The High Commissioner issues her opinion on the draft bill introducing an obligation for certain categories of individuals to be vaccinated against Covid-19

At a hearing held on 2 September as part of a wide-ranging consultation currently being carried out by the National Council on this proposed law, the High Commissioner gave her observations on the draft bill, which would make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for certain categories of individuals. The bill is due to be debated at a Public Session on 14 September 2021.

On the principle of mandatory vaccination, the High Commissioner noted the special considerations in the health and care sector, where those workers most exposed are already subject to certain additional vaccination obligations.

While emphasising the unprecedented circumstances in which this new obligation would be introduced, and the delicate ethical and moral questions it raises, the High Commissioner insisted on the need for this measure and its implementation to be weighed carefully. She called on the legislator to ensure that this obligation is solidly justified on health grounds, and that the expected benefits outweigh both the infringement of personal freedoms and the foreseeable human and social costs.

As regards the details of the arrangements being considered, the High Commissioner made various observations, including a call for the law to identify specifically which categories of jobs and professions would be concerned by this new vaccine obligation. She also called for the law to be applied in a way that protects medical secrecy, and for greater legal clarity on the implications for persons suspended for refusing to be vaccinated, along with a guarantee that individuals unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons are not penalised. Since the legal requirement for Covid-19 vaccination is intended to be a temporary measure, the High Commissioner also called for the introduction of a review clause, under which the necessity of the measure would be re-evaluated at regular intervals based on developments in the epidemiological and health situation in the Principality.