To Vax or Not? A Human Rights Review of the Implications of Mandatory Vaccination as a Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the largest public health emergency so far experienced in the twenty-first century. As the world frantically pursues a sustainable solution, several vaccines have been tested and approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) under the Emergency Use Listing procedure. On the heels of this development have been moves by some States to adopt mandatory vaccination policies. Several private firms have also required their employees to be vaccinated as a pre-condition for resuming work. This fast-evolving situation brings into sharp focus the tensions between the rights to health, privacy, bodily autonomy and the right to consent to medical treatment on the one hand, and the public health and safety imperatives of protecting global populations against a ravaging pandemic on the other hand. This article argues that aggressive mandatory vaccination policies being propagated globally violate human rights by strengthening prejudices, and stereotypes, and furthering discrimination against those who may be unwilling to take the vaccines for one reason or another. Ultimately, therefore, there will be a need for States to adopt their own tailor-made vaccination frameworks that ensure the respect of individual rights on the one hand, but also ensures that it does not prejudice public safety in the wake of a ravenous pandemic.