Most of us have the vaccines our doctors recommend, helping to reduce the risk that we – and those around us – will suffer vaccine-preventable diseases.
But what happens when people opt out?
If you decide not to visit your dentist, choose to eat badly or refuse to wear a helmet while cycling, you put yourself at risk. The direct impact on other people’s health is (pretty much) zero.
With vaccines, the health of your community could be affected. You might catch – and spread – infectious diseases at school, in the workplace or in public places.
If enough people in a community are vaccinated, ‘herd immunity’ can be achieved. This makes it very difficult for infectious diseases to spread because a significant majority of people are protected.
Given that we have a stake in our neighbours’ vaccination status, is it reasonable to insist that everyone have their vaccines? Should it be a condition of accessing education, employment or social payments?
To help understand the issues at play, we sat down with some leading experts and asked whether mandatory vaccination is the answer to minimising the impact of diseases such as measles, diphtheria and pertussis.
Dr Julie Leask of the University of Sydney, says regulation is useful but that absolute mandates go too far. “We need requirements that encourage parents to get their children fully vaccinated,” she says. “But there need to be exemptions for people that don’t vaccinate. It should be harder to get an exemption than to get a vaccine.”
Regulations work, she notes, and help to push the vaccination rates up. However, hard-to-get exemptions are an important component of ‘firm but fair’ policies. Removing other barriers to vaccination, educating health providers and providing strong information systems are also vital pieces of the puzzle.
It’s not all about childhood vaccination. Dr Leask also points to the risk of disease outbreaks resulting from low vaccination rates in adolescents and adults. This, she says, should be part of a multi-part approach to improving public health rather than expecting mandates alone to solve the problem.
Professor Saad Omer, Emory University, takes a similar view. Mandates should, he believes, be used as ‘nudges’. There should be exceptions for those with strong objections but these must be more difficult to secure than the vaccine itself.
“We have shown that there is a reduction in vaccine refusal – and increase in vaccine coverage – if you change the balance of convenience of obtaining exemptions,” he says.
From an ethical perspective, this is the most defendable option, according to Professor Omer: “That strikes the balance between individual autonomy and the community benefit of vaccines.”
Not everyone is so sure that this approach goes far enough. Will appealing to people’s sense of community, and nudging those who are a little hesitant, be sufficient to reach herd immunity (or ‘community immunity’ as it is something known).
Dr Katie Attwell, Murdoch University in Australia, explains why the concept of ‘community immunity’ lacks meaning for people in an individualistic culture.
“The concept of doing things for others has started to break down with the advent of neoliberal ideology, the cult of the individual, and with the idea that if we make decisions about our lives to benefit ourselves we are rewarded,” she says. “It’s very hard to then make claims that when it comes to vaccination you should be looking after other people.”
In addition to this “community deficit”, Dr Attwell says that for some who refuse vaccines, the very idea of herd immunity is open to question. They may not hold a scientific view but, unfortunately, some people remain unconvinced by research.
“Some parents would not see themselves as free-riders benefitting from other people’s decisions to vaccinate,” she explains. “They don’t see that vaccines work, and that what others are doing impacts on their health and wellbeing.”
In light of this, health policymakers have a serious problem: they are pitching the concept of community immunity to individuals whose faith in ‘community’ and ‘immunity’ are strained.
Now what?
Dr Attwell says it’s time to look at all “tools in the toolbox”. These include persuasion, appealing to people’s values, and ensuring vaccines are accessible.
If all of this is in place and vaccination rates are too low, it may become necessary to consider more “coercive” options. The alternative would be to facilitate outbreaks of disease.
Does this mean we should reluctantly embrace vaccine mandates in Europe or would it do more harm than good?
Watch the videos to get the full story and share your thoughts below.
Jacek
August 24th, 2017
We need education explain ing the need of vaccination in a lay language, to counter the elucubrations of antivac people
Joanna
January 6th, 2019
Vaccines should be mandatory (except the flu shot).
Carlos
January 13th, 2021
why except flu shot
Ásgeir Valur Sigurdsson
January 25th, 2019
There should be no child vaccinations. Vaccine manufacturing should no longer be recommended for everyone. People caught attempting to manufacture vaccines meant to be injected into children should be arrested. Vaccines should be treated as one of the darkest chapters in human history. Because of the potential of vaccines to carry disease, kindergartens should no longer make it mandatory for parents to vaccinate their children. Vaccine supporters are basically just junkies who just want a shot because they can´t conceive of a day without a needle.
ManicVirus
February 14th, 2019
this is the dumbest thing iv ever read go get an educated and stfu
Yaejin Son
February 17th, 2019
But think about how life was when vaccines were not invented. Millions of people died because of unknown diseases and they could not prevent it or cure it. Having vaccine saved numerous people by now and I am sure it will save numerous people from diseases which can be fatal when spread. We are living in a blessed life and country which has vaccines. Hundreds of children on the other side of the world are losing their lives every minute because they have no vaccines.
lou
February 17th, 2019
Another idiot who thinks he is smarter then others ever watch a child with whooping cough ever see someone with polio suffer for the rest of their lives of course not me 63 1/2 years of living with polio and the pain I endure everyday you are an uneducated person with no knowledge and yet you seem to think you have a right to say something you DO NOT until you have lived through these situations so stop spreading your ignorance and if you have children well you should not be allowed to keep them with your inability to understand the science
Christine Ramsey
February 20th, 2019
I honestly can’t tell whether you’re being serious or sarcastic. If you’re being serious, it’s very worrying. Have you tried therapy?
Redd
March 1st, 2019
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How about we want a better chance for our children to lube? You have the audacity to call a 9 year old a needle junkie!?!
Copypasta
March 13th, 2019
All im reading is “hndenijehacubfruab ifneia a hfIHFU HBUE RWNGABRUBQ USBRUFW BURKBFWUB essential oils”
Lakyn Sullivan
March 21st, 2019
Do you mind if I use this info for my debate topic at school about this
Gary Finnegan
March 22nd, 2019
Not at all – feel free to use any material on this site.
Good luck with the debate
Landon Sbeve
April 22nd, 2019
Do you know aNyThInG
madihah
April 25th, 2019
yes vaccines do have diseases in it, HOWEVER they are in a small amount and in a weaker state. you miss/sir need to get some schooling please watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b03U6BYF9L0
Laurence Wells
May 6th, 2019
What are you talking about?
Me
November 23rd, 2020
That’s bait.
micheal
February 11th, 2021
And what are anti-vaxxers , idiots who think their uneducated thoughts are more important than medical professionals. Or are they just idiots who are so bored with their lives that they make up stupid shit in order to feel good about themselves.
T Berry
February 9th, 2019
It should be against the law in the United States for any child to attend school without being 100% vaccinated educate yourself people
lou
February 17th, 2019
Another idiot who thinks he is smarter then others ever watch a child with whooping cough ever see someone with polio suffer for the rest of their lives of course not me 63 1/2 years of living with polio and the pain I endure everyday you are an uneducated person with no knowledge and yet you seem to think you have a right to say something you DO NOT until you have lived through these situations so stop spreading your ignorance and if you have children well you should not be allowed to keep them with your inability to understand the science
Brett
February 22nd, 2019
I don’t believe anyone has the right to tell anyone. That i am going to inject something into your body , and you have no say in the matter. Thats communism.
Vladimir Putin
March 15th, 2019
What’s wrong with communism
Stalin
November 23rd, 2020
He’s got a point.
Ivan Putan
August 26th, 2022
What’s right with communism?
nathan
March 15th, 2019
but it stops people from being killed from stupid diseases lol
giiglefats
April 30th, 2019
thats communism lmao what
a re tard
March 7th, 2019
vaccines are pretty epic tbh
Jake
March 18th, 2019
Mandatory vaccines is a terrible idea. First of all, taking vaccines is against some religions and cause disabilities. Second, many of the diseases vaccines “cure” aren’t around any more and the vaccine is unnecessary. Third, mandatory vaccines takes away personal rights and that would be communism. Weather you agree with vaccines or not , mandatory vaccines should not sound okay. There are people who know they are allergic and people who’s religion doesn’t allow vaccines.
Gary Finnegan
March 19th, 2019
Where vaccine mandates are in place, medical exemptions are available. In some countries, religious exemptions are also available.
Hunter
March 29th, 2019
You are entirely correct but it wouldn’t be communism and they still should be mandatory vaccines are still needed as recent studies have shown that diseases that were gone are starting to form again and come back because we don’t vaccinate A: our children, B: our selves and for some professions you need the vaccines. In words, though you are correct your comment about communism and vaccines being no longer needed is invalid and uneducated, and in opinion straight out bigotry.
Landon Sbeve
April 22nd, 2019
thats why the article said RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS are LEGAL
Corinne Welp
April 2nd, 2019
The objective of vaccination is a sound one, no argument there.
However the products to achieve that objective are the problem.
There is a lack of trust in vaccinations, because of their chemical compounds and the huge profit to be gained from them.
The masses are treated as brainless idiots that should swallow whatever the know-it-alls tell them to.
It has all been tested and approved by the FDA.
Well has there never been an approved chemical substance found wanting and taken off the shelves because of its damaging side-effects?
Yes, there has. And many of them as well.
So, FDA approval means nothing.
These tests are expensive and since the invested money needs to be returned in order to make a profit, whatever the outcome of the test, the product (good or bad) needs to be sold.
Conclusion: Of course people want to be free of diseases, the question is why are we all so diseased?
Could it be because our natural habitat is systematically polluted by chemicals?
nada
April 22nd, 2019
are you kidding me? Vaccines provide necessary precautions to possibly life threatening diseases! you hear of things like measles or polio and think eh those will never reach me. without Vaccines your chances of getting these literally sky rocket and the more people around you that get them the safer the general community and people who cannot receive the shot themselves are. making children get them as a requirement before kindergarten is very smart because then it cannot be put off and the younger kids learn about protecting their health the better.
Laurence Wells
May 6th, 2019
There are several problems with mandating vaccinations. First of all, it directly contravenes patient autonomy. Secondly, it can lead to further deprivation and isolation of groups of people in the community. Thirdly, these groups become hotbeds for the diseases we vaccinate against, and can become a health hazard for the broader community.
The difficulty lies with the fact that vaccination is very much an issue of public health. A decision to not vaccinate directly impacts on others. With childhood vaccination, there is the additional problem of parental rights vs a physician’s duty of care, and child safeguarding.
The ideal way is to persuade people via education, to give them all the information available about diseases, about how vaccines work, what side effects can be expected, and help patients or their carers make an informed decision.
gabe
August 15th, 2019
What do you mean “Thirdly, these groups become hotbeds for the diseases we vaccinate against, and can become a health hazard for the broader community.”?
Kody
November 23rd, 2020
I believe what they mean is that the communities where the like mindset of opposing vaccines happens to also be where outbreaks of eradicated disease spawn from.
Swarndeep Singh
May 26th, 2020
Well the people who opt out of vaccination, may be have a death wish. Why should the people who are vaccinated worry. They are protected? Are you trying to say that the people who get vaccinated are still effected by the virus they are vaccinated against? Are you trying to say the vaccines do not work a 100%. What are the protection efficiency results of most vaccines? What are the preservatives used in most vaccines? The pharmaceutical industry lies as much as their predecessors the elixir salesmen. Look at the list of drugs being withdrawn every 10-15 years after the patent period expires, and the litigation against them settled out of court without being publicized.
Gary Finnegan
May 26th, 2020
You are making some wild claims, but also raise a few important questions.
You argue that nobody should care if some people opt out of recommended vaccines. The problem is that some people are too young or too sick to be vaccinated. For example, babies less than one year of age or people who are immuno-compromised – perhaps because they are undergoing cancer treatment or have had an organ transplant.
They cannot have vaccines and, if infected, are particularly vulnerable to serious illness. So, they rely on the rest of us to be vaccinated so that they viruses are not spreading in the community.
You also ask whether vaccines are 100% effective. They are not. Some, like measles vaccines, are very highly effective. They protect just about everyone who has them. But it’s always possible that the vaccine won’t work perfectly in an individual. For flu vaccines, we also know that it is harder to boost the immune systems of older people. It’s still worth having flu vaccines if you are old – indeed, they are at the highest risk of dying from flu – but there is no guarantee that it will work. Individuals should choose vaccination to protect themselves, but also because we are a community. In the COVID-19 era, this is becoming clearer than ever. We are all taking steps to protect the most vulnerable in society.
Tina
August 25th, 2020
Well, many very sick people rely on us to be organ donors, so if we die, they can live. So why not make organ donation mandatory.
It bothers me a lot that I can’t personally decide on my child’s medical interventions (vaccination) in my country. And i am not a bad mother.
Tia
February 11th, 2021
If you think that your beliefs about vaccinations are more important than actual medical professionals, It doesn’t make you a bad mother it just makes you seem very selfish. In the way that you care more about your beliefs than the overall benefit and safety of your community (let alone your own children).
And about the mandatory organ donation, it’s not at all like vaccinations.
Patricia
June 25th, 2021
It’s should be a personal choice and needs to stay that way …People own their own body !
Brian
August 7th, 2021
I’m really not sure why there is so much resistance here. There already are vaccine mandates in place in the US.
If you registered your child for school prior to COVID 19 pandemic, didn’t you have to supply your child’s vaccine records to the school? In order to be registered?
What about our military servicemen? When they go to basic training, do you think they get to protest the vaccines, all of them, in special meetings with their drill instructors?
Answer: no. Unless there is a difficult to obtain exemption, usually provided by a healthcare professional, your child cannot be registered, and in the military, vaccines are on order, you get them no matter your beliefs. They are orders that must be followed. Or, you are disciplined for insubordination.
Long look. If you are middle aged you have been through school. We you immunized?
Ex military? Did you get all your shots?
Problem here is political. Right want to drag their feet because they are not in charge.
This puts the whole country at risk. Such a shame
Ranze Mayfield
March 27th, 2021
Its super respectable to be still replying to comments on this article, that is all.
Gary Finnegan
October 12th, 2021
Thanks Ranze
shush
April 1st, 2022
ok : )
shuhs
April 1st, 2022
I don’t totally agree on your points you may ask why my answer is idk
question
January 24th, 2022
Vaccines aren’t 100% protection I don’t understand where you get these ideas. Vaccines aren’t cures they are a way to improve your immune system by letting it know what virus it needs to protect against. Yes even though someone is vaccinated it doesn’t make them immune it just gives them a better chance than a person that isn’t vaccinated. So lets say a student isn’t vaccine and they get a illness like chickenpox they still have the chance to spread it to children that are vaccinated.
Michael Anthony
March 22nd, 2021
with the now Covid-19 many kids in my school don’t do anything they are instructed and a lot have been quarantined and still don’t care. i feel that will still not care for this and it won’t change.
Jayden
November 8th, 2019
Thanks for the info, I’m doing a speech and that information helps support my opinion, it is very interesting and “community immunity” is the smart option.
thomas
January 21st, 2020
I haft to do a speech on vaccines email me if you can help
Tvaritha
December 30th, 2021
@Jayden, I have an important paper coming up on this very topic, and would love to hear how you went about it.
Caitlin Mosier
March 1st, 2020
Why getting vaccines at a young age is important
I believe that it is very important to vaccinate your kids before you are sending them off to school. There multiple different proven reasons for why you should vaccinate them. After reading a few articles on why kids should be vaccinated I have learned a few things and have come to a few conclusions. States have issued mandatory immunizations requirements for students before they are able to attend public schools because it is the most effective way to achieve ‘herd community’ which is when enough people in a community are getting vaccinated. This will help to fight off infectious diseases within a large population of citizens. With this being said, I agree that the regulations set by states are appropriate for students. I do read and have thought upon what others have said at the fact they believe that regulations are useful, but mandating is too far. I can see one’s side of this and why they consider this. This being said, people have their own beliefs and their own objections and the world cannot force someone to do something they do not think is right. I think the word “mandatory” that is used when taking the steps to get children vaccinated it a key factor in why some parents do choose not to get those shots, or they hesitate on that thought of it more. I agree that the states should have more exceptions for those that object to vaccines. The mandate for vaccine coverage and vaccine refusal needs to find a balance to help get kids and parents on track for vaccinations. On the health side of this, it becomes more of a serious note and is one of the reasons I believe kids should become vaccinated before entering a public school environment. When kids are younger their immune system is very weak. The older they get the stronger it gets. This means they are way more susceptible to getting an infectious disease and it also means that it is going to take them much longer to try and fight off this disease because of their weak immune system. Early on I talked about herd community and why it is beneficial. Not only is it a good thing to achieve herd community, but it is very important to maintain it as well so that it protects not only yourself from getting a virus but those around you with a weak immune system. The thought of children dying before vaccines was a thing is what convinces me the most to get children vaccinated. Vaccines now can prevent many different diseases that some people do not even know about and some that most people do. Such as whooping cough and polio. Many people believe that after an infection goes away your immune system becomes even stronger, but what most people don’t know is that vaccines have part of a disease in them. This may sound bad, but it is more beneficial to a child. The antigen that is being put into the vaccination is weakened to the point that is cannot cause a disease, but it will strengthen your immune system. For these reasons and many more out there, this is why I believe kids should be vaccinated before they are able to attend a public school setting.
joe
March 2nd, 2020
who writes this much of a freaking comment you need to calm down now
Sincerely,
joe mama
joe
March 2nd, 2020
this joe mama dude is really smrt you should listen to him
Sincerely,
joe mama
joe grandma
July 16th, 2020
Alright daughter you gotta relax. Caitlin is giving some valid points.
I remember when you were younger you wouldn’t listen to anything I said.
Sincerely
Joe Grandma (Joe Mama’s mother)
Eunsang Im
March 16th, 2022
on god
joe grandpa
January 14th, 2021
you all need to calm down, grandma is correct and you wouldn’t listen to anything back in the day. Also yall need to grow up or its back to the farm
Sincerely
Joe Grandpa (Joe Grandma’s Ex-Husband)
Adam West
March 15th, 2021
The idea of community as in the past is dead. My community is my family and friends. Other people are not my business and I’m not interested whether they get the vaccine our not.
How about all the “experts” out there that speak out against the covid hype that have been silenced? If there is a need for transparency then no one should be silenced or “cancelled” from the news or social media.
What is legal now may not be legal in the future. Just look back at the last century and draw comparisons. People say you can’t compare, it’s a public health emergency.. Bullshit..!!
There should not and must not be any coercion or a mandatory push for anything of this nature.
The same goes for climate change, the opposition is always silenced because the truth hurts and it turns out that the people pushing this are the ones pushing the covid pandemic..
Step back, take the scare factor or of it, of both and search for more information both for and against.. Make a decision based on reason and the idea that total freedom and liberty, for which so many have died in the past is paramount.
If not, the future looks bleak indeed. Government must remain in the background, people must be free to make their own decisions. My life and your life or your own responsibility, not others.
Dj Philiscious
June 29th, 2021
Champion comment.
ZeeBoo
November 12th, 2021
Ok Batman.
Karolina
December 29th, 2021
Vaccines are really important, and you should take them, not because the gov says it but because what you are saying and doing is not only affecting you but so many others, people die on hospital floors because unvaccinated people are dying crying to the nurses, saying give me the vaccine, but it is too late for them. You won’t be affected as much if you take the vaccine. Do you know why the gov tells you to take the vac? Bc, we all want a healthy community, a community that has built herd immunity. A united community. Parents and people are scared of the vaccine bc we don’t get answers, it seems a little too good to be true, a vaccine developed in 2 years, but there are so many reasons behind this. I agree that it isn’t fair that the gov is pressing people to do something that is felt to be against one’s liberty, but personal responsibility for a society outweighs personal choice. Nurses are literally working double as much, and their lives are affected too. Would you be willing to take the vac if there was a program that explained the reasoning behind all this in more detail so that you can make a fair choice? So that your choice and opinion are based on true facts, and not only what you see or hear. Remember when the seatbelt law was passed, people were mad, or in violation of one’s liberty, but as people realized that that seatbelt saved their friend’s life, they started using it. We should rely on science, let’s not let emotions, and fright in the way of beating covid, let’s stop wasting time, and live lives were taking a vaccine does not help oneself, but it helps another.
Gail Brink
August 19th, 2021
A young successful, healthy couple in their thirties, who got married in July 2020, whose first baby was born 7 weeks ago….have both succumbed to Covid a week apart. They would have been eligible to get the vaccine from 1st September. This is such a heartbreaking 💔 tragedy.
Jhon Rey
October 11th, 2021
Do you agree with mandatory vaccination?
Nikita
November 6th, 2021
I have a concern. I am not anti-vaxx, but I am anti covid-vaxx. The vaccines have been developed in such a short time, and I feel it is unsafe and we don’t know the consequences of taking these vaccines when they have not yet been approved, and have only been developed after less than 2 years. Usually a vaccine is approved and can be used after 10 years of testing and trials.
Gary Finnegan
November 8th, 2021
Hi Nikita,
That’s a fair question and it’s something we come across a lot.
It’s worth noting that the work on these vaccines didn’t start from nothing in early 2020, it is built on years of vaccine research. This includes the development of new technologies such as mRNA. This work was reaching maturity and being used to develop other vaccines when the pandemic began. Researchers quickly pivoted to adapt to a new virus (SARS-CoV-2).
Even so, you are right to say that vaccines usually take longer to get through clinical trials and approval by independent regulators. Under the circumstances, several steps were done in parallel or with overlapping timelines – rather than doing things in sequence. This cut down the timeline a lot.
Given the rising case numbers and deaths at that time, it was all hands on deck. To borrow an analogy from someone else, it was like comparing the time it takes to paint your house on your own with the time it takes when a team of people arrive and focus solely on your painting project. Scientists and regulators did everything they could do to prioritise the pandemic, hence they were able to accelerate the process without cutting corners.
Today, more than 7 billion doses had been administered worldwide. This makes it one of the most widely used vaccines in history. People of (almost) all ages have had the vaccine and its safety has been the subject of unprecedented scrutiny – quite understandably!
I wonder if, at some point, you would feel the same way about the COVID vaccine as you feel about other vaccines?
question
January 24th, 2022
I understand the concern but do you not believe that the technology in medical field has improved and what we know about medicine and virus. I do have concerns about side affects but every vaccine has “side affects” no matter what. Plus the “covid” vaccine had already been being developed so they already had some information on the virus they just need to make sure it was safe and do test on it. this can all be found on the CDC website btw. Medical tech has improved enormously in the past 50 years people don’t worry about chickenpox , and polio is pretty much eradicated from vaccines and medical science.
Grace Tippett
May 24th, 2022
I am doing a persuasive text in school and it is all about should vaccines be mandatory or should it not. I have had my covid-19 vaccines but I felt find I would like to add this to my story. and can you recommend any websites for my story.
Gary Finnegan
June 7th, 2022
You will find more videos on this topic on our YouTube channel
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