Petition to Maltese MPs warns against mandatory COVID-19 vaccine

A petition to MPs is calling on lawmakers not to support any mandatory vaccine against COVID-19, insisting that no medication against the coronavirus should be administrated without independent, peer-reviewed studies proving their safety. 

Petitioner Adrian Zammit’s petition to the House asks that citizens be not obliged to take any medical intervention against their free will and informed consent, and that the government sign and ratify the Oviedo Convention on Human Rights and Bio-Medicine, the only international legally binding instrument on the protection of human rights in the biomedical field. 

“In the wake of the situation that we find ourselves in with COVID-19, we are concerned that a potential vaccine for the virus may become obligatory for all Maltese people. Even in the eventuality that it is not completely mandatory, we fear that restrictions could be imposed on the freedom of movement and action of people who make a decision not to take it,” the petition states. 
“A matter of great concern is that any obligations and limitations imposed, can lead to the potential violation of most of our fundamental rights and the freedoms which we have enjoyed in past years as a democratic society.” 

The petition insists that any exceptions to people’s fundamental rights can only be clearly “reasonable in a democratic society”. 

“We have a fundamental right to freedom of conscience and to exercise our preferred choice in matters of personal health for our bodies and minds are our most valuable possessions, over which we alone enjoy sovereignty,” the petition states. 

The first delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine could be expected in Malta in December, despite a pause in clinical trials, virologist Chris Barbara said. The most advanced experimental vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University was put on hold on Tuesday after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness. 

Malta and other EU states will be acquiring doses of that vaccine and news of the postponed trials sparked fears that procurement will be delayed. 

But Barbara said “no change is expected” to the December arrival. The plan, pending successful trials, is for vulnerable persons and front-liners to be immediately vaccinated first, before offering it to the community. “This is the norm in trials to ensure safety. Once it is established that there is no link to the vaccine, the trial will continue,” said Barbara, clinical chairman at Mater Dei’s Pathology Department. 

AstraZeneca’s fast-moving trials are expected to be concluded by the end of the year. In large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance, but must be reviewed independently, AstraZeneca continued. “This is a routine action that has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain their integrity.”