Obligation Is Not a Compulsion—The Quality of the Law and the Effectiveness and Safety of Vaccination against COVID-19

Abstract

In December 2021, the Minister of Health in Poland announced via Twitter that vaccination was not compulsory. Such a message from a public authority, who was to a significant extent responsible for organising the process of preventing and combating the infections caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, appeared to have a negative impact on the public perception of the role of vaccination in combating this disease. The impossibility of directly enforcing vaccination, in the sense that there is no legal basis for its compulsory administration, should not weaken the sense of obligation towards a socially necessary attitude of vaccination as a means of protecting the population against the disease; this should be promoted by public authorities. An auxiliary role in shaping this type of message should be played by the law of appropriate quality, regulating the rules related to vaccination in a way that encourages citizens’ trust in the state and the law.