Open AccessCOVID-19 vaccination certificates and lifting public health and social measures: ethical considerations
Author(s) -
Teck Chuan Voo,
Maxwell J. Smith,
Ignacio Mastroleo,
Angus Dawson
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/emhj.22.023
Subject(s) - public health , vaccination , solidarity , context (archaeology) , social distance , pandemic , political science , public relations , covid-19 , medicine , environmental health , public economics , law , economics , politics , geography , virology , nursing , archaeology , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background: To reopen society, various countries are planning or have implemented differential public health and social measures (PHSMs) for COVID-19-vaccinated individuals, by exempting these individuals from some of these measures or restricting access to specific activities or services to them. Aims: To examine the ethical considerations raised by differential PHSMs in domestic contexts on the basis of individual vaccination status verified by vaccination certificates. Discussion: Decisions on whether and when measures should be lifted specifically for vaccinated individuals should be guided by scientific and ethical considerations. These considerations include the public health risks of differential lifting, particularly in a context where a substantial portion of society is not vaccinated; mitigation of inequities and unfair disadvantages for unvaccinated individuals; and whether to permit other health certificates or credentials besides proof of vaccination as alternative options to access specific activities or services, as a way to balance public health and freedom of movement. Conclusion: Vaccination certificates may undermine a population-based approach to COVID-19 vaccination to achieve and accelerate universal lifting of PHSMs, result in unfair and inequitable health and social outcomes, and generate social divisions at a time when solidarity within (and between) countries is necessary to navigate the pandemic and its burdens. Further research on the ethical acceptability and impact of COVID-19 vaccine certificates in countries that have implemented them should be carried out to inform future ethical considerations on this issue.