In the midst of a debate on the obligation to vaccinate the entire population against the coronavirus and in the face of strong reluctance in many countries, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rendered a judgment on similar cases on Thursday, judging that compulsory vaccination was “necessary in a democratic society”.
General compulsory vaccination reflects “the pressing social need to protect individual and public health”, indicates the ECHR, meaning that the general interest takes precedence over “interference in the exercise of the right to respect for private life” that it can constitute.
The European Court handed down its decision, without any possible recourse, following a referral from Czech parents who refused to have their children vaccinated and who were consequently banned from entering kindergarten.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had never issued such a categorical decision on the issue of compulsory vaccination, when this case, which concerns the vaccination of children against nine diseases including diphtheria, tetanus , polio, measles, or hepatitis B, can serve as a precedent for the debate on compulsory vaccination against the coronavirus.
And the decision of the ECHR was taken by the Grand Chamber, the supreme body of the Court which judges the most important cases and whose decisions are not subject to any appeal.
The Court justified its decision by presenting the cases of vulnerable people, those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and who need collective immunity to be spared.
“The immunization policy pursues the legitimate objectives of protecting the health and the rights of others, in that it protects both those who receive the vaccines in question and those who cannot be vaccinated for certain reasons. medical, ”added the ECHR with reference to these cases.
And to specify that these vulnerable people are “dependent on collective immunity to protect themselves against the serious contagious diseases in question”, from where its decision which obliges the children to be vaccinated against these contagious diseases.
Finally, to block the road to any form of dispute, the Court considered that “the best interests of children must prevail in all decisions which concern them”, to protect not only individual but also collective health. Thus, this decision of compulsory vaccination does not violate the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights on “respect for private life”, indicates the ECHR.
