Dec 7, 2021

… Vaccines mandate an “absolute last resort”

The World Health Organization’s group of advisory experts is considering evidence this week on COVID-19 heterologous vaccines, or mix and match vaccines, and will report their findings on Thursday, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The independent experts will also look at “the Johnson & Johnson series – whether you should have one dose or two doses”, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.

Meanwhile, WHO Europe head also on Tuesday said, that mandatory vaccinations against the coronavirus are an “absolute last resort”.

More and more countries in Europe, including Germany, are debating whether to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory after Austria announced in November it would make inoculations compulsory as of Feb. 1 next year, prompting large protests.

“Mandates around vaccination are an absolute last resort and only applicable when all feasible options to improve vaccination uptake have been exhausted,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told reporters.

“The effectiveness of mandates is very context specific,” Kluge said, adding that public confidence and trust in authorities needed to be considered.

“What is acceptable in one society and community may not be effective and acceptable in another.”

Indonesia, Micronesia and Turkmenistan have also made vaccinations against the coronavirus mandatory for all adults.

REUTERS