case study: mandatory vaccination

Question 1

what were some methods that could be used for ‘mandatory’ vaccination

Answer 1

conditioning access to services, jobs, school, etc., on vaccination

imposing costs on the unvaccinated?

providing incentives for vaccination

persuasion

Question 2

why is school immunization considered a mandate?

Answer 2

because you need to formally file for an exemption. you could be kicked out of school for failing to meet the vaccination requirements.

Question 3

what are some possible objectives of a vaccine mandate?

Answer 3

improve vaccine uptake?

improve pace of vaccine uptake?

increase proportion of vaccinated individuals in a given setting (e.g., a hospital)?

reduce incidence of infection? (Population level? Setting specific?)

reduce transmission? (Population level? Setting specific?)

reduce incidence of severe disease, hospitalization, death?

reduce absenteeism (from work, school)?

achieve herd immunity? (receiving certain threshold that could protect whole population)

Question 4

why is having clarity about objectives of a mandate important?

Answer 4

can foster public trust and cooperation

crucial for ethical appraisal and scientific evaluation

Question 5

why arguments do critics have against the vaccination mandate? provide counter arguments!

Answer 5

coercive
- “mandatory vaccination compels people to get vaccinated by, for instance, threatening them with being fired if they aren’t vaccinated, and is thus coercive, and hence, unethical.”
- two choices to choose between

lack of informed consent
- some claim that “vaccination is a medical intervention for which there is an ethical and legal requirement to obtain informed consent, which must be given voluntarily.”
- choice presented, no force involved

imposes restrictions on those unwilling to be vaccinated
- employment conditions commonly lead to the unequal treatment of people who belong to different groups
- vaccination status is modifiable and reflects occupation health and safety

Question 6

use the charter to defend the vaccination mandate

Answer 6

section 1 of the charter

effects a balance between the rights of the individual & the interests of society by permitting limits to be placed on those guaranteed rights and freedoms