Politician’s silence on vaccine against public interest: professor

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This article was published 29/07/2021 (1452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The choice for politicians to remain hush on their vaccine status has one academic calling it a refusal to serve the public’s interest.

Springfield-Ritchot MLA Ron Schuler is gaining traction as being one of the only PC caucus members to not disclose his vaccination status, with Seine River MLA Janice Morley-Lecomte being the only other Tori to remain hush on whether she’s received a jab or not. Schuler has dodged multiple requests during press conferences on whether he’s received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, stating his personal health information is private.

“I consider that my private health care is not a public matter; it’s private,” he told reporters during an unrelated press conference on July 22.

Providence University College Sociology Professor Dr. Dennis Hiebert said despite some feeling they can disclose medical history on their own free will, some have a higher responsibility to do so.

“There are categorical differences between personal rights that are entrenched in laws, personal privileges that must be earned and actively retained, and social responsibilities that care for others. For any ‘public servant’ to refuse to disclose their vaccine status is to refuse to serve the public interest,” Hiebert said in a message to The Carillon.

“For any member of a political party in power to refuse compliance with their own public policy on the matter of vaccines is to forego not only the social responsibility that comes with that privileged position, but all the privileges of their social life in general.”

Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck wouldn’t comment on the MLA’s decision to remain silent on the matter, saying he believes personal health information should remain personal. Niverville is located in Infrastructure Minister Schuler’s riding.

Schuler isn’t the only leader to play coy about his vaccination status; after submitting a request a spokesperson for Provencher MP Ted Falk told The Carillon Falk would not disclose his vaccination status.

“Mr. Falk will not be commenting on his personal health decisions,” the statement read.

While vaccination rates in Schuler’s riding of Springfield-Ritchot are on par with the rest of the province — Springfield’s vaccine uptake sitting at nearly 79 percent and the Niverville/Ritchot health district reporting at 77.3 percent, Hanover is still under the provincial average at a 43.9 percent and Steinbach slightly higher at a 58.4 percent uptake.

Hiebert says to deny access to a public figure’s vaccination status is to deny the reality of the pandemic.

“To insist that one’s vaccine status is personal and private, not public and accountable, is to deny the biological reality of a clear and present lethal contagion.”