Essay Health, Globalisation and Human Rights mandatory vaccination
5 views 0 purchase
Course
Health, Globalisation and Human Rights
Institution
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU)
In this essay the following statement is argued. Mandatory vaccination of health personnel is required to ensure the right to healthcare during a future pandemic with similar impact to COVID-19.
"Mandatory vaccination of health personnel is required to ensure the right to healthcare
during a future pandemic with similar impact to COVID-19"
Healthcare professionals in Belgium will be given until April 1 to be vaccinated, otherwise they will be
fired. The federal government has announced (NOS Nieuws, 2021).
Vaccination is an essential control tool for the global COVID-19 epidemic. One of the most promising
methods of containing a pandemic is widespread vaccination to develop herd immunity. Vaccine
reluctance, on the other hand, represents a public health risk that is still prevalent among healthcare
workers (Li et al., 2021). Still, Health care workers who oppose obligatory vaccinations have said that
their rights to choose, liberty, and autonomy are not respected (Gualano et al., 2019). This essay
explores why vaccinating health personnel should not be mandatory during a future pandemic with a
similar impact to COVID-19.
Mandatory vaccination raises complex subjects since healthcare workers are more subjected to
vaccine-preventable diseases and face a higher risk of transmitting them to patients, their attitudes
toward mandatory vaccination have a direct impact on patient safety (Gualano et al., 2019). On the
other hand, opponents say it unquestionably infringes on the right to autonomy, which contains the
right to turn down medical interventions (Gualano et al., 2019). Mandatory vaccination also violates
the right to privacy guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Wise,
2021). Additionally, mandatory vaccination for healthcare personnel also strengthens the stigma
attached to individuals who do not comply and could influence mental health (Habakus et al., 2012).
According to research conducted in Egypt, more than 75% of healthcare personnel did not receive
adequate information regarding the COVID vaccine or did not trust the information (Fares et al.,
2021). This is not unreasonable since proof of the safety and efficacy of many vaccines is still being
gathered (Flood et al., 2021). Furthermore, research on vaccine safety may be insufficient. There
have been no randomized controlled trials comparing the total health outcomes of vaccinated and
unvaccinated individuals. Nonetheless, since 1988, the vaccine injury compensation program has
given well over $2 billion worth of damage to over 2500 families (Habakus et al., 2012). For this
reason, mandatory vaccination is not proportional, and subsidiarity does not apply when health care
personnel is mandatory to get vaccinated.
In conclusion, obligatory vaccination of health personnel is a major infringement of human rights and
should not be considered. Healthcare workers should make their own decisions. When governments
want more healthcare staff to be vaccinated, it is critical that they do everything possible to assure
the safety of vaccines and provide accurate and complete information about vaccines to health
personnel.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller gracemarielle. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.64. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
