Vaccines, Public Health, and the Law

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has loomed over the world for the better part of a year now; yet, many still cannot shake the disbelief that it is here. Nonetheless, countries around the world continue to be ravaged by death, and the healthcare workers battle on. As vaccine distribution makes its way to the mainstream, I cannot help but wonder, will people even take the vaccine? In an already divided country, where many are refusing to wear masks due to disbelief, violation of liberty, or mere quarantine fatigue, what will become of those that disobey if vaccination orders become mandatory? Public health emergencies may seem novel, but that is not the case. Even with modern technology and the most brilliant minds, certain diseases continue to baffle the scientific community [1, pp. 611-612]. Furthermore, new ones appear and seem to render the world at the same mercy as the diseases of centuries before [1, pp. 618-619]. On the other hand, the evolution of vaccination has been successful on many fronts as well. Vaccines for polio, measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella are just a few of the vaccines that have been used successfully for several decades [2, S5, S6].