Carrots and sticks: how vaccine mandates are being used around the world

There’s an increasingly large divide around the world between the vaccinated and the not. In countries with high levels of vaccination, it’s those who still refuse to get the vaccine who are over-represented in ICUs and morgues. And in an attempt to open up countries with high rates of COVID-19, governments are creating a two-tier world — where those who are vaccinated are afforded far more freedoms than those who are not. Here’s what that looks like around the world.

United States

The Biden Administration is set to announce that all federal employees must be vaccinated or get regular coronavirus tests. Like everything in the United States, vaccination is falling on partisan lines, with red states unsurprisingly having the lowest rates. Four states have introduced some form of vaccine-pass app, but a further 19 have passed laws banning them.  

Private employers are also placing restrictions on people who aren’t vaccinated. Tech companies like Google and Facebook have made them mandatory for their employees. The National Football League is introducing a rule where a team will forfeit a game where an outbreak is linked to an unvaccinated player. 

United Kingdom

Britain’s “Freedom Day” has passed, but with infections still rising despite high vaccination rates the government is trying to push more people to get jabbed. Boris Johnson wants to make vaccination status a condition of entry to high-risk venues like nightclubs. But that plan was met with strong opposition from some Tories. Labour haven’t decided whether to support it. 

Universities could also restrict unvaccinated students from attending lectures. Vaccination was key to London’s staging of the European Football Championships finals — supporters at Wembley had to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result to enter.

France

France has historically had some of the highest rates of vaccine hesitancy in Europe. In response, a frustrated Emmanuel Macron has responded with some of the strictest vaccine mandates in Europe. Life will be highly restricted for the unvaccinated — they’ll be unable to travel freely and enter most indoor venues. Despite protests, the stick has worked — millions signed up to get vaccinated the week Macron announced his plan, which has widespread support.

Israel

Israel’s green pass, which provided proof of vaccination and was a condition of entry for many indoor venues was a key driver that helped the country achieve one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world. While it was dropped after achieving high rates of inoculation, it’s been brought back to help deal with rising cases due to the Delta variant.

China

China started rolling out a vaccine passport that can be used through WeChat in March this year, designed to free up overseas travel. Some regions are also attempting to restrict people who are unvaccinated from attending various public events. 

Russia

Russia is also introducing tough new laws to spur vaccination uptake. Retail and restaurants who don’t vaccinate 60% of their staff could be temporarily suspended, and workers could be stood down. The country has similar vaccination rates to Australia, and is being battered by the Delta variant, recently recording nearly 800 cases in a day.