EDITORIAL | Stop using cheap tricks to score political points, politicians

With local government elections less than seven weeks away, it was inevitable the debate about whether to vaccinate or not would become an electioneering tool.

DA leader John Steenhuisen has taken some heat on social media for his comments this week that government would be making a “terrible mistake” if it was to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory because this would be infringing on people’s rights and government had no right to tell people what they should or shouldn’t put into their bodies.

This despite President Cyril Ramaphosa making no mention of a mandatory vaccine policy when he addressed the nation on Sunday night. He only went as far as mentioning vaccine passports, which could be used “as evidence of vaccination for various purposes and events so people are able to demonstrate they’ve been vaccinated”.

It would be a shame if political point-scoring took precedence over scientific data and solid research.

Ah well, never let the facts get in the way of a good campaign spin.

No doubt other political parties will also be climbing on this particular bandwagon in the weeks to come.

But scoring cheap political points comes at the expense of SA’s vaccine rollout programme, which is already struggling to maintain momentum due to the shrill noise from anti-vaxxers. Just like some politicians, these campaigners rely on emotion and fake news to make their point, rather than facts and science.

The issue of mandatory vaccination is a hot potato across the world. US president Joe Biden last week announced that his government would make vaccines mandatory for two-thirds of US workers, including those in the private sector.

Some SA companies have also taken a firm stance. Discovery is the latest, announcing last week it would make vaccines mandatory for staff from January 1, arguing it had a social and moral imperative to do so. Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said last week compulsory vaccinations for its staff were being “seriously considered”. 

Other SA companies, such as Sanlam, have given staff a choice: if you don’t want the jab, no problem, but you must have regular PCR tests, at R850 a pop.

Then there are those encouraging people to get vaccinated by offering incentives.

No matter how you cut it, mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations is a controversial topic - hot enough to cause furious walkouts at family dinners and temper tantrums in conference rooms across the world.

So political parties will not be wanting to alienate any potential voters by taking a hard line one way or another, even if they personally wanted to.

This is unfortunate, because SA can’t afford to be insipid in the midst of a global pandemic that has killed 5.5-million people - 85,000 of them in SA. It would be a shame if political point-scoring took precedence over scientific data and solid research.

There is a lot to criticise government for when it comes to Covid-19. Controversial lockdowns and PPE corruption are at the top of the list. Opposition parties could - and should - have a field day with these issues. They will score hundreds of legitimate political points. But giving oxygen to the anti-vaxxer movement is a cheap trick that should hold no space on the campaign trail.