In the corridors of government – business race for COVID-19 vaccination and consideration of sanctions for non-vaccinators | Deal

With the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine in Lithuania, there have been several people seeking to change the priority groups of the vaccination population.

Not only public authorities, such as the Ministry of Social Security and Labor, which wants to vaccinate social service employees, or the Ministry of National Defense, which seeks to vaccinate soldiers, have made proposals to add certain groups to the list. , but also by various NGOs and companies.

Government and Ministry of Health 15 minutes About 20 organizations and companies related to business approached them.

These workers have been working on the “front line” for ten months.

The Association of the Business Security Group requested the vaccination of security personnel. People who work in the hotel and restaurant sector would prefer to be vaccinated by the Association of Hotels and Restaurants.

The Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries seeks to vaccinate the country’s notaries, the Lithuanian Association of Business Enterprises: store cashiers and hall staff.

“These workers have been working on the front lines for ten months. Although retail chains guarantee the highest safety standards, retail workers … interact with thousands of customers per day, so the risk of COVID-19 for these people it is still high, “the Trade Association said in a statement.

The Lithuanian Association of Petroleum Products Trading Companies also submitted a request to the Government, requesting to vaccinate 2 thousand people in order of priority. gas station workers. Vilnius Waters seeks vaccination for employees who ensure the functions of the necessary production processes.

The Lithuanian Heat Suppliers Association wants vaccines to be prioritized for people working in boiler rooms and cogeneration plants. “Žemaitijos pienas” asks to vaccinate employees directly involved in food production.

There were also requests from various organizations and companies for the vaccination of international flight crews and passenger service personnel, operators of logistics and food companies involved in the supply chain, employees of funeral companies, current journalists and veterinarians.

The state companies Regitra and Toksika have also requested vaccination from part of their staff.

Meanwhile, mobile operators Telia, Bitė and Tele2 indicated that they would pay for the vaccination of their employees.

Not a main problem

However, these requests are unlikely to be heard. At least in the near future.

Currently, according to the plan developed, priority groups are vaccinated: doctors, high-risk patients, residents and employees of nursing and care institutions, and volunteers.

We do not treat these requests as a matter of priority.

The priority groups of the population to be vaccinated are discussed in a council of experts formed under the government.

Its member, Vytautas Kasiulevičius, vice dean of the Vilnius University Medical Faculty, said that many council members are wary of commercial applications.

“We do not treat these requests as a matter of priority, because the most important thing is to start vaccinating those who are really dying of covid“, – 15 minutes said the doctor.

According to him, for example, in the United States, workers in basic services sectors are effectively vaccinated, but Europe seems to have taken a different path.

“The practice of many European countries is still that we focus on vaccination of risk groups, as well as vaccination in places where the largest outbreaks occur,” said V. Kasiulevičius.

According to the expert, with this in mind, company personnel take a back seat, and before getting vaccinated, it would be convenient to carry out extensive and frequent tests for COVID-19.

According to data from the Department of Statistics, currently in Lithuania the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is 56 thousand. 358 people, in both doses: 8262 people.

Vaccines in Lithuania are made with vaccines from BioNTech and Pfizer and Moderna.

I would like sanctions for unvaccinated workers

The enthusiasm of the sectors for vaccinating their employees does not in itself mean that everyone wants it, even if the vaccine is available to them before others.

According to the latest public survey submitted, 45% of people in Lithuania would be vaccinated against the coronavirus. population, 22 percent. the vaccine would not agree, and a third has yet to be decided. This survey was conducted by Vilmorus in December on behalf of LRT.

In response, the President of the Lithuanian Industrial Confederation, Vidmantas Janulevičius 15 minutes He said he would discuss with authorities a proposal that sanctions could be imposed on workers who refuse to be vaccinated in epidemiologically sensitive sectors.

He said the idea was born out of a recent discussion in the government’s Council of Experts about what to do with doctors who refuse to get vaccinated. V. Janulevičius himself is a member of this council.

“I think that if an employee comes into contact with clients or users of the service, they should be vaccinated.” 15 minutes said a trade representative.

“If an employee does not agree, we can change the Labor Code so that employee can be transferred to another position or another job that is safe for everyone without their consent,” he added.

Danas Arlauskas, president of the Lithuanian Employers’ Confederation, has a similar opinion.

“We cannot be hostage to people who want to live the way they want or walk around naked when others are dressed. There must be certain rules: 15 minutes he said. “The employer must have the greatest possible guarantee of the safety of the workplace.”

In the United States, where the coronavirus transported more than 400,000. life, it has been debated for some time whether an employer can make COVID-19 mandatory.

In Lithuania, it would probably not be very realistic.

“COVID-19 is not included in the list of vaccines that are mandatory for all employees. Therefore, in our opinion, employers cannot fire an employee simply because the employee refuses to be vaccinated.” 15 minutes said Vytautas Šilinskas, Deputy Minister of Social Security and Labor.

Wouldn’t it be the opposite case?

Unions oppose any consideration of any corporate coercion to vaccinate workers, and health experts view these ideas with caution.

Vaccination is, in our opinion, a voluntary and purely voluntary process.

“We must do everything possible to persuade the public, not to force vaccination. In this way, we may even get the opposite result.” 15 minutes said Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation.

This seems to be understood by many companies that plan positive internal communication with vaccine calls.

After contacting representatives of various companies or their representative organizations, 15 minutes so it was not possible to find those who would consider forcibly vaccinating.

V. Kasiulevičius, member of the Council of Experts, admits that he does not have a clear opinion on whether certain companies operating in particularly sensitive sectors might require an employee to be vaccinated. According to him, this problem is still too early, because in Lithuania vaccines are still lacking even for priority groups.

However, such a discussion could gain momentum if, with a sufficient supply of vaccines in Lithuania, it was not possible to vaccinate at a population level such that herd immunity would develop, the expert said.

“Special measures may not be necessary, but if vaccination fails, there may be questions about contact areas such as the police, teachers, the vendors themselves or hairdressers.” 15 minutes said V.Kasiulevičius.

However, we will have to look for points of contact and compromises. “We live in a free country, we take time to make decisions, we suffer, we suffer deaths, but we value democracy as the most important element, we accept reconciliations and sooner or later we find solutions,” he said.