Author(s)

Ethan Li ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Middlesex School, 1400 Lowell Road, Concord, Massachusetts 01742, United States of America

Corresponding Author

Ethan Li

ABSTRACT

In contexts where public health risks and individual bodily autonomy are juxtaposed, the ethical legitimacy of vaccination policies depends on a comprehensive balance between risk externalities, minimal coercion, and procedural justice. Drawing on the harm principle and a "clean hands" perspective, this article argues that limited, transparent, and reversible mandatory vaccination is conditionally justifiable when infectiousness is high, poses a significant and imminent risk to vulnerable populations, and educational and accessibility interventions are ineffective. Furthermore, historical injustice and uncertainty necessitate a step-by-step policy approach: trust first, constraints later. This approach prioritizes the implementation of demonstrable necessity and proportionality requirements in high-risk settings and specific public settings, supported by adverse event monitoring and no-fault compensation. The article further proposes a policy design checklist: "minimum coercion—revocable reversibility—compensation—and fairness." This checklist aims to protect public health while maintaining institutional trust and individual dignity, providing an actionable ethical framework and evaluation criteria for future immunization governance.

KEYWORDS

Vaccine Ethics; Harm Principle; Least Coercion; Herd Immunity; Procedural Justice; Health Inequalities; Policy Evaluation

CITE THIS PAPER

Ethan Li, The Ethics of Vaccination: Preserving Liberty and Health. MEDS Public Health and Preventive Medicine (2025) Vol. 5: 34-38. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/phpm.2025.050306.

REFERENCES

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[8] Patel M, Lee AD, Redd SB, et al. National Update on Measles Cases and Outbreaks—United States, Jan 1–Oct 1, 2019. MMWR. 2019;68(40):893–896.
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[10] Rawls J. A Theory of Justice. Rev. ed. Harvard Univ. Press; 1999.

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