Making vaccinations compulsory for state school pupils could risk causing more problems than it solves (Compulsory vaccinations may be needed – Hancock, 30 September; No 10 dismisses Hancock’s plan for forced jabs, 1 October).
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics report Public Health: Ethical Issues advised against the introduction of compulsory vaccination programmes, emphasising that public health policies should generally aim to use the least intrusive means possible to achieve the required health benefit.
The fall in uptake of vaccinations is a serious concern, but there are many steps that could be taken to encourage and facilitate childhood vaccinations without leaping into a compulsory programme. In any case, there is little evidence that mandatory programmes are more effective. Parents can choose not to vaccinate their children for a number of reasons – including religious beliefs, (misplaced) concerns about the safety of vaccines, or distrust of big pharma. We need to work together with parents and communities to build trust and improve access to vaccines before introducing policies that risk penalising children for their parents’ choices.
We strongly support practical measures that aim to remove barriers to accessing childhood vaccinations, eg improving appointment booking and provision of reminders, and measures that tackle the spread of misinformation.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, rightly identifies the role of social media companies as a key influencer of parental decision-making, and we would welcome action in this area. It is hard to see how a move to compulsory programmes would be ethically justified unless other, less intrusive, measures had been taken (and had been shown not to have worked).
Hugh Whittall
Director, Nuffield Council on Bioethics
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