Loose Women panel split on whether Covid lockdowns should be for unvaccinated ONLY
Loose Women clash over whether Covid lockdowns should be for unvaccinated ONLY – as Katie Piper argues it would create a ‘two-tier society’ while Jane Moore says ‘we need to be more persuasive’ with jabs
Katie Piper and Jane Moore clashed on Loose Women today over lockdowns Austria is considering Covid-19 lockdown that only affects unvaccinated peopleSeven-day cases average soared to 228.5 per 100,000, up from 152.5 last week Chancellor Schallenberg discussed the lockdown with state-level leaders Friday
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The Loose Women panel clashed today as they debated whether Covid-19 lockdowns should restrict unvaccinated people only.
Appearing on the programme today, Coleen Nolan, Katie Piper, Jane Moore and Kelle Bryan discussed whether it was appropriated to impose restrictions on those who hadn’t had the jab.
While Katie claimed it would ‘create a two-tier society’, Jane insisted that the government ‘needs to be more persuasive’ to encourage the public to get vaccinated.
The debate comes as it was revealed Austria is considering a Covid-19 lockdown that would only restrict unvaccinated people as virus cases continue to rise.
The Loose Women panel clashed today as they debated whether Covid-19 lockdowns should restrict unvaccinated people only – with Katie Piper suggesting it would make a ‘two tier society’
Kicking off the discussion today, Katie insisted she thought it would be wrong, saying: ‘I don’t believe in discriminating against people who, for whatever reason, haven’t had vaccination.
‘I think it would cause more division, more isolation for a part of society who are already isolated pre-Covid and pre-pandemic.
‘It worries me the precedent it would set for other treatments and other jabs where the freedom of choice might be taken away from people.’
She pointed out that people who are receiving end of life care, those with learning disabilities and people with a severe allergy to all currently available vaccines would be restricted under the rule.
However Jane Moore suggested the government ‘needed to be more persuasive’ to encourage people to get the jab
She added: ‘A large number of people in my life would be restricted from leaving the home or entering certain immunities. It’s something I have to stand up and say I don’t agree with.’
Jane rebutted, saying: ‘I think people who are exempt from having the vaccine wouldn’t be put into lockdown because obviously, it’s not their problem – they physically can’t have the vaccine so they can’t be discriminated against.
‘What we’re talking about is anti-vaxxers – those who could have the vaccine.
‘I’m like you, I don’t agree, I don’t think we should discriminate between people but we need to be more persuasive.
‘Otherwise we’re just going to go into the same kind of problem round and round. I don’t think any of us want to go back into lockdown again.’
The panel was split over the debate, with Jane insisting that the public should be ‘listening to people who are trained as doctors’
Katie said she felt it would create a ‘two-tier’ society, but Jane continued: ‘We have to be more persuasive to get people to have their vaccines and follow it up with a booster.
‘When you have the medical director of NHS England and he is saying, “The freedom we now all enjoy is the willingness of patients to come forward for jabs.”
‘Let’s listen to people who are trained as doctors.’
Coleen interrupted, saying: ‘People have lost trust in it. I have to say, I totally understand your point of view and of course I’ve had my jabs but I loath to say to people whose choice it is not to have it, to have them in a different part of society.’
Meanwhile Coleen Nolan suggested people have ‘lost trust’ in the vaccination programme (pictured)
Kelle weighed in: ‘I don’t think you can take peoples choice away. It’s difficult if you do the right thing, if you’re trying to do the right thing.
‘It’s a shift in mindset, not just thinking about yourself and your individual. But also thinking about how that might affect people in the community too.’
Katie added: ‘I’m definitely thinking about others too though, I’m thinking of people in my life and my community that aren’t just exempt but don’t want to have it.’
She continued: ‘If you say to people you’re exempt, that’s fine you don’t have to do it, doesn’t that then make a mockery of the concept?
‘If those people would then make the numbers go up and spread it, even though they’re exempt for legitimate reasons.
‘I just think it’ll get into dangerous territory where people will have to state health conditions, people will have to state private things from their past.
‘You may work with someone who has an invisible disability that they were never willing to share.’
And many viewers backed Katie in the argument, with one writing: ‘We have to be very wary here. If we start locking people up for making a choice, it sets a very dangerous precedent.’
Another wrote: ‘I’m double vaccinated but would vigorously protest the right of people who do not want it. We live in a society where there should be freedom of choice without discrimination.’
It comes after Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced the news late on Friday during a meeting with state-level leaders to discuss a national response to increasing infection numbers.
‘The pandemic is not yet in the rearview mirror,’ Schallenberg said. ‘We are about to stumble into a pandemic of the unvaccinated.’
Schallenberg announced that if the number of Covid patients in intensive-care units reaches 500, or 25 percent of the country’s total ICU capacity, entrance into businesses such as restaurants and hotels will be limited to those who are vaccinated or recovered from the virus.
If the number reaches 600, or one-third of total ICU capacity, the government plans to impose restrictions on unvaccinated people. In this case, they would only be allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons.
Currently, the number of COVID patients in ICUs stands at 220.
In the past week, Austria has reported 20,408 new cases of the virus, according to health authorities, bringing the 7-day average to 228.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.
A week earlier, that figure was at 152.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Although Austria’s government has encouraged citizens to get vaccinated, the effort has slowed in recent months.
Some 65.4 per cent of the total population has received one dose of the vaccine, and 62.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Many of those watching the programme were stunned at the idea of locking down the unvaccinated
