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BUSINESSTODAY 22 July 2021

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OPINION 22.7.2021 Kevin-James Fenech Kevin is the founder and owner of JOB Search - jobsearch.mt and FENCI Consulting fenci.eu. He is a management consultant and business advisor by profession, focusing on strategy, human resources and recruitment. He has a passion for anything related to business and has written about the topic for over 10 years in most major newspapers or journals I have a very simple question. e answer to which will make a world of difference to all of us. What exactly is the purpose of the vaccine? Given recent statements and fast-cooked Legal Notic- es (such as LN 300 & LN 301 of 2021 to mention but a few), one would think that fully vac- cinated persons do not carry or transmit the coronavirus and if they do it is to a much less- er degree. However, research by King's College London es- timates that half (47%) of the current infections in the UK are actually being spread by vaccinated persons. Research shows that the vaccine does not provide enough protection against 'viral replication and shedding within the airway'. In fact, the research by Bleier, Ramanathan, Lane et al, states that '….vaccinated patients, while asymptomatic, may still become infected and transmit live virus from the upper air- way.' is directly contradicts the impression given by our public health authorities who seemingly blamed unvaccinat- ed persons for spreading the virus in Malta. Fortunately, or unfortunate- ly, depends how you look at this Orwellian saga, the vac- cine protects the individual who is inoculated but it does not stop vaccinated persons from transmitting the virus. is is the different between 'effective immunity' and 'steri- lising immunity'. In plain sim- ple words, the virus can reside in the nasal cavity or even the throat of both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons and they both can transmit the virus to people they come into contact with. Contrary, to what we have been told locally, the viral load in the nasal cavity is similar in a vaccinated and unvaccinated person. Hence, the reason why half of COVID-19 infections in the UK are being caused by vaccinated persons. erefore, to restrict the free- dom of movement of unvac- cinated persons or to coerce people to take the vaccine, just won't stop the transmission of the virus and its variants. e virus is here to stay and if our Public Health 'Superheroes' have a zero infections strategy (?) they are going to be very disillusioned. e virus is here to stay and nothing will stop it. I say all this because I note with displeasure and concern that people in positions of power and influence seem to pointing towards mandatory vaccina- tion using stealth tactics. Apart from this being utterly illegal, it displays a complete misun- derstanding of how the vaccine works. e vaccine is there to provide herd immunity to the population meaning hospital- isations (ITU) and deaths re- main low but the vaccine does not provide a sterilising blan- ket protection which halts and arrests the spread of the virus. is is mission impossible and something we will as a country never achieve. Yet if you listen to our Public Health 'Superheroes' speak you'd think that this is all the fault of those selfish few who refused or are unable to take the vaccine when nothing could be further from the truth. Frustratingly, public health authorities misleadingly tell us that it is the unvaccinated who are spreading the virus ('variant factories') when in reality both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons can and do spread the virus. is sort of misinforma- tion is sowing the seeds of med- ical discrimination and victimi- sation in our society to levels we haven't seen in decades. It also just killed the English Language School industry in the most brutal and unfair of ways. So I ask again: What exactly is the purpose of the vaccine? To my mind, the vaccine liter- ally is a means to an end i.e. to achieve herd immunity so that we can reclaim our freedoms back. It is also the trigger for us to start learning to live with the virus in a safe as possible manner thereby allowing the economic recovery to finally take place without any U-turns or spokes in the wheel by our public health 'Superheroes'. Subversively, however, we have people talking about mandatory vaccination includ- ing that of our children (de- spite the risks and unknown consequences) via stealth and strong-arm tactics. What they don't appreciate is that the vi- rus will continue to spread even if we vaccinate 99% of the population. is is why I have been advocating a shift in focus from daily number of infec- tions to hospitalisations (ITU) and deaths and that a zero in- fections strategy is doomed for failure and comes at a huge economic cost. e vaccine should never be imposed on anyone, directly or indirectly, not just because the science shows us that it doesn't necessarily stop the spread of the virus but because this would be in breach of peoples' fundamental rights. Resolution 2361 of 2021 by the European Parliamentary Assembly, spe- cifically clause 7.3, clearly and unambiguously states: "7.3.1. Ensure that citizens are informed that the vaccination is not mandatory and that no one is under political, social or other pressure to be vaccinated if they do not wish to do so; 7.3.2. Ensure that no one is discriminated against for not having been vaccinated due to possible health risks or not wanting to be vaccinated; 7.3.3. Take early effective measures to counter misin- formation, disinformation and hesitancy regarding COV- ID-19 vaccines." erefore, the recent decision by a local bank, to seemingly introduce 'forced' vaccination by stealth is (a) scientifically misguided since both vacci- nated and unvaccinated per- sons can carry and spread the virus but (b) it is in breach of Resolution 2631 quoted above. Furthermore, the authorities are failing their fundamental obligations to come out with a strong statement informing such bank employees that the vaccine is not mandatory and that no one should feel pres- sured to take it. e same ap- plies for any workplace. I therefore ask again: What exactly is the purpose of the vaccine? EU Regulation 2021/953 of 14 June 2021, clearly states that any public health restric- tion must be proportionate to the epidemiological situation found in the country and must be 'limited in scope and time'. I do not think that current restrictions or even contem- plated restrictions due to the 'rising infection numbers', are consistent with general prin- ciples of EU law particularly when it comes to 'proportion- ality' and 'non-discrimination'. For instance, why has Malta broken away from the EU Dig- ital COVID Certificate which permits freedom of movement on the basis of an immunity certificate or vaccine certificate or negative PCR test? Our ep- idemiological situation (85% herd immunity) does not merit the draconian restrictions pub- lic health officials are trying to impose on us. In fact, I would argue that these actions and certain statements, collective- ly give the wrong message to people and promote discrimi- nation and vaccine bullying in a systematic and government sponsored manner. In conclusion, we need to un- derstand what the real purpose of the vaccine is and that a zero infections strategy is not pos- sible. e COVID-19 virus has a mortality rate of circa 0.2% and the government has done everything within its power to protect public health but now the government has an equally important obligation to return to us our freedoms, campaign for a gradual return to normal life and focus on the recovery. What is the whole point? To learn to live with the virus and give people confidence to return to normality. What is the whole point?

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