The Observer
News 09.01.22 7TOP
Djokovic’s
mother, Dijana,
campaigning for
him in Belgrade;
above, the player
with a stamp
issued in his
honour in Serbia.
ICU can block a bed that could be
used for many critical operations,”
he told the Observer. “However, the
backlash that could occur as a result
of compulsory vaccination might
mean even fewer people coming for-
ward for vaccination .”What vaccines are mandatory in
the UK?
The answer to this is straightfor-
ward, said child health expert,
Professor Helen Bedford of
University College London. “We
don’t mandate any vaccine in the
UK. We recommend that people
have certain vaccines and advise
parents to have their children vac-
cinated against particular diseases
but we do not enforce that in law. In
fact, the only vaccine we have ever
mandated in Britain was smallpox
and the legislation enforcing its use
was repealed in the 1940s.
“Other countries have more of a
tradition for mandatory vaccina-
tions, however. Italy now has 10 vac-
cines that are mandatory.”What has been the impact of the
Omicron variant, which is easier to
catch but is thought to be less likely
to cause serious illness?
This is a key question, said psy-
chologist Marie Juanchich of Essex
University. “I believe Omicron is
changing things. People feel a bit
safer with it. People are much more
concerned about the severity of an
illness and less concerned about
the infectiousness of the virus that
causes it.”This point is backed by psychol-
ogist Simon Williams, at Swansea
University. “There is now a wide-
spread perception that Omicron
is milder and I think a lot of peo-
ple have taken that to mean they
don’t have to worry about it and are
not adjusting their behaviour,” he
said.
A particular problem was the
take-up of the booster vaccine last
month, which was helped by the
public’s wish not to disrupt the fes-
tive season with the virus. The fact
that this risk has passed might have
removed some of the drive to take
up the vaccine, Williams added.
“One of the things we have come
across is a factor we call ‘variant
fatigue’, which translates as people
saying: ‘Oh, here we go again, a new
variant. This is what viruses do; we
just need to get on with our lives.’
That’s not great from a public health
perspective.”So how should we improve Covid-
19 vaccination rates?
An important issue is to differenti-
ate between a diehard anti-vaxxer
and someone who has nagging
doubts about getting a vaccine, said
Bedford. “If you lump them together,
you will miss the chance to persuade
those who have genuine concerns
but who could change their minds
and get vaccinated.
“We need to get to the people in
this latter category although that
takes time and resources. Some GPs
have been ringing up all their unvac-
cinated patients to have a chat and
that has proven to be effective.
“Certainly, from my own expe-
rience, I fi nd that if you actually sit
down with a doubter, listen to what
their concern is, and respond appro-
priately, very often, you can encour-
age them to be vaccinated. Certainly,
I don’t think we should be thinking
about mandating or making a vac-
cine compulsory.”ON
OTHER
PAGES
Djokovic saga is
latest crisis to
sully Australia’s
‘Happy Slam’
Sport, page 15
Pandemic
policy deprives
my mother of
both family
love and her
human rights
Liz Saville
Roberts,
Comment,
page 45
In Italy, it is now obligatory for peo-
ple aged 50 or over to be vaccinated
against Covid-19. In France, which
has seen record numbers of positive
cases, President Emmanuel Macron
has also announced that he wants
to “piss off” the unvaccinated, while
Austria is contemplating a law to
make the vaccine mandatory for all
its citizens. By contrast, in the UK,
Boris Johnson has confi ned himself
to accusing anti-vaxxers of talking
“mumbo-jumbo”.
But is that enough? As doctors
continue to point out, hospital beds
are now fi lling up with more and
more seriously ill Covid patients,
many of whom are unvaccinated.
So, should vaccines against Covid be
made mandatory?What is the case for making Covid
vaccines mandatory?
Most British scientists believe that
increasing numbers of vaccinated
people will give a major boost to
efforts to limit hospitalisations
from serious Covid complications.
However, many question making
vaccination mandatory. The issue is
summed up by vaccine expert Peter
English.
“Unvaccinated people are very
much more likely to become ill and
consume disproportionate health-
care resources. A single case of
Covid-19 requiring admission to anAs Europe takes a hard
line, should vaccination
be mandatory in the UK?
Robin McKieExplainer
Djokovic faces questions over photo without mask
19 test was “recorded” raise questions
about his infection.
Djokovic was pictured at an event
for the launch of his own postal
stamp. He was also present at the
Tennis Association of Belgrade for
an award ceremony. It is not clear
whether he knew that he had Covid
when the pictures were taken.
Djokovic had attended a Euroleague
basketball match between Red Star
and Barcelona in Belgrade, at which
numerous people present tested pos-
itive for Covid-19.
Since his visa was revoked early
on Wednesday and he was ordered
to leave Australia, Djokovic has been
at the Park Hotel, an immigration
detention hotel in Melbourne, while
he awaits the hearing. Djokovic, who
has not been vaccinated, had arrived
at Melbourne airport with a medical
exemption provided through medi-
cal panels created by Tennis Australiaand the Victoria state government.
But the federal government controls
Australia’s borders and the border
force decided Djokovic lacked suffi -
cient grounds to enter the country.
In the court documents, Djokovic
has listed numerous points in his
appeal against deportation. He cites
the Australia travel declaration he
completed, which “indicated that he
met the requirements for a quar-
antine” in addition to the medical
exemption he received after his Covid
infection.
Djokovic claims he was denied
access to his legal team for some of the
eight hours of interviews he endured
upon his arrival at Melbourne airport
on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Renata Voráčová, the
Czech doubles player who had ini-
tially passed Australia’s border checks
with the same medical exemption as
Djokovic, has been deported from
the country following her own sub-
sequent detention. Voracova wasContinued from page 1 pictured leaving the Park Hotel yes-
terday afternoon and she told the
Czech publication iDNES.cz she had
planned to get vaccinated during the
off-season before she caught Covid-- She had competed in one tourna-
ment in Melbourne before she was
detained and she chose to leave the
country.
“Apparently, the Australian Tennis
Association has misled us, which is
annoying. I wanted to focus on ten-
nis, not visas, quarantine. It’s really
weird that I spent a week here, played
a match ... And then they came for
me,” she said.
A leaked video published by News
Corp yesterday shows Craig Tiley, the
Tennis Australia boss, explaining to
his staff his silence since Djokovic’s
detention. “We’ve chosen at this point
not to be very public with it and sim-
ply because there is a pending lawsuit
related to entry into Australia. Once
that has run its course, we’ll be able to
share more with you,” he said.
return to Australia after how things
have panned out.
His cause has found support in
unlikely corners. “It’s just too much
at this point,” said Australian ten-
nis player Nick Kyrgios yesterday.
“Honestly, I hope it all gets sorted as
soon as possible. For the sport, we
need him here: it’s that simple. He’s
one of the most infl uential sportspeo-
ple, probably, of all time.”
Yesterday morning, after some
rowdy days and nights, the hotel’s
surroundings were far quieter. A
couple of Serbian fans of Djokovic,
a father and son, quietly scanned the
building across the road. Meanwhile,
a dozen tenacious human rights pro-
testers continued to brandish their
signs demanding the release of the
refugees. Police offi cers stood guard
while photographers congregated
around windows , their cameras click-
ing every time a curtain moved.
Occasionally, members of the pub-
lic would stop to take a look. Karen
and Patrick were on their way to the
neighbourhood of Brunswick, on a
route they had taken countless times ,
when they stumbled across the scene.
“We walked past this building so
many times not knowing that they’ve
been there for months,” said Karen.
When Djokovic departs , so too will
the cameras , which have only briefl y
focused on the plight of the refugees.
One activist, Asher, stood to the
southern side of the building with a
pink sign that read: “Aussie Open?
More like Aussie endlessly abusing
refugees.” A real tennis racket was
attached to each corner of the sign.
His frustration was clear: “I’m kind
of disgusted that it’s taken Djokovic
being put in here for attention to
come to these men,” Asher said.
“Djokovic will be here for a few days
and he’s not in the same situation at
all. The media should be caring about
these men – regardless of Djokovic.”