There was a piece in the FT last week about companies making vaccinations a condition of employment, which got me thinking about what I thought about mandatory vaccination in general.
I cannot remember exactly when and where it was, but it would have been somewhere around north London in the latter part of 2018, when I had reason to think about my views on mandatory vaccinations. The context from what I recall was vaccination as a requirement for going on trips, and was topical because a few years ago London was suffering a serious measles outbreak because so many parents were opting out of getting jabs, which in my mind was contrasting with policies of places like France and Singapore which makes at least some vaccines compulsory. Thoughts also include the borderline “cultural” anti-vaxx which seems to be prevalent in places like California.
Even though somewhat contrived since it was a thought exercise, I recalled it because it was at a time when the topic of vaccination was one that could be considered at leisure, and not a matter of global emergency halfway through what is likely going to end up being two years of restrictions. Looking back to the reasoning that went through my mind there is the obvious question: Would I support a policy of mandatory vaccination against Covid-19, and if I did what exceptions if any would be permitted.
The conclusion is that the answers would have been “yes” and “basically none”.
Herd immunity typically needs something like 90% up-take, so the 5-10% who don’t take it really have to be people who absolutely cannot. In other words people who either have a known history of bad reactions to vaccinations, or have a medical history that calls into question the safety of getting inoculated, such as taking medication that has not been tested for reactions with the vaccine. It is tests for things like this which is why approval trials normally take so long. The problem is that most opt-outs are either based on questionable information or are for non-medical reasons.
No vaccination? Your medical insurance is invalidated and you are not allowed to travel. The world cannot afford to have life-style refuseniks.