“You have to think about what kind of organization a leader with this background would do,” said Dabrowski.

The decision to travel overseas for COVID-19 vaccines also raises questions about the culture a person might want to cultivate in their company, he added.

“As CEO, the money stays with you every time,” said Dabrowski. “Whether it’s business performance, culture, or modeling behavior that you’d like to see elsewhere in the company.”

In that case, he said, the Canadian retirement plan itself is likely to remain intact, partly because Machin left his post so quickly.

But if the company isn’t as well known or highly respected to begin with and doesn’t react quickly to correct the situation, the executive’s actions could have far-reaching implications, he said.

Some regions have also restricted vaccine tourism so as not to be associated with the practice.

In January, the Florida government changed its vaccination rules to prevent non-residents from flying in, being pushed, and flying out. The state now requires potential vaccine recipients to provide evidence that they have at least part-time residence.

And while Dabrowski noted that executives may find it desirable – if not advisable – to combine vaccination with vacation, it doesn’t always work that way.

At the end of January, the head of Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and his wife a ticket after allegedly flying to a remote Yukon community to get vaccinated.

Dabrowski said the ramifications of traveling to bounce the vaccine line may be even bigger now, at a time when many people believe businesses should be considering more than just profits.

“This whole idea that a company has this broader social imperative that is not just focused on making money but improving, improving, and serving the communities in which these companies operate is becoming for many companies to a very urgent imperative. ” he said.

And there is no question about whether vaccine tourism is making the community better, he added.

Bioethicist Kerry Bowman said he was shocked to learn that a celebrity was traveling abroad to get a COVID-19 vaccine, especially after the riot that broke out in late December and early January as a jet setting -Politicians resisted public health advice to avoid international travel.

“You’re really jumping in the vaccine line,” he said. “We have elderly people in this country, and in Ontario in particular, who haven’t even received a preliminary dose.”

Vaccine tourism also undermines trust in a health system that, ideally, should treat everyone equally, Bowman said.

“It feeds into what many people already know: that people with privileges and connections will find their way through the system.”

The phenomenon is different from other forms of medical tourism, where people cross the line to pay for faster access to treatment, according to Bowman.

“When you go overseas for surgery, the secondary impact on other people from a justice standpoint is very different,” he said, noting that the pandemic makes things more complicated.

“When a person comes back from overseas, even if they’ve been vaccinated, the vaccine really doesn’t get any stronger for a few weeks,” he said. “So you also have a potential health risk that is being introduced.”

Bowman said the cost of vaccine tourism far outweighs any benefits.

“Critics will say that vaccine tourism is only off the load on the system and is not a big deal,” Bowman said. “But, you know, fairness is very, very important.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 28, 2021.

Nicole Thompson, the Canadian press

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