Rex Jory: Everyone is entitled to medical care, even those who distrust it

The argument that those who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 should be turned down for medfical care is absurd and inhumane, writes Rex Jory.

A small but vocal minority believe people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 should be denied the highest level of treatment by our medical system.

The unvaccinated, the argument goes, shouldn’t automatically be entitled to intensive care hospital beds or life-saving ventilators.

They shouldn’t take the beds of legitimately ill people.

The views of this angry minority appear in letters to the editor, online and on talkback radio.

I understand their argument but vigorously disagree with them. It is as absurd as it is inhumane.

ICU nurse Chelsea Wong caring for a COVID patient. Picture: David Caird

While figures are rubbery, it seems more than half the people being treated for Covid in ICU – the most expensive and highly skilled level of our hospital system – have not been vaccinated.

A disproportionately high number of people who are unable to work because of Covid-related issues have not been vaccinated.

And unvaccinated people are increasingly being denied access to retail, tourism and entertainment outlets. They aren’t spending money.

In short, the argument goes, unvaccinated people are a burden on society.

They shouldn’t be entitled to the same privileges of people who have taken the trouble to be vaccinated.

It’s an easy case to prosecute. But it’s wrong.

It is wrong to say the unvaccinated should be refused medical care. Picture: AFP

Elsewhere it may be different. In Austria, for example, vaccine “refuseniks” face fines, potential bankruptcies, even prison sentences.

They can only visit food shops, banks and chemists. They are banned from all other shops, businesses, theatres, restaurants, bars and museums.

In Australia, vaccinations against Covid remain a matter of individual choice. Free choice is a cornerstone of a free society.

Choices have consequences.

People who choose not to vaccinate should not, indeed must not, be denied the basic services of the state.

They may be excluded from certain public activities. Indeed, as in the case of deported Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic, they may be prevented from seeking lucrative financial rewards.

The government was right to deport Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. Picture: AFP

The federal government was right to deport Djokovic.

But if Djokovic developed a serious bout of Covid while he was in Australia, surely no one would suggest he should have been deprived of the full services available under Australia’s world-class health system.

The public health system must be available to everyone. It can’t be open to some sort of eeny, meeny, miny, mo selection system. If unvaccinated people who contract Covid are to be treated as second-class citizens by the health system, where does it end?

Are the same people trying to persecute non-vaxxers also advocating that drunk drivers injured in a vehicle accident should be denied proper hospital treatment? What about people injured while not wearing seat belts, who take illegal drugs, drive through a stop sign, illegally jump off a suburban jetty or get shot by police while robbing a bank?

What about alcoholics, people who smoke 50 cigarettes a day, are seriously overweight or problem gamblers?

Most people could be excluded from health care depending on which standard you want to apply. Picture: Emma Brasier

The list of people who could be excluded from the top levels of our health and hospital system because they have not maintained reasonable standards of personal health, safety and welfare is enormous. If Australia followed this daft logic, we would barely need a health system.

In biblical terms, how many of us would dare cast the first stone? We are all aware of people who are reluctant to be vaccinated. I know of a takeaway food shop where the owners are not vaccinated.

I choose not to shop there. Irrational? Perhaps, but I take every reasonable precaution to avoid Covid.

I am a strong advocate of Covid vaccinations.

But “refuseniks” should not be treated as modern-day witches, shunned and stigmatised by society.

They are entitled – and protected by law – to abstain from being vaccinated.

To suggest they should be denied proper medical and hospital treatment is a narrow and prejudiced view driven by fear and ignorance.

Covid-19 has done enough damage to modern society. It has caused hardships to nations and individuals, divided families and communities, destroyed relationships and businesses.

This is not the time for blind prejudice to punish people making a free and legal choice.