Colin James: Athletes opposing vaccination should be given a choice – get the jab or hang up their boots
Athletes who oppose vaccination should either be forced to get the jab – or hang up their boots, writes Colin James.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Footballer Deni Varnhagen’s decision to delay getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is quite odd.
While everyone is entitled to choose not to get the jab, the 28-year-old dual premiership player with the Adelaide Crows not only gets paid to compete in a contact sport at national level but is a registered nurse in a public hospital.
It is well documented that the AFL women's’ league has inspired legions of girls to start playing Aussie rules football since its inception five years ago. As such, Varnhagen is a role model for younger fans, especially teenagers.
Her recent activity on social media expressing “freedom of choice” about Covid vaccination would not have escaped their attention. With the rate of vaccination among young South Australians remaining one of the lowest in the country, they should be encouraged to get jabbed, not dissuaded by someone they admire.
Complicating matters further is the impending opening of SA’s borders to states such as Victoria and NSW, where Covid remains rampant.
Overall, the level of full vaccination in SA is still too low, hovering at 58.5 per cent. This is far short of the 80 per cent officially declared necessary to provide adequate protection.
As a medical and sporting professional, Varnhagen is in a position where she can help influence more people to be vaccinated. Instead, she has adopted a stance of expressing doubt about the efficacy of the program, despite overwhelming international-and-domestic evidence that it is proving to be effective in slowly enabling a return to normality.
South Australians constantly are being reminded the state is on the brink of being hit by a wave of the virulent Delta strain of coronavirus.
Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier is spearheading an advertising blitz urging everyone from 12 years of age to be vaccinated.
There are legitimate concerns that the state, having been spared the huge outbreaks experienced in Sydney and Melbourne, has become too complacent in recent months. While our leaders are appealing for the populace to get vaccinated so we can get our economy back on track, we have individuals like Varnhagen publicly expressing doubts.
Which is exactly what we do not need when we have to get to 80 per cent as fast as we possibly can. Domestic borders are likely to reopen within the next two months, international travel will resume from Sydney on November 1, Melbourne could come out of lockdown by Friday, and overseas students soon will start returning to capital city universities. As for Varnhagen, she is part of a national competition. Like AFLW players interstate, most of her Crows teammates have been fully vaccinated.
Pre-season training for the AFLW already is underway, with competition due to start again in January. This will involve interstate travel by the Crows, including Varnhagen, to cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
There is a school of thought that the AFL should declare that players must be mandatorily vaccinated. This has merit. Other employers already have implemented such a policy. Particularly those with essential workers such as nurses.
There is no reason why the AFL should not follow suit. Part of the road map to return to normality is to remove restrictions seen over the past 18 months, where players from various sporting codes have travelled between states in sterile corridors and remained quarantined in hubs. Double doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna hopefully will render this unnecessary.
The argument for full vaccination within the AFL is a sound one. Not only do players come into close contact with each other, they soon will be playing again in stadiums with thousands of people watching them. Public health and safety is paramount when it comes to the fight against Covid.
By the tone of her Instagram posts, Varnhagen will probably disagree with any instruction to get vaccinated, as she is entitled to do. Just like she can take to social media to promote freedom of choice. We do, after all, live in one of the world’s great democracies.
But another choice could be laid out for her, and any other players, not wanting to get vaccinated. If they want to keep playing – and getting paid to do so – then they should be told they need to make a decision for the greater good: Get the jab or hang up your boots.
Being rich today is about much more than money
If your total household wealth is close to $600,000, you are richer than around 50 per cent of the population. See how you measure up.
Trump running out the clock while Harris swings for the fences
The polls say the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is tied, and Tom Minear argues the way they are campaigning shows they have different views about what that means.