Medical staff prepare for vaccination at the Titanic…(+) Exhibition Center on December 21, 2021 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Getty Images
Northern Ireland’s MPs are considering new rules, which campaigners say could lead to compulsory vaccinations or a lockdown if the pandemic returns.
But experts say the briefing on the proposed changes to the Public Health Act has been “hijacked” by campaigners.
The country is holding a public consultation ahead of legislation that experts say will bring public health laws in line with the rest of the UK.
This is an extensive 79-page document that proposes a number of changes to the Northern Ireland Public Health Act 1967.
Under a 2016 review of the law, clauses outlining “special requirements” for vaccination and restrictions on group gatherings sparked controversy.
According to the BBC, campaign groups have reacted strongly to these clauses, saying they could be used to make vaccination compulsory or impose lockdowns.
But experts are calling for calm amid a campaign in which local councilors have sent numerous letters and emails opposing the consultation’s recommendations.
Alan Stout, chairman of the British Medical Association NI, told British National Television: “It is important that we provide a range of protections for the public.”
“It’s so far-reaching that it shouldn’t and can’t be looked at simply through the lens of COVID-19 or the actual vaccination itself.”
The new bill itself has not yet been drafted, so the consultation document takes a number of steps before becoming law.
A draft bill incorporating feedback from the consultation has been prepared and will be passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly before being tabled.
It is too early to say how many of the recommendations will ultimately become law.
Article 143 of the consultation suggests that new regulations “may impose special restrictions or requirements, such as requiring people to receive vaccinations or other preventive treatments.”
England temporarily made it compulsory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021, but the rules remained in place as the pandemic subsided in 2022.
Northern Ireland has not introduced these rules for its own health workers, but the proposals could allow them to be introduced in the future.
Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Mark Nesbitt said despite public health experts’ opposition to making vaccinations compulsory, which is controversial, it is “important that all options are considered”. insisted.
The practice could fuel public opinion against the shot, create controversy and ultimately hinder acceptance.
Nevertheless, as Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s European director, said in 2021, they have been effective in certain circumstances.
Kluge argued that compulsions should only be introduced “as a last resort, when all other viable options for increasing vaccination rates have been exhausted.”
Dr Stout said the Northern Ireland consultations were not really about obligations at all.
“It appears to have been hijacked for content about vaccinations, but it’s actually not about vaccinations,” he told the BBC.
“We never support mandatory vaccination,” he added.
The consultation also addressed requirements to keep sick children out of school, limits on group meetings and other measures widely used during the pandemic.
Activists claim some of the documents could lead to forced incommunicado detention.
“This is about a repertoire of potential actions that any government in charge has access to to protect the public during a catastrophic public health emergency,” Dr. Stout said.
A Department of Health spokesperson told the BBC: “Northern Ireland needs to replace its outdated public health laws, which are more than 55 years old.” We need legislation that covers infection and contamination from biological, chemical and radiological sources and is in line with the rest of the UK. ”
“Public consultation should stimulate public debate,” they added.
The consultation closes on Monday 14 October.
