Tempting as it is, I fear enforcing jabs would backfire 

A civilized life requires good neighbor relations. When two of my closest neighbors complained about their terrible experience with Covid-19, I said this to myself.

They were both feigned for several weeks, and one believed he would die.

It was difficult to feel sympathy and exasperation, but it wasn’t easy. The reason for my hard-heartedness, as you will probably have guessed, is that both of these neighbours — whom I like as individuals — had refused to take the vaccine.

I was more frustrated when both of them separately stated to me that they had not received the vaccine despite all their experience.

They admitted that neither of them had been to death; they also had not required unpleasant hospital care such as ventilating in an induced sleep coma.

But as the prospect rises of operations being cancelled, with NHS beds taken up by the rapidly growing numbers of people requiring hospitalisation for the latest variant — of which a hugely disproportionate number are the unjabbed — the public’s demand for vaccination to be mandatory will become more insistent.

I was further tested by the declarations of my neighbours that they had not received the vaccine, which made me even more frustrated. pictured: Anti-vaxxers protesting  at Milton Keynes test centre 

Inundated

In fact, a Mail on Sunday/Deltapoll poll was conducted in the crucial 57 seats in parliament that Labour won from Boris Johnson’s Tories’ in 2019. The question “Do you support compulsory Covid vaccine?” received a nearly two-to-one margin of support. A nearly two-to-1 margin of support was achieved for the question “Do you support compulsory Covid vaccine?” (57% to 31%).

The majority of Covid patients are not likely to be vaccinated.

It would not be barbarous or impossible to force people into injecting themselves with vaccines. It would instead be similar to that which is being introduced next month in Austria, where criminal fines of up to ¤3,600 will be imposed on anyone over the age of 14 who refuses to be vaccinated.

The reason for this draconian measure is that the Austrian population has a very high proportion of vaccine opponents — an estimated one in six adults has refused to roll up their sleeves — and its hospitals are at crisis point.

Perhaps the most obvious example of Europe’s low vaccination rates is in Bulgaria. More than three quarters of over-65s in Bulgaria have never had anti-Covid shots. The country’s ‘excess deaths’ in 2021 — that is, the increase over the five-year mortality average pre-Covid — would, if applied to a country with the UK’s population, equate to more than half a million fatalities.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop and Canterbury of Canterbury (pictured), invoked Jesus’s instruction to love thy neighbor in asking those 6,000,000 to make a change: “Vaccination lowers my chance of becoming ill. [which]This reduces the likelihood of my infecting others. It is very easy… love your neighbor as yourself.

The UK Government launched the most efficient vaccination program in Europe, and now has the fastest booster delivery outside of tiny Iceland. This was a huge success.

 But there remain about 6 million people who, like those near neighbours of mine, are adamantly against it. Justin Welby (Archbishop of Canterbury) invoked Jesus’s command to love thy neighbor when he urged the 6 million people to reconsider their views: “Vaccination lowers my chance of becoming ill. [which]This reduces the chance of me infecting other people. It is very easy… love your neighbour.

This was his accusation of the selfish unvaccinated, who were putting their lives and those of others at risk. But, I doubt that Welby, a widely respected spiritual figure, will be able to move the needle with his pre-Christmas message.

Other side of the pond, the influence of evangelical Christians has been instrumental in dissuading followers from getting vaccinated. This has been denounced by one pro-vaccine Christian columnist, The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson (pictured): ‘They show not radical generosity but discreditable selfishness …This is heresy compounded by lunacy’

But on the other side of the pond — and of the argument — evangelical Christians have been influential in dissuading their followers from being vaccinated.

This has been denounced by one pro-vaccine Christian columnist, The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson: ‘They show not radical generosity but discreditable selfishness …This is heresy compounded by lunacy.’

The biggest victims are however these preachers and their own congregations. They were also disproportionately killed by the pandemic. It’s not even the televangelists who dismiss the risk of Covid because they don’t believe in the importance of vaccines.

Glowing

Marcus Lamb (64-year-old founder and CEO of Daystar Christian TV Network) died from Covid in November.

The network, which he broadcasts on, had criticized vaccines, saying that they ‘kill your immune system’. Jonathan, Jonathan’s son broadcasts also on Daystar. He said his father’s Covid infected was due to a’spiritual attack by the enemy’.

In addition to Phil Valentine, a Nashville radio station host, Marc Bernier, two Florida radio hosts and Dick Farrel, who were outspoken anti-vax broadcasters, have also died of Covid.

There has been a great deal of gloating about these deaths on social media — which is not a good look.

Marcus Lamb (pictured), 64-year old founder of Daystar Christian TV Network, was killed by Covid in November.

One can argue, however that inadvertent deaths constitute a greater public health warning than what the official authorities have issued. 

It would be especially important if anti-vax broadcasters, such as Dick Farrel, retract their statements on the deathbed. Amy Leigh Hair (a friend and follower) posted via Facebook that he had sent her a text in his last days, encouraging her to get vaccined. He said: ‘I wish I had gotten it!’ ‘

These characters are associated with the ultra-conservative libertarian movement — a phenomenon much less powerful in this country. 

Even if they are able to retract at their final resting place, like Dick Farrel (pictured). Amy Leigh Hair, his friend and follower, posted on Facebook that he had text her during his final days asking her to get immunized. He said: ‘I wish I had gotten it!’ 

Piers Corbyn is the brother of former Labour Party leader Jeremy, and is a prominent anti-vax activist. He was also a once-elected Labour councillor.

Piers Corbyn’s followers stormed the Milton Keynes coronavirus testing center, abused staff and volunteers before taking some equipment. Evidently, this is a criminal offense and charges are likely to follow.

But however deranged Piers Corbyn’s claims — and however discredited he is after being exposed as happy to take what he thought was £10,000 in bank notes in return for not attacking the AstraZeneca vaccine, having been duped by pranksters — I don’t believe his anti-vax proselytising should itself be made illegal.

Piers Corbyn, brother to the ex-Labour Party leader Jeremy (pictured), is the prominent anti-vax activist. He was also a former Labour councillor.

Sinister

A pamphlet in which he compared the vaccine program to Auschwitz was seized by the Malicious Communications Act. To remove his speech freedom on this matter would be to convince his supporters that “the Establishment” is trying to control his thoughts.

It is for a similar reason, among others, that I oppose compulsory vaccination — except as a condition of employment for patient-facing NHS staff.

This would increase the perception that vaccines are an unfair imposition and not a welcome offering to those who want to flee from Covid’s fearful repercussions.

Many families already have internal tensions about vaccine issues, and there is no prospect that criminal sanctions will be used to further agitate the domestic situation.

Piers Corbyn, centre (right), at the Let the UK Live Rally held in Milton Keynes December 29 to protest against vaccine passports as well as cashless transactions

Attempting to make the vaccine mandatory would damage social cohesion more widely — as we have already seen with riots in Austria, and in Germany, where the same policy has been mooted by senior politicians in the government.

Contrary to popular belief, none of the British parties are in favor of making vaccine abstention illegal. Even though the Commons approved the measure that made it compulsory for NHS staff to receive the vaccine, if they wish to continue their job,

However, this did not change the precedent. The General Medical Council’s long-standing guidance stated that physicians should be immunized for serious communicable illnesses unless they are contraindicated.

And, just from a practical point of view, what would happen if such a law were passed, millions were issued with fines — and millions refused to pay? Are they all going to jail? If not, then where would the prison be?

But, above all, I don’t want my neighbors or others like them to be criminalized.