What’s new for the clinician– summaries of recently published papers

Abstract

From a scientific perspective, the benefits of vaccination have long been demonstrated with rigorous empirical research1. To the individual being vaccinated, vaccines provide almost invaluable protection against serious infections, but high coverage levels can also create an additional benefit emerging at the population level. This public good of ‘herd immunity’, i.e. heavily reduced transmission of a pathogen in the population because of low numbers of susceptible hosts in the population, is an important layer of protection for those individuals who cannot receive vaccination themselves, those with a dysfunctional immune system, and those whose protection has waned.1 It is mainly for the latter reason that many ethicists believe that vaccination is not merely a matter of personal choice but that it can also be a social obligation.