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It is not morally right to sacrifice individuals for the sake of many
Some people may feel that vaccines are contrary to their moral stance. Vaccines may be perceived as promoting immoral behaviour or as having been developed using immoral means.
Moral concerns differ from religious concerns because even though morality may stem from religious beliefs, faith is not a necessary condition for developing certain moral positions. For example, people may oppose abortion for moral reasons without appealing to religious beliefs.
Moral concerns about vaccines often arise in the context of sexuality. For example the vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV) which is sexually transmitted may be seen to encourage sexual activity.
Moral concerns may also arise around the use of foetal cell lines in vaccine production or the alleged mistreatment of animals during vaccine development processes.
This theme is often invoked in conjunction with libertarian worldviews that prize individual freedoms. Arguments often cite the small risk of adverse side effects from vaccines and claim that it is not morally right to require individuals to take small risks in order to achieve the benefits of herd immunity at the population level.
There is a small risk of side effects with vaccination, although the vast majority of these are minor. More severe adverse effects are rare and the risk of these against the risk of catching the disease are assessed by regulators. Even otherwise healthy people can become extremely ill from infectious diseases. Fortunately, vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective and pose very low risks of adverse side effects for the majority of people, so that we can be safely vaccinated to protect the vulnerable few from severe diseases.
Dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals is most productive if it is guided by empathy, and an opportunity for the patient to affirm the reasons underlying their attitudes and to express understanding for that. That’s why it is important to understand the attitude roots behind people’s overt opinions. To affirm a person’s underlying attitude root does not mean we need to agree with the specifics of their argument. For example, we can acknowledge that:
There is a small risk of side effects with vaccination, although the vast majority of these are minor. More severe adverse effects are rare and the risk of these against the risk of catching the disease are assessed by regulators. Even otherwise healthy people can become extremely ill from infectious diseases. Fortunately, vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective and pose very low risks of adverse side effects for the majority of people, so that we can be safely vaccinated to protect the vulnerable few from severe diseases.
If a vaccine proves to be effective and the disease poses a threat to the public, it would be unethical not to administer it. For most people, vaccines offer safe and effective protection from diseases, with a very low risk of adverse side effects. For the few individuals for whom vaccination is medically contraindicated, we can avoid sacrificing them to the severe consequences of disease at little cost to the many of us who are able to be vaccinated. Getting vaccinated is a choice you can make for the sake of the few who can’t.
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