A “no jab, no job” COVID-19 policy went into effect in Fiji yesterday, with unvaccinated public servants forced to go on leave as the Pacific nation joined a number of countries in imposing similar mandates.
In April, a stubborn outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 ended a year-long spell of no community transmission of COVID-19, and has overwhelmed Fiji’s healthcare system with more than 40,000 cases.
The government has said that mandatory vaccinations are necessary to raise immunization rates and end the outbreak.
Photo: AFP
After a period of forced leave starting yesterday, Fiji’s public servants who remain unvaccinated by November would be dismissed.
In addition, employees at private firms could face fines and companies could be forced to stop operations over vaccine refusals.
A growing number of nations are making shots compulsory in critical sectors such as health and public services.
From Canada and the US to Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia, authorities in a growing number of countries have moved to require workers in hospitals, schools, travel and public services to get a shot or face varying levels of disciplinary action.
Despite intense political opposition in some nations, such as France, governments and experts say that mass vaccination is one of the most potent weapons to help end the pandemic and end the economic suffering brought by restrictions such as lockdowns.
Legal expert and former Fiji Human Rights commissioner Imrana Jalal said that other countries had mandated compulsory vaccinations in various critical sectors, but not on the sweeping scale imposed in Fiji.
The island nation’s economy has been hammered by a collapse of the tourism industry, with unemployment soaring as a result.
The government has dismissed the lockdown option because of its high economic cost and rising poverty in the nation of 930,000 people.
With more than 24,000 still-active cases and 358 deaths, its resources are stretched as military-style field hospitals handle the overflow of patients — especially after the virus swept through densely populated squatter settlements.
Authorities are facing deep vaccine skepticism fueled by misinformation spread on social media and by some religious leaders.
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