AfriForum plans to oppose vaccine mandate

This after President Cyril Ramaphosa told the nation on Sunday that government is considering a mandatory vaccine policy as the country begins its fight against a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.

The country’s low vaccination rate continues to be a cause for concern for health officials, even more so after the discovery of the Omicron variant in SA last week. 

A task team is expected to report to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Vaccination which will make recommendations to Cabinet on a fair and sustainable approach to vaccine mandates.

Public health lawyer Safura Abddol Karim says government will likely rely on the National Health Act or the State of Disaster Management Act to argue for the policy. 

Abdool Karim believes there is a willingness from the courts to limit individual rights to preserve public health.

“It’s a pretty strong indication when things like tobacco bans and quite severe restrictions on movement have been found to be Constitutional - it’s a pretty safe bet that the courts will take a similar view when it comes to something like a vaccine mandate, particularly in the new context that we find ourselves in this week with the Omicron variant. 

“It’s very likely that we will see a court deciding that it is Constitutional but we need to wait for that decision.

She adds it’s not cut-and-dried. 

“If they use State of Disaster of National Health Act infrastructure, we can see it implemented as quick as any State of Disaster regulations - a week or even less.

“There’s a lot of moving pieces. I think what we do need is we really need decisive action on the issue. I think for too long it’s been left as an ad hoc measure that some employers are adopting and some places are adopting, we really need consistency in this country to make sure out public health is preserved,” says Abdool Karim.

It’s unclear how soon the policy could become law.

“The timeline really depends on the infrastructure that government wants to use and certainly whether it’s subjected to any challenges.”

Some camps have applauded government’s plans, while others have pushed back at the controversial policy including AfriForum. 

AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl says the policy infringes on human rights. 

“On the basis of freedom of choice and Constitutional right to bodily autonomy, if the government implements vaccine mandates AfriForum will take the necessary steps to oppose them,” Van Zyl adds.

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