Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare professionals: ethical perspectives

Abstract

Following the availability of new vaccines against COVID-19, in 2021, some countries introduced mandatory vaccination for healthcare professionals caring for patients and frail people. This work highlights the principles of public ethics which, reinforced by some fundamental ethical precepts, make mandatory vaccination legally acceptable. However, there are also problems, linked to the presence of the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy among health professionals, in low percentages but with high incidence. In the context of the care relationship, the ethical tension between the autonomy claimed by the healthcare provider and the patient’s right to safety emerges. Vaccination does not provide absolute protection, but it makes an important contribution to the safety of the care environment. We believe that mandatory vaccination of healthcare professionals is compatible with the ethical precept of protecting the health of the community and the patients entrusted to their care. Individual freedom cannot increase the risk of patients. The ethical perspective suggests that public decision-makers should encourage spontaneous adherence to vaccines as much as possible and adopt the strategy of progressive intervention, inspired by the principle of proportionality.