Mandatory vaccinations would not work: BC’s top doc
Posted March 23, 2014 7:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LOWER MAINLAND (NEWS1130) – The measles outbreak continues to spread through the Fraser Valley, where many parents are refusing to vaccinate their children. Some people are now calling for the mandatory immunization of kids.
But Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall says even if mandatory vaccinations were introduced, it would violate people’s rights.
“You put in a mandatory policy that says children must have proof of vaccination before they enter school or kindergarten, the courts would also say… the regulation would have to have an exemption on conscientious, religious, or medical grounds,” he explains.
“There are some jurisdictions — some states in the United States — that do have mandatory vaccination policies,” admits Kendall. “But I believe that they all have exemptions for people who might have a medical counter-indication, a religious objection, or a conscientious objection.”
Kendall likens the situation to laws that give people the right to refuse medical treatment.
He feels health workers need to continue efforts to promote vaccination, and address misinformation from unreliable scientific sources.
