Inclusive Education for Health: Analysis of the Mandatory Nature of Vaccination and Its Regulation by Administrations, and Implications and Considerations for Vaccination against COVID

Abstract

In the process of vaccination against COVID-19, the problem of parents who do not want to vaccinate their school-age children has been evident. A conflict arises between two fundamental rights: the right to ideological freedom, privacy, and physical integrity of parents and minors who do not opt for vaccination; and the right to health of the rest of the children who attend the same school, provoking a social debate on the need to introduce regulatory changes that favor the mandatory imposition of vaccination in certain cases. This research offers an observational study through a cross-sectional design of a quantitative nature, in which one thousand people belonging to the education, health, and economy sectors from seventy-six countries of five continents have participated. The instrument used was a previously validated questionnaire: VACUNASEDUCA. It was considered essential to know the awareness of vaccination processes of professionals from essential social sectors. Therefore, the objectives were: to reflect on the measures of mandatory vaccination, to know the importance of teachers being able to demand a regulated vaccination card from students, to study the need for regulation by administrations of compliance with vaccines, and to analyze the importance of health education. It has been shown that women and those under thirty years of age are the least in favor of compulsory vaccination, with the health sector being the most defending of their demand, and with Europe with the lowest means. It is concluded that mandatory vaccination could be an acceptable tactical option to prevent high-risk situations.

Keywords

• vaccination
• COVID-19
• obligation
• health education
• vaccination cards
• equity