At the moment, vaccinations against Sars-Cov-2 in Austria are being carried out rather sluggishly. More doses of the vaccine are expected soon, to be used for example in the Tyrolian district Schwaz which is currently heavily affected by the South-African variant of the virus. The outlook of being vaccinated is causing discussions among the population. While some see it as a chance to gain a bit more freedom, others view it critically or even refuse to consider it. Is this attitue a negligent conduct? Ethicist Hans-Walter Ruckenbauer, Institute of Philosophy at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Graz, answers this question as follows:
"Yes, because individuals who reject the offer of vaccination against COVID-19 without a valid reason are refusing to cooperate with something of vital importance to society. These people jeopardise not only their own safety, but more besides. In the event that they become infected and seriously ill, they will also make demands on the stretched resources of the health system. If their behaviour was the norm, the mutation rate of the virus would be increased significantly. They are acting with reckless disregard of this factor.
Without widespread vaccination we will not escape the lockdown cycle and would have to accept increasingly serious negative biopsychosocial consequences. Anyone who wilfully boycotts the immunisation programme is prioritising their personal preference over the common good. Instead of that, what we need right now is a strong sense of solidarity, across all segments of society, so that we can keep the virus and its mutations under control."