The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people and there is currently no effective cure or vaccine. There has been a £25m research response to the pandemic, which is funding approximately 27 research projects with the aim to develop an effective vaccine or treatment, as well as improve the understanding of the disease. Whilst the research is already underway, it is unclear how the government is going to navigate the implementation of a new vaccine.
The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 gives the government powers to prevent, control or mitigate the spread of an infection or contamination. However, it explicitly states that these regulations cannot require an individual to undertake medical treatment, including vaccinations. Under the Coronavirus Act 2020 there are regulations to prevent the spread of disease in other ways, such as requiring people self isolate should they have any symptoms.
Speaking to reporters the Health Secretary stated:
“The question of whether it’s mandatory is not one that we’ve addressed yet. We are still some time off a vaccine being available. But I would hope, given the scale of this crisis, and given the overwhelming need for us to get through this and to get the country back on its feet, and the very positive impact that a vaccine would have, that everybody would have the vaccine.”
The most successful vaccine programmes tend to be via consent and it is unlikely that the Government will implement a mandatory vaccine. The Government’s own guidelines on vaccinations states that individuals “must be given enough information to enable them to make a decision before they can give consent.” However, this is a unique situation and as we have seen in recent months the Government have passed a variety of emergency legislation in order to control the pandemic. Requiring individuals to be vaccinated may be the most efficient way to control public health, however this would ultimately obstruct an individual’s right to make decisions about their own health care and medical treatment. This would be morally onerous, especially for those who resist or refuse vaccinations on the basis of religious, political or health reasons. The Government will need to make efforts to educate the general public about the effects of the vaccine if they want to ensure as many people consent to take it as possible.
Due to the accelerated scale that the vaccine is being developed, people may not want to be vaccinated due to the potential safety risks. Traditionally, it can take many years to develop a safe vaccine. However, the Government have reported that because of the accelerated framework for research and testing, a vaccine could be available within 12-18 months. It will be crucial for scientists to balance the aims of creating a vaccine as quick as possible to prevent further spread of the disease, whilst also ensuring the safety of civilians. Vaccines are generally very safe, however it is inevitable that there will be some adverse reactions if a vaccine is given to a large population. Couple that with the speed that that the vaccine is being developed at, it is likely that there may be scope for litigation following its release.
If the vaccine does cause adverse effects, there may be scope for individuals to be awarded vaccine injury compensation under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979. This is a statutory scheme and it is not necessary to demonstrate negligence in order to qualify. The individual must have suffered severe or 60% disablement in order to claim compensation through the scheme. This legislation was originally put in place after the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine scare and aimed to provide support for children who had been severely disabled as a result of a vaccination. However, this was overturned in 2017 when the decision to exclude adults from the scope of compensation was challenged. It is unclear whether the Government will allow for awards under this scheme for the vaccine, especially if it is released to the entire population, however it may be a useful tool to reassure the public that they will be supported by this legislation, should any adverse effects occur.
When deciding on the appropriate methods to deal with the release of a vaccine, the Government will need to consider how to best prevent the spread of disease across the country, whilst also protecting people’s rights to make an informed choice about how their body is treated. It seems the Government are attempting to create a quick prevention, but they need to ensure that there are no dangerous shortcuts to immunisation, whilst also upholding public trust and confidence. This will be difficult to achieve as it is likely one will fall short of the other. The Government ultimately need to refine its aims and place a strong focus on patient safety and education about the vaccine, which will ultimately lead to a higher rate of those consenting to be immunised.
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