Covid: Scotland's unvaccinated must think again about getting the jab – Scotsman comment

As of yesterday, nearly 4.4 million people in Scotland had received their first dose of Covid vaccine, four million had been given their second, and more than three million a third ‘booster’ shot.

French President Emmanuel Macron used a rude term while talking about his efforts to persuade people who have still not agreed to be vaccinated against Covid (Picture: Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

However, while this is significantly higher than in many other parts of the world, there is still considerable room for improvement.

Vaccines have been shown to be safe and highly effective at preventing serious Covid infections, but there are still those who resist being inoculated.

It is clear that the pandemic continues to cause major problems for society at large. Staff shortages have prompted warnings about disruption to patient care from health boards, train services have been cut and schools are struggling for the same reason as staff test positive and are forced to self-isolate.

In Europe, several countries, including Germany and Austria, have either introduced mandatory vaccination or are planning to; and in France, there was uproar after President Emmanuel Macron, while ruling out “vaccination by force”, used a vulgar term, emmerder, in relation to unvaccinated people and said he wanted to limit “as much as possible their access to activities in social life”.

As should have been clear from the start, vaccinations are our best way out of this crisis, the surest path towards the long-awaited return of normality, and the end of all the tedious restrictions and the serious threats to businesses, people’s jobs and the economy that these cause.

We can be thankful that the uptake of vaccines in Scotland and the UK has been high enough not to prompt politicians to seriously consider Draconian measures like compulsory jabs.

But those who have still not volunteered should reconsider.

There are some people who have genuine reasons to be wary of getting the vaccine, such as having had adverse reactions to inoculations in the past. However, they should consult their doctor or seek advice from other official sources about the benefits and the risks before making their final decision. And those who have been misled by conspiracy theorists or who have simply been putting it off need to be more sensible and show a greater degree of community spirit.

The speed at which effective Covid vaccines were developed was a medical marvel and one which we are fools to ignore.

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