Is There a Moral Right to Nonmedical Vaccine Exemption?

Abstract

A recent measles outbreak in the United States was linked to a single source, yet it spanned eighteen jurisdictions and infected 121 people. Forty-seven states currently allow legal exemption from vaccination on religious grounds, eighteen of which also allow it on philosophical grounds. Recent research usually accepts a fundamental right to vaccine exemption and primarily seeks ways to protect herd immunity while also respecting that right, for example, by keeping the exemption available yet harder to procure or by imposing torts for infection-related injury. We argue that when herd immunity is at risk, any moral claim to exemption from vaccination on conscientious, philosophical, or religious grounds is overridden. Our argument rests on an analogy to a series of situations in which a person puts others at risk through philosophically or religiously motivated choices. In these situations, intuitively, there is no claim-right to compromise the safety of others. Similarly, we propose, there is no claim-right to refuse vaccination, regardless of one's conscience, when refusal is sufficiently likely to seriously affect herd immunity and the safety of others. We also address several counterarguments. The lack of a claim-right to exemption when herd immunity is at risk does not mean, however, that it is always prudent for the state to force vaccination, or even that forcing vaccinations must be legal. Alternatives to forced vaccination may prove wiser and more conducive to high vaccination rates.

Vaccine Hesitancy and Administrative Burden in the Australian National Immunisation Program: An Analysis of Twitter Discourse

“…However, not everyone is in agreement that immunisation programs are ethically justified if a disease in question is mostly not fatal; in such instances, acknowledgments of sideeffects can be difficult to overcome where parents are concerned [13]. The line for objection to vaccinations might lie where herd immunity is threatened, because the protection of individual rights is analogous to protection of the rights of others [14]-neither may be easily abridged, but it is easier to make an argument in favour of the whole.…”

Should Pediatricians Dismiss Families Who Refuse a COVID-19 Vaccine?

“…[11][12][13] Much of this concern has centered on the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, in large part due to outbreaks of measles almost 20 years after it was first eliminated 12 among communities with low rates of MMR vaccine coverage in the United States. [14][15][16] In response to these outbreaks, it has grown more common for pediatricians to dismiss families who refuse childhood vaccinations such as the MMR vaccine. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has guardedly endorsed this view (partly reversing an earlier position), indicating that an "individual pediatrician may consider dismissal of families who refuse vaccination as an acceptable option."…”

Immunoinformatic Approach for Epitope-Based Peptide Vaccine against Lagos Rabies Virus Glycoprotein G

“…The RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase together with phosphoprotein (P), functions as the transcriptase and replicase complex, the glycoprotein G is the only outer membrane protein responsible for virus entry and inducing protective immune responses [27]. The role of vaccines is to generate an immune response in order to protect the vaccinated individual upon future exposures to the disease [28]. There is considerable differences in Individuals immune systems that in some cases individual's immune system will not respond adequately to protect against second exposure and this is one of the reasons explaining the failure of immunization [28].…”

“…The role of vaccines is to generate an immune response in order to protect the vaccinated individual upon future exposures to the disease [28]. There is considerable differences in Individuals immune systems that in some cases individual's immune system will not respond adequately to protect against second exposure and this is one of the reasons explaining the failure of immunization [28]. Vaccine production that depends on biochemical experiments are time consuming, expensive and not always work, furthermore this type of vaccines might constitutes a few hundred of unnecessary proteins for the induction of immunity causing many reactogenic or allergic responses [29,30].…”