Government should mandate that social grant recipients be vaccinated to receive their payouts
25 November 2021 - 17:25
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Employers are obliged to put the safety of their employees first. In doing so it is not unreasonable for them to restrict unvaccinated employees from entering the workplace. Discovery, for example, explained that mandating Covid-19 vaccines for staff is much the same as mandating other preventive measures such as wearing masks, distancing and sanitising.
We taxpayers are entitled to a similar quid pro quo from social grant recipients. A quick-fix for government to increase the percentage of vaccinated citizens would be to mandate that social grant recipients be vaccinated to receive their grants.
If the country’s current 35% vaccination rate applies pro rata to the 18-million grant recipients, we could add another 12-million vaccinated individuals, taking SA’s tally to about 55% vaccinated.
Mike Faure Bedfordview
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: A quick-fix solution
Government should mandate that social grant recipients be vaccinated to receive their payouts
Your editorial opinion refers (“Government must get bold about restricting access to the unvaccinated”, November 25).
Employers are obliged to put the safety of their employees first. In doing so it is not unreasonable for them to restrict unvaccinated employees from entering the workplace. Discovery, for example, explained that mandating Covid-19 vaccines for staff is much the same as mandating other preventive measures such as wearing masks, distancing and sanitising.
We taxpayers are entitled to a similar quid pro quo from social grant recipients. A quick-fix for government to increase the percentage of vaccinated citizens would be to mandate that social grant recipients be vaccinated to receive their grants.
If the country’s current 35% vaccination rate applies pro rata to the 18-million grant recipients, we could add another 12-million vaccinated individuals, taking SA’s tally to about 55% vaccinated.
Mike Faure
Bedfordview
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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