Can the vaccination against COVID-19 be compulsory in Brazil? The legal issue and political dispute
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22239/2317-269x.01856Keywords:
Right to Health; Coronavirus Infections; Public Health; Immunization Programs; Vaccination RefusalAbstract
Introduction: The recent uproar around COVID-19 hangs over the rights and duties of the population regarding vaccination and mass immunization. The exercise of individual freedom and the possible imposition of a measure that makes vaccination compulsory may be the focus of a political dispute around the adoption of scientific criteria for government decision-making, and with that, bring serious collective consequences in relation to the spread and the lack of control of the disease. Objective: To study whether compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, once instituted by law or normative act, will have a legal basis in view of fundamental rights and analyze whether the political dispute around the vaccine may be influencing its regulation. Method: Exploratory and descriptive study developed through documentary and bibliographic research, collection of texts from the World Health Organization, Ministry of Health, federal government and the state of São Paulo, analysis of national legislation and recent decisions by the Supreme Court. Results: It was observed that it is possible to establish compulsory vaccination in Brazil, ensuring fundamental rights; however, political issues are influencing decision-making based on technical-scientific criteria for health surveillance. Conclusions: The restriction of individual freedom finds support in the search for health in the collective interest, as long as it does not go beyond the limits of the physical integrity of the citizen and human dignity, the use of physical coercion being prohibited. The political dispute led by some public agents may have caused delays and setbacks in the vaccination of the Brazilian population, an effective way to control the pandemic.
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