The (Un)fairness of Vaccination Freeriding

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Ethics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Herd protection through immunization is crucial for controlling contagious diseases like measles.
• Individuals who refuse vaccination benefit from herd protection without contributing to its maintenance, raising questions of fairness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze whether vaccination refusal constitutes unfair freeriding.
• To explore the ethical implications of herd protection as a public good.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of the concept of freeriding.
• Ethical examination of public goods and individual obligations.

Main Results:

• Vaccination refusal can be characterized as freeriding.
• However, it may not be considered unfair due to the nature of herd protection, which supervenes on private benefits.

Conclusions:

• Herd protection offers a unique public good where vaccinated individuals already receive benefits, mitigating claims of unfairness from non-vaccinated individuals.
• While freeriding may occur, other ethical or public health grounds might still justify compulsory vaccination policies.