Some people feel uneasy about sharing their COVID vaccination status and cite their right to privacy. The law defines when and how information can be collected and when public health trumps privacy.
While the vast majority of health workers are prepared to accept COVID vaccinations, we need to make sure the concerns of the minority are heard and don’t compromise safety.
Forceful words don’t always result in strong action.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
The core of the objections, whether they are about vaccinations, lockdowns, social distancing, or mask wearing, seems to concern an apparent erosion of personal liberty.
Sticking to your beliefs in a rapidly changing world isn’t necessarily the best choice.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
People tend to stick with their stated beliefs. But here’s how external forces like vaccine mandates can push people to do something they don’t want to do – and provide some face-saving cover.
Unions are encouraging all workers to be vaccinated, but not through employment mandates. Instead, they support bodily autonomy, workers’ rights, fairness and democracy.
A woman holds a rosary and a picture of the Virgin Mary during a 2019 hearing in Albany, N.Y., challenging the constitutionality of the state’s repeal of the religious exemption to vaccination.
AP Photo/Hans Pennink
The U.S. FDA has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. How is approval different from emergency use authorization, and what difference will it make to a vaccine that’s already in global use?
Whether it is reasonable for an Australian employer to mandate vaccination is a case-by-case determination.
The notion of vaccine mandates is being debated all over the world as some states move to legally require COVID-19 vaccination.
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Katie Attwell, The University of Western Australia and Marco Rizzi, The University of Western Australia
Research shows Australians are broadly supportive of vaccine mandates. But to appear legitimate, a mandate needs to serve clearly articulated public health goals and be proportionate.
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute