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The report will inevitably be politicised. But it serves a useful function by airing grievances that will reemerge during any future public-health emergency.

The arrival of the highly infectious Omicron variant has changed the COVID landscape in Australia. We asked 5 experts whether it’s time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events.

Research shows Australians are broadly supportive of vaccine mandates. But to appear legitimate, a mandate needs to serve clearly articulated public health goals and be proportionate.

Emotive claims, like COVID vaccination being unethical or coercive, are more likely to be shared on social media. But we can fight back.

The consequences will be far more severe and long lasting in poorer countries.

Some people feel uneasy about sharing their COVID vaccination status and cite their right to privacy. The law defines when and how information can be collected and when public health trumps privacy.

Vaccine passports can and have been used to increase surveillance by governments. Transparency and accountability are crucial for protecting the privacy of civilians.

The antagonism driven by political interference in COVID-19 vaccination is fuelling hesitancy. Mass vaccination campaigns require public buy-in via trusted health-care providers and community leaders.

The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.

Plenty of groups are offering religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but their legal basis isn’t as rock-solid as that might suggest.