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Η βιοηθική των υποχρεωτικών εμβολιασμών (Master thesis)

Βέη, Παναγιώτα

Vaccination is widely regarded as one of the most successful achie-vements of medicine. It is estimated that prevents 2.5 million deaths caused by contagious diseases each year. Many vaccines (but not all) provide protection even to individuals who have not been vaccinated. They can lower the incidence of a disease in a community, benefiting the population as a whole. High vaccination rates are required to establish and maintain herd immunity. For public health officials, it is crucial to achieve that critical threshold of immunity in order to prevent the spread of an infectious illness. In that case, the benefits also extend to those who cannot themselves be vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon. It goes back to the first days of immunization. The most important factors influencing vaccine hesitancy are: complacency about the perceived severity of a disease and the susceptibility to it; convenience regarding the accessibility and availability of vaccination; and confidence. The last concerns the effectiveness and safety of vaccines as well as the general mistrust in public authorities and the religious beliefs of the individual.Mandatory vaccination policy is a tool for several governments in order to maximize vaccine uptake. Ethical considerations are increasingly visible in discussions regarding the design and implementation of vaccine programs. In the field of Bioethics, the four principles approach, i.e. respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, leads to conclusions regarding the coerciveness. The evaluation of programs depends on the benefits of vaccinations, the public consent, the available choices for opting-out and the sanctions for omission. Evaluating the mandatory and voluntary immunization programs of several countries based on the vaccination coverage rates, we highlight the most important factors which lead to maximal vaccine uptake, such as well organized public health services, trusting relationships between healthcare providers and patients and well researched educational interventions.