The Ministry of Health and Social Development of Kyrgyzstan has expanded the list of works, performance of which is associated with a high risk of contracting infectious diseases and requires mandatory preventive vaccination. The draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers has been submitted for public discussion.
As a background statement says, in many countries of the world mandatory vaccination against coronavirus infection has been introduced for certain categories of citizens working in the service sector.
The list includes:
- Work related to the provision of services in the field of public services and life support;
- Work related to production and processing industry;
- Work related to the provision of medical services, regardless of the form of ownership;
- Work related to the provision of services to the population, regardless of the form of ownership;
- Work related to the provision of passenger and air transportation;
- Work related to the organization of culture, leisure, communications and telecommunications for the population;
- Work at government agencies, ministries and departments and its structural divisions.
The background statement notes that the compulsory vaccination does not contradict the Basic Law of the country.
«Paragraph 2 of Article 23 of the Constitution reads: «Human and civil rights and freedoms may be limited by the Constitution and laws in order to protect national security, public order, health and morality of the population, and protect the rights and freedoms of others. Such restrictions can also be imposed taking into account the specifics of military or other public service. The imposed restrictions must be proportionate to the stated goals,» the document says.
The department notes that in the context of the spread of the infection, restrictive measures are the introduction of mandatory vaccination of certain groups of the population, whose activities are associated with a high risk of contracting infectious diseases.
However, vaccination is not compulsory.
«The Law on preventive immunization states that the lack of preventive vaccination entails a temporary refusal to admit citizens to educational institutions and health institutions in case of mass infectious diseases or the threat of epidemics, as well as refusal to hire citizens or suspension of citizens from work, the performance of which is associated with a high risk of contracting infectious diseases. Thus, citizens themselves have to make choice — to receive a vaccine, which is compulsory for this profession, or to refuse the vaccine and be temporarily suspended from work,» the document says.