Final Word from Thursday, January 20, 2022

Czech law sets strict conditions for imposing a vaccine mandate, and the arrival of omicron made the legality of such a move in the case of covid highly questionable. How can a shot be mandatory - or even be called a vaccine - if people with three doses are still getting sick and are still transmitting the disease? Health Min. Vlastimil Válek, who consistently opposed a mandate, asked Deník last week: How do you want to define the vaccination regime given that the virus is mutating every six months and new vaccines will apparently be developed? Yesterday's cabinet decision to drop the mandate of the Babiš government is the fulfillment of Válek's efforts and puts the legal issue to rest for now, but some influential Czechs will continue to call for what amounts to vaccine rape. Pres. Milan Kubek of the Medical Chamber still favors forcing people to get the shot, because the vaccination rate is "catastrophically low." Only the numbers interest him, not the laws, and not the rights of the victims. [ Czech Republic inoculation covid-19 variant ]