As we can now observe, we live in a world of 'globalised' health, where the outbreak of infectious disease can sow fear. Given this, and the recognised range of pandemic diseases that wreak indelible havoc, there is the possibility, indeed the likely necessity, of a state response to the jurisdiction and capacity of vaccination policy. As might be expected when it comes to individual and public freedoms, the ethical dilemma of limiting consent requires striking a delicate balance between this and the wider common good. While human rights are a natural qualification for such proposed state powers, even they have their own limitations In the face of an ongoing (and constantly evolving) pandemic, the right decisions on matters such as compulsory vaccination are being made now, before they need to be made in haste, in the absence of adequate consideration of the ethical and legal complexities involved.
Contagion, containment, consent: infectious disease pandemics and the ethics, rights, and legality of state-enforced vaccination
19 December 2022