For some time now, there has been talk in Quebec of a tax to be imposed on non-vaccinated people in order to encourage them to get vaccinated. Although the details are not yet known, this tax already seems ill-conceived and in line with an ever-growing and unhealthy interventionism in the lives of citizens.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic and in accordance with the principles underlying our health system, in order to encourage everyone to adopt prudent behavior, it would be necessary to impose a personal contribution (deductible, co-payment, health tax) on all hospitalized with COVID-19. The government’s speech should be as follows.
“Dear citizens. In the current case of a generalized and easily transmitted pandemic, your behaviors have significant effects not only on you but also on your fellow citizens, especially considering the limits of our health system. In order to promote the well-being of all in a difficult and exceptional context, your government is proposing the establishment of a personal contribution which will be payable if you are infected with COVID-19 and your state of health requires hospitalization.
“Your government’s proposal is as follows. If you need to be treated in hospital due to COVID-19, you will have to cover yourself $100 per day in conventional hospitalization and $300 per day in intensive care, with a maximum of $4,500 per year (the amounts are indicative). »
“Considering this, it is up to you to be more or less careful to avoid a COVID-19 infection. It is up to you whether or not to follow the recommendations of Public Health. These recommendations are intended to inform you of the risks associated with various decisions and activities, such as voluntary confinement, complete vaccination, a visit to a restaurant, an outing for a show, a visit to the gym, playing sports, a game at the Bell Center , etc You can make your own decisions and choices.
“Public Health recommendations are not mandates or obligations. Partial coverage of the costs of your hospitalization is a reasonable incentive to freely adopt the right personal, family and social behaviors, just as excessive speed fines encourage drivers to respect the limits. Service providers such as restaurants, performance halls and places of worship, sport or study will be equally encouraged to offer you safe COVID-19 environments to benefit from your presence and participation. It is up to you to request or require such environments, as the case may be. The same social goals can be achieved through incentives rather than coercion.
“For example, if you decide not to be vaccinated, be aware that the risk of conventional hospitalization and intensive care hospitalization increases significantly if you catch COVID-19. French data1 indicate that the probability of COVID-19 hospitalization is, for the non-vaccinated, eight times higher in conventional hospitalization and fourteen times higher in intensive care than for the vaccinated who received three doses. Data from Alberta shows that, for the population aged 5 and over, the probability of a COVID-19 hospitalization in intensive care is, for the non-vaccinated, 41 times higher than for the vaccinated who received three doses and 12 times higher than for vaccinees who received two doses.
“The Direction de la santé publique, among other sources of information, provides you with other examples of various decisions you can or cannot make and various activities you can or cannot do to avoid catching COVID-19. It is similar to information on the risks posed to you, your family and society by practicing sports of greater or lesser risk, such as skiing, hockey, bobsleigh, motorcycling, snowmobiling, etc. It is up to you to decide your individual, family and group behaviors, based on information on the associated benefits and risks. »
Thus, the government ensures that everyone is treated similarly, that freedom of behavior is maintained or restored, that health restrictions are recommendations and not mandates and obligations. Everything depends on the quality and credibility of the information transmitted to citizens regarding the risks associated with their behavior and decisions.