This Tuesday, Quebec announced, by Quebec Prime Minister François Legault, that a tax was going to be put in place for adults who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 without medical reason. The French-speaking province of Canada is strongly affected by the Omicron wave.
The Quebec logic is quite simple: the 10% of the population who have not received any dose of vaccine to date must not harm the 90% who are vaccinated. “It is not for all Quebecers to pay “, he explained during a press conference, referring to a “financial burden for all Quebecers “.
François Legault also added that the amount of this “health contribution” should be “significant”. Doesn’t this tax risk further fracturing our society? One thing is certain, it is exactly in line with the words of Emmanuel Macron who said he wanted to “piss off to the end” those who were not vaccinated. “I understand and I feel this discontent with regard to the unvaccinated minority which comes, all things considered, to clog our hospitals “, added François Legault.
However, is such a tax likely in Belgium? In fact, anything is possible. Because in other countries, this divide is already very apparent. In Quebec again, non-essential businesses, such as those selling cannabis and alcohol, are prohibited for the unvaccinated. Austria and Italy have forced their populations over 50 to be vaccinated as well. While Singapore no longer supports the medical costs of patients infected with the virus who have refused to be vaccinated.
Drastic solutions which had made Marius Gilbert jump in early December on the set of “It’s not every day Sunday” on RTL.“Are we going to tell smokers and people who drink too much to pay for their treatment? And whoever has driven too fast on the highway that he is not entitled to intensive care? What’s the limit?” , asked the vice-rector and researcher in epidemiology at the ULB. “Everyone has the right to be treated in our society”, he added.
On Twitter, Emmanuel André returned to the Quebec measure. “In a logic of justice, Quebec will impose a tax on people who refuse the vaccine without valid medical reason. Because the health cost of their denial cannot be imposed on the rest of society.” By this sentence, the microbiologist is rather favorable with regard to this new tax.