The decision not to get vaccinated is tearing families apart, so much so that people are now getting divorced after years of marriage because one partner refuses to be vaccinated.
And although our Constitution affords everyone the choice to be vaccinated or not, all rights have limitations, it seems. News24 probed Health Minister Joe Phaahla on how the government’s plan to enforce a vaccination passport will not deprive people of their basic human rights.
Meanwhile, Discovery announced plans to move to a mandatory vaccination policy from 1 January 2022 for its more than 12,000 employees. How legitimate is this, and will it create a precedent for others to follow? Not all anti-vaxxers are conspiracy theorists believing vaccines alter DNA or are a plot to control population growth. Some people are genuinely afraid of side effects or suffer a great fear of needles. What about them?
In other parts of the world the rich are using their money, connections and influence to jump the vaccine queues, undermining the vaccination strategies of countries battling to contain the highly infectious delta variant and widening the inequality gap amid vaccine shortages.
The pandemic has already claimed more than 4.5 million lives worldwide, irrespective of race, class or creed. Perhaps we should look further than our noses and ask ourselves: “What am I doing, however small, to stop the carnage?”
We’re all in this together!
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
West Coast property tops R2.5bn, record prices as WFH trend drives demand – SA Property Insider
South African enterprises can’t ignore the risk of cyber attacks: the threat is on the rise – The Conversation
Ramaphosa is looking for ways to restart South Africa’s economy – including vaccine passports – BusinessTech
Global Business
WhatsApp hit with record €225m fine for breaching EU privacy regulations – Sky News
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceship grounded for federal investigation – The Independent
Alibaba pledges $15.5 billion to ‘common prosperity’ drive – Bloomberg
Markets
Crypto stocks are moving in on Wall Street’s turf – Bloomberg Video
Asian markets mostly rise after Wall St record with eye on jobs – AFP
Oil Mixed, but heads for second weekly gain over weaker dollar, US crude draws – Investing.com
Opinion
Zimbabwe’s sound of hope – Cathy Buckle: Letters from Zimbabwe
South Africa is in a mental health crisis, and we all need to see ourselves in Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka – Daily Maverick
SA can learn lessons from China, but let’s make sure they’re the right ones – Sunday Times Daily
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