MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev doesn’t rule out that suppression of civic rights for those evading inoculation against the novel coronavirus infection could be an efficient tool to promote vaccination.
"Opposite methods [of promoting vaccination] - to restrict the rights of those unvaccinated - are possible," he said in his article "Six Lessons of One Pandemic" published in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily. Such methods, in his words, can include shifting to work from home, banning from working with people, reducing payments, as anti-vaxxers are a threat to society.
"Such methods are actively used in many countries. Of course, it creates certain segregation on the grounds of vaccination. But such measures are quite efficient and are met with understanding and support by many," he stressed, adding that unvaccinated people do harm not only to themselves but also to those who are around them, especially children, who are not yet inoculated in most countries.
He noted that the legislation development in this sphere is a challenge the Russian state is yet to find an answer to. "Let me be straight, this response will depend on the degree of the threat to public security stemming from the pandemic. In certain situations, public security and social wellbeing of the entire population are more important than the rights and freedoms of an individual. The protection of the majority is the fundamental principle of democracy, whether you like it or not," he emphasized.