning of the pandemic. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The front of a large truck on a snowy road with a Canadian blowing across its grill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444243/original/file-20220203-25-1xlt9s4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The protesters’ stark opposition to government-imposed restrictions and vaccine mandates represents a minority view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our objective in reporting the results of this study is not to pass judgement on the views of the “freedom convoy” demonstrators or their supporters. We simply offer a series of empirical tests of the <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rupa-subramanya-freedom-convoy-dismantles-stereotypes-about-who-is-opposed-to-vaccine-mandates">claims that those views are widely shared</a> among Canadians. Our analysis of the data from the COVID-19 Monitor indicates that such claims are significantly exaggerated.</p>
<p>The most recent wave of the COVID-19 Monitor study was conducted online from Jan. 4-10, 2022, and completed by 2,339 respondents randomly selected from the Vox Pop Labs online respondent panel. The respondents were weighted by census estimates of age, education, region, sex and vote choice in the 2021 federal election to reflect a representative sample of the Canadian population.</p>
<h2>Vaccine mandates</h2>
<p>Although they are widely attributed as the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/trucker-protest-convoy-southwestern-ontario-1.6329118">catalyst for the trucker rally</a>, vaccine mandates actually enjoy high levels of support among Canadians. Survey data shows approximately four out of five Canadians agree that health- and long-term care workers should be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Roughly three-quarters of Canadians think that vaccines should be mandatory for government workers and politicians. </p>
<p>There is even broad-based support for a vaccine mandate for all non-exempt adults over the age of 18, with 70 per cent of Canadians indicating that they back the measure to some extent. That support begins to decline slightly when it comes to opinions on mandatory vaccines for teenagers and adolescents. It drops precipitously to just under 50 per cent for children under the age of five.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="bar graph showing levels of support for vaccine mandates affecting different groups of people" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444143/original/file-20220202-17-1gnzmg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadians express high levels of support for vaccine mandates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Covid19Monitor.org)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Vaccine passports</h2>
<p>A majority of Canadians agree with the requirement to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to undertake certain activities. We observed that an estimated four out of every five Canadians supports <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/domestic-travel">vaccine passports for air</a> or <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise">cruise ship travel</a>. Support tapers off ever-so-slightly for proof of vaccination in venues such as movie theatres, restaurants and gyms. </p>
<p>Of all the activities posed to survey respondents, shopping at a grocery store registered the lowest level of support for requiring vaccine passports. Just 50 per cent of Canadians indicated that they would agree with such a measure.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="bar graph showing levels of support for vaccine passports in different circumstances" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444146/original/file-20220202-23830-mbyeoa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A majority of Canadians agree with the requirement for proof of vaccination for certain activities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Covid19Monitor.org)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Restrictions</h2>
<p>Canadians are also broadly supportive of most government-imposed restrictions associated with COVID-19. The field dates of this latest wave of the COVID-19 Monitor study coincide with <a href="https://financialpost.com/news/covid-19-updates-ontario-tightens-restrictions-in-omicron-wave">renewed restrictions in many provinces</a> in response to a surge in cases associated with the Omicron variant. </p>
<p>The highest level of support for restrictions is with respect to nursing homes, but respondents also indicated widespread agreement with restrictions on international travel, bars and nightclubs and stadiums. Even school and daycare closures received majority support with 66 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat agreeing with such measures given the circumstances at the time.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="bar graph showing levels of support for different types of restrictions" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444148/original/file-20220202-5180-17b48es.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadians are broadly supportive of most government-imposed restrictions associated with COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Covid19Monitor.org)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Only the possibility of restrictions on playgrounds, parks and the potential for curfews received less than majority support. This is a marked shift from a year ago, when our data shows that Canadians were more supportive of restrictions on outdoor activities than they are now.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="line graph showing levels of support for restrictions on outdoor activities over time" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444149/original/file-20220202-5180-1mrx9p1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadians’ support for restrictions on outdoor activities has fallen over the past year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Covid19Monitor.org)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Impacts</h2>
<p>The high levels of support that Canadians express for vaccine mandates and restrictions should not be interpreted as satisfaction with present conditions. To the contrary, results from the COVID-19 Monitor study suggest that self-reported mental health among Canadians is approaching its lowest point since the pandemic began.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="line graph showing Canadians' self-reported mental health over time" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444150/original/file-20220202-17-p17d6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadians’ self-reported mental health has declined over the course of the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Covid19Monitor.org)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moreover, approval ratings for Justin Trudeau’s handling of the pandemic — as well as those of provincial premiers including Doug Ford and François Legault — are approaching or are already at their lowest levels in the past year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="series of line graphs showing Canadians' approval of federal and provincial leaders" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=674&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=674&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444151/original/file-20220202-21-136bda3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=674&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadians’ support for government pandemic restrictions does not necessarily reflect satisfaction with political leaders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Covid19Monitor.org)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, our findings suggest that Canadians are growing increasingly weary of the pandemic and its management by our political leaders, but are by and large resolved to support the measures being put in place by the federal and provincial governments to try to see us through. </p>
<p>While this may not be the sense that one gets on the streets of Ottawa this week, these results reflect that it is the position of most Canadians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clifton van der Linden has received funding for his work on the COVID-19 Monitor from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada, the Mitacs Accelerate program, and McMaster University's Faculty of Social Sciences. He is the founder and CEO of Vox Pop Labs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander G W Beyer is lead data science at Vox Pop Labs and is a postdoctoral fellow at the McMaster Digital Society Lab. His postdoctoral fellowship is funded in part by the Mitacs Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship program.</span></em></p>Most Canadians support government measures to help control the spread of COVID-19, according to a public opinion study. But they’re growing weary of the pandemic.Clifton van der Linden, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Digital Society Lab Director, McMaster UniversityAlexander G W Beyer, PhD Candidate, Political Science, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.