How to Defend Mandatory Immunization Against Vaccine Hesitancy and Vaccine Refusal? An Ethical Assessment

Mikrobiyol Bul. 2023 Jan;57(1):156-170. doi: 10.5578/mb.20239913.ABSTRACTOne of the basic ethical principles in medical practice is to respect personal autonomy. However, it is a widely accepted view that when it comes to health problems that concern not only the individual but also the society, especially in epidemics of infectious diseases, individual autonomy can be violated by prioritizing the benefit of the community. This view is based on the scientific fact that epidemics can only be controlled by immunizing all susceptible individuals. However, whether all susceptible individuals can be compelled to be immunized remains a matter of debate around the world. Especially in the last three years, during the worldwide Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a significant part of the society has been hesitant about being vaccinated, and some have argued that vaccines should be rejected altogether. In the face of the situation outlined above, the question of "should immunization be mandatory?" has become more important than ever to be able to answer the question in a way that will ensure as broad consensus as possible. In this review article; it was discussed under which conditions mandatory immunization could be justified in terms of ethics and thus, it was aimed to contribute to the solution of the vital problem created by the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy and rejection in terms of public health. To this aim, first of all, the need to clarify some concepts was menti...
Source: Mikrobiyoloji Bulteni - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research