Vaccine Mandates in the COVID-19 Era: Changing Paradigm or Public Health Opportunity?; Comment on "Convergence on Coercion: Functional and Political Pressures as Drivers of Global Childhood Vaccine Mandates"

Abstract

The debate around vaccine mandates has flourished over the last decade, with several countries introducing or extending mandatory childhood vaccinations. In a recent study, Attwell and Hannah explore how functional and political pressures added to public health threats in selected countries, motivating governments to increase the coerciveness of their childhood vaccine regimes. In this commentary, we reflect on whether such model applies to the COVID-19 case and how the pandemic has re-shuffled the deck around vaccine mandates. We identify COVID-19 immunisation policies’ distinctive aspects as we make the case of countries implementing mass immunisation programmes while relying on digital COVID certificates as an indirect form of mandate to increase vaccine uptake. We conclude by acknowledging that different forms of mandatory vaccination might serve as a shortcut to protect population health in times of emergency, underlining, however, that the ultimate public health goal is to promote voluntary, informed, and responsible adherence to preventive behaviours.

Vaccine Hesitancy and Public Mistrust during Pandemic Decline: Findings from 2021 and 2023 Cross-Sectional Surveys in Northern Italy

“…The significant correlation between individuals’ attitudes towards vaccinations and their stance on the national vaccination plan reveals the profound impact of health policies and public messaging [ 43 ]. This correlation is evident not only for COVID-19 vaccinations but also for general and influenza vaccinations, suggesting that people’s trust in and perception of public health policies can strongly influence their health-related decisions.…”