Chapter 482: Mandatory Vaccination for Specific Groups, Any Objections?

"So, promoting vaccination for all is for each and every one of us, for the health of our loved ones—any more questions?"

"Yes!"

Several hands were raised high across. The moderator looked at him and then at those opposite, banging the gavel:

"Second row on the far right, the gentleman in the black coat, please speak!"

"First, thank you for inventing the cowpox vaccine, which has protected the public’s health," said the man as he stood up gracefully, first bowing to Garrett. Garrett quickly returned the bow, and the man smiled slightly before continuing:

"I have a question that I would like Master Nordmark to clarify—just as with preventing smallpox, do I have the right to decide what method to use? If I decide to use smallpox infection followed by the use of [Remove Disease] to acquire—"

He paused, recalling the terminology used in Garrett’s thesis, then continued:

"—to acquire immunity, then, can I be exempted from receiving the cowpox vaccine?"

...This definitely should be possible. The founding principle of the City of Mages is freedom—

"All churches and the Magic Council, free citizens and their descendants, in any event and at any time, shall fully and completely enjoy the following freedoms..."

This phrase was inscribed on the stone tablet of the Oath of the Alliance, located at the beginning of the mountain path leading to Igor Peak!

Before Garrett could respond, several mages on either side of him nodded simultaneously. The man smiled and said:

"Since there are exceptions, mandatory vaccination for all seems unnecessary. Mr. Nordmark, what is your opinion?"

Luckily someone had raised this issue during the previous discussions. Garrett breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled confidently and turned to the clergy opposite him, bowing slightly:

"Gentlemen of the clergy, I have a question. Accepting divine healing and recovering quickly can have certain drawbacks on a person, right?"

The Church of the Nature God, the Temple of the Spring Goddess, several healers nodded gently. A bishop from the Temple of the War God bluntly said:

"That’s right. Therefore, even if soldiers are healed by divine magic, they shouldn’t immediately return to battle. They need good food and rest for some time. This is common knowledge about divine healing, you should know this, why do you ask?"

Uh... My lord, you’re too honest; I was just setting the stage for the next question. Garrett managed to ignore the laughter around him: As long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others. He looked directly into the eyes of the bishop and continued:

"Then, if a young child receives excessive divine healing, could it overtax them and affect their future development potential?"

"Uh..."

Several healers exchanged glances. Priest Matthew from the Church of the Nature God was the first to speak:

"Our treatments are mainly for the poor and underprivileged, so we don’t have much data on this. But from what I recall, some talented youths who were severely injured during their growth periods, even though healed, had their paths cut short."

"We mainly treat warriors," the bishop from the Temple of the War God added as the second to respond. "Children who are not yet of age to train rarely come to us for healing."

Well, there’s no data here. All eyes in the venue then turned to an official of the Spring Goddess:

"As a goddess, the teachings of the Spring Goddess naturally include ’protecting mothers, infants, and families.’ Correspondingly, her divine magic involves more healing, purification, and disease removal than others." The official adjusted the end of his belt and hesitantly said:

"Generally speaking, children who frequently require divine healing from a young age seldom become high-ranking warriors. But, perhaps they were inherently frail?"

Being frail = lack of potential = at least unlikely to achieve much on the path of a warrior, this explanation made sense...

Garrett shrugged: Well, this view is supported by ambiguous evidence and requires extensive data collection and the elimination of confounding factors. But, we can’t simply ignore the risks to children because "it might not be a problem"?

He seriously turned to the questioner:

"So, it is possible that excessive divine healing in young children could deplete their potential. I think, as parents, everyone naturally hopes their children’s path is easier, right? Even if the parents have used [Remove Disease], what about the child’s nanny? The guards? The cook, the servants, the friends outside?"

It’s clearly impossible to cast [Remove Disease] on every single person a child might come into contact with: life is priceless, yet life has a price. For an ordinary citizen, the value of a life is hardly 100 gold coins.

In Nevis City, hiring an adult man to work in the New World for ten years costs only a few dozen gold coins. The stormy seas and unpredictable future of the

New World mean that few can save enough for a return ticket and some savings after ten years—many are doomed never to return north.

Therefore, this price is often seen as "the price of life."

Paying 750 gold coins for a life worth less than 100 gold coins is foolish. And for the nobles and merchants, widespread vaccination is clearly advantageous—

Garrett posed this issue, and the opposition on the hearing panel visibly softened. Garrett sat down comfortably as the debate continued. The mandatory vaccination debate quickly progressed from "whether it should be done" to "how it should be implemented":

The opposition questioned "Eight or nine hundred thousand gold coins a year is too high";

The council responded, "By bulk purchasing the vaccine and using inexpensive vaccination tools, we can reduce the cost to less than one silver coin per person, that is, at most eighty or ninety thousand gold coins";

The opposition questioned "Collecting so much tax at once is too expensive";

The council explained, "Since the vaccination is to be gradually implemented, we can collect and administer it in batches";

The opposition questioned "Not so many people need the government to pay for their vaccination";

The council answered, "At least the poor need the government to pay..."

"So how many people are definitely destitute and need the government to cover their vaccination costs?" someone from the opposition shouted. Silence fell around Garrett, until a moustached city hall official behind Master Grom on the left sifted through some documents and slowly said:

"First, the indigents in the poorhouses definitely need the government to cover the costs. As of now, Nevis City has three poorhouses accommodating 2,685 people."

At one silver coin per person, that’s just over two hundred gold coins, almost three hundred. A sigh of relief sounded in the hall: any gentleman here could throw a handful of coins and cover that amount. Which gentleman couldn’t spare three to five gold coins?

Oh, mages might not be able to pull out cash. They are more accustomed to pulling out mage badges and paying with contribution points...

The atmosphere in the hall relaxed. The moustached official continued:

"Next, those receiving external relief, who likely can’t afford to pay, also need help from the government. The number of these people is..."

External relief is one of the ways the poor relief system is implemented. Many poor people do not live in poorhouses but receive weekly cash relief and regular material assistance, including clothes, food, blankets, fuel, and sometimes even rent assistance.

This number is not easy to calculate. Fortunately, Nevis City has hundreds of years of experience implementing the poor relief system. The average annual relief fund per poor person is about 1 gold coin. Just calculate the annual expenses to get a rough idea:

"Roughly 40,000 people."

That means, in Nevis City, one in every 25 people is so impoverished they need relief food to fill their stomachs, and relief blankets to survive the winter. Expecting these people to pay one silver coin each is absolutely impossible. This money must come from city hall—

"I agree that the government should bear the cost."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Agreement was voiced unevenly. The moderator seized the opportunity, banging the gavel:

"So, among those receiving relief, the implementation of mandatory vaccination, funded by the government, is there any opposition?"

No one opposed. The cost for 40,000 people was just four thousand gold coins, a drop in the bucket compared to eight or nine hundred thousand, or even eighty or ninety thousand gold coins. Even if the nobles didn’t contribute, it was an easy burden for the city’s wealthy to share:

Just skipping a few fancy meals or buying two fewer outfits, it’s not a burden.

And honestly, the destitute also have value. The gentlemen could see clearly, establishing a poor relief system, supporting these destitute people, besides adhering to divine teachings, soothing the poor, and increasing social stability, also had practical value:

Those living in the poorhouses had to work tirelessly every day. Even children aged six or seven had to sort thread ends and weave ropes suitable for cable making, doing whatever tasks they could;

Those receiving external relief couldn’t get enough to eat with just that ration. To receive relief, they had to follow the directions of the poorhouse and work in the most exhausting and laborious jobs in workshops and shops to earn their keep;

At worst, these destitute people could still have children! Once grown, the children could work in factories, join the military, or even go to the New World to claim territory! Population is an important resource for society!

Compared to that, throwing in another silver coin per person as a one-time expense to ensure the previous annual silver coin didn’t go to waste was not a loss!

"Next, mandatory free vaccination for infants born this year, any objections?"

This too met no opposition. An infant’s death from smallpox meant a mother had

to give birth again, occupying a fertile woman’s labor for a year—labor value far exceeding one silver coin. Not to mention the current high maternal mortality rate...

After all, only a few thousand infants were born in Nevis City each year, a matter of a few hundred gold coins, affordable.

"For those workers in close contact with the public, potentially spreading smallpox—such as coachmen, porters, restaurant servants, laundry women, tailors, garment and blanket factory workers—mandatory vaccination, any objections?"

Silence filled the hall. Garrett looked around, understanding the gentlemen’s mindset clearly: these workers were most likely to spread disease, and for their own safety, it was best not to oppose...

Well, immediate city-wide mandatory vaccination was not very feasible. Mandatory vaccination for specific groups, covering the most necessary protection, the plan was through!

Garrett gave himself a mental thumbs up. Seeing the moustached city official finish speaking, he raised his hand and added:

"Also, for those setting off for the New World, they should be vaccinated against cowpox before boarding. Any objections?"

Those natives in the New World had the worst resistance! Sending over one smallpox patient by bad luck could wipe out a settlement!"

Garrett felt he was far-sighted and made a lot of sense. Unexpectedly, Master Grom beside him coughed and said:

"Master Nordmark, this kind of thing doesn’t need to be discussed at the conference..."

Garrett: ???

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