Is This The First Time People Are Forced To Get Vaccinated?

With the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine, it’s highly possible that inoculation for almost all of us becomes mandatory. And this is not the first time people will be forced to get vaccinated. Remember about the first forceful massive vaccination act in history, the Smallpox vaccination?

American historian Michael Willrich introduced the events in his book “Pox.” According to him, many people were forced to get the vaccine and most of the time against their will. There were even cases when the vaccinators inoculated them at gunpoint.

How can Covid-19 vaccination become mandatory?

Well, it’s a bit impossible to force people to get vaccinated at gunpoint nowadays. Still, the governments or states can adopt a tricky tactic to compel almost anyone to get vaccinated. We may appear in an environment where we cannot do any significant step without proof of vaccination. That small piece of paper can become our passport for working in an organization, attending a concert or theatre, traveling across the globe, and even booking a place in a restaurant.

While the bodily integrity law assures that people cannot get medical treatment without their consent, this consent can become mandatory. Employees have all the rights to use some restrictions for attending their place. With all these restrictions, the situation may become kind of paradoxical – vaccination is not mandatory; anyway, it’s compulsory for doing something.

Israel’s Green Badge system

For all those who don’t believe that such a scenario can be possible, there is Israel, and there is the “Green Badge” system that the country adopted. Israel opened its bars, restaurants, health centers, etc. but only for those who have that Green Badge, which is the proof of vaccinations. So, those who get it have more freedom in their daily life.

“Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.” Yuli Edelstein, health minister of Israel

By the way, Israel isn’t the only one: some European countries, like Denmark and Sweden, have also announced about adopting this kind of system in summer, and not only. The whole EU, USA also seems to enter the game.

Are there other vaccine mandates?

According to one 2020 study published in the journal Vaccine, over 100 of 193 UN countries have at least one or two mandatory vaccines. 62 of these countries have penalties for not getting inoculated, most of which are educational and financial. Among the less common ones are liberty and parental penalties.

Another study says that at least 10 vaccines are mandatory in European countries, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, poliovirus, Haemophilus influenzae type b measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. Vaccinations for Poliovirus, for instance, are required in ten European countries and recommended in all the others. 

While the situation in other countries may be a bit modest, Slovenia stands out with its most aggressive vaccination programs with mandatory vaccines for 9 designated diseases.

>Though we have lots of other such examples of mandatory vaccinations, it’s still unclear whether the Covid-19 vaccination will follow its fate. Will all the countries other than Israel and EU nations use the same system of Green Badges or not? We cannot be sure. But the fact is that Covid numbers still keep growing, forcing governments to take action. Clearly, this is not the first time in history people are forced to get vaccinated. That said, it is likely the first time in modern history people are required to get vaccinated in an indirect way.