Posted by Michael Wonder on 20 Aug 2020
Could the coronavirus vaccine be mandatory in Australia? Experts say it's possible.
20 August 2020 - News this week that Australia could have 25 million doses of the so-called "Oxford vaccine" available by early 2021 raises hope that a way to control COVID-19's spread may not be far away.
But it also raises some serious ethical questions about how the vaccine would be distributed — including whether it should be mandatory.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison — who originally declared yesterday the vaccine would be "mandatory" before revising his language to "encouraged" — added to speculation by suggesting that the "no jab, no play" framework used to compel uptake of childhood immunisation could offer a model for coronavirus vaccination too.
So, in practice, what does that mean? Can those reluctant to receive a new vaccine be forced to accept it? And how would that affect the human rights of those who don't want to receive it?
