Good evening,
I don't see any element of coersion, you're asked for consent in writing, you don't have to agree, you can change your mind at any point. There won't be any sanction if you refuse, or simply don't turn upfor your appointment - same as for pretty much any treatment. There will be plenty of takers for your dose if you don't want it.
The problem with the
You don't have to agree argument is that coercion is recognised in so many areas of life that it is not seen as overriding the coercion.
I have posted the full covering letter below, I appreciate that this is a template and the actual ones used may be different but why I think that the risk is much much higher that with normal consent forms is that for many recipients this is an unsolicited request.
The recipient won't have been to the doctor with a complaint related to COVID or possibly related to COVID or even to the doctor at all in recent past, although it does seem reasonable to assume that anyone capable of giving consent would be expecting a letter on this subject around this time.
I have included the whole example letter below and added bold stressing the phrases that I see as at risk of being deemed coercive as extracting specific sentences as I did earlier may have lose overall impact.
I understand that it is implicit that asking for consent means that recipient doesn't have to give it, but notice the paragraph that starts with
Once we have your consent.
If you are arguing coercion then that the fact that that paragraph is one sentence long suggests that your consent is expected especially as it could easily have said
If we have your consent.
This one sentence paragraph is followed by another one sentence paragraph, starting with
Please confirm your consent, again suggesting that consent is expected.
To repeat the point, this is an unsolicited letter sent to healthy people who are not undergoing treatment.
Comparing the letter below with
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...emplate-for-at-risk-patients-and-their-carers which is the annual flu reminder I see a very different tone.
So if your business is a "compensation culture one" then the argument that n hundred thousand people have had a COVID vaccine without their consent becomes a legal argument worth considering.
There may be no need to show injury, which would likely be a dead end as there is no reason to expect there to be any, the principle that consent is required is already established.
As mentioned in another post I am not registered with a GP and haven't been since I was at school and apart from one recent hospitalization based on assumed consent; I was unconscious, bleeding from the head and lying in the middle of a road so I don't resent the assumption, I have never been into hospital as a patient.
This is important as it is very easy to assume that everyone automatically trusts the medical system, visits the doctor frequently and that consent is almost automatically given, this is not the case.
You only need 50,000 people saying they were coerced into taking a treatment and £1,000 compensation per person to make this a nice 6 months works for a legal team. As the defendants would be governments it is easy to see that a settlement with tax payer's money would be a quick and easy solution.
I am not arguing that this is a good or bad thing only that it is predictable that it might happen.
edit:
be plenty of takers for your dose if you don't want it.
I am not sure if this was a generic or specific comment, but I did try recently to register with a GP as I didn't want to infect others who couldn't be vaccinated but the system is far too difficult to bother with.
Me: Hello I haven't been registered with a GP since around 1977,
Surgery: Okay, no problem, who was your last GP?
Me: XYZ In Town
Surgery: We can't find any records.
Me: Okay no problem, there is nothing to find.
Surgery: We can't register you as we can't find any records.
Me: That's not surprising there is nothing to find.
Surgery: We can't register you as we can't find any records.
Me: Lost Interest and went for a pint
.
Bye
Ian
Dear <Name>
COVID-19 Vaccination for Eligible Adults
I would like to inform you that we will soon be making COVID-19 vaccinations available to adults identified as being at
highest risk of catching the disease and of
suffering serious complication or dying from COVID-19. I would like to ask if you wish to give your consent to be vaccinated.
This vaccination will be free of charge and our highest priority is delivering the vaccines to eligible people as soon as the vaccine is available.
Through vaccination of those at
highest risk we aim to help protect individuals from becoming
unwell with or dying from COVID-19 disease.
Information about COVID-19 vaccines is available at:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine
For women of childbearing age, please read the detailed guidance at:
www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination
Indications are that some vaccine recipients may experience a painful heavy arm where they had the injection and may feel tired or have a mild fever for a couple of days. These are common side effects following vaccination. If required paracetamol may help to reduce these effects and keep you as comfortable as possible following vaccination. Please read the product information for more details on the vaccine and possible side effects by searching Coronavirus Yellow Card. You can also report suspected side effects on the same website or by downloading the Yellow Card app.
During the vaccination delivery we will maintain the range of measures we have in place to keep you safe from COVID-19. Staff giving the vaccine will be wearing personal protective equipment and will abide by all our cleaning and disinfection requirements.
Once we have your consent, we will schedule the vaccination appointments. Please note two doses of the vaccine are be required.
Please confirm your consent by returning the attached form to a member of staff.
By consenting you will be playing your part in reducing your risk of catching and
spreading COVID-19.
Best wishes,
<Name>
<Job title>
<Organisation>
).
