Vaccination programs are regularly celebrated as one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions ever developed. Yet, in a global context characterized by an acute lack of vaccines coupled with unfair distribution, COVID-19 vaccination schemes are controversial. Inaccurate and misleading stories about the vaccines risk becoming a “second pandemic.” However, long before COVID-19, growing vaccine hesitancy and skepticism were affecting the uptake for vaccination schemes in humanitarian contexts and considered a serious threat to global health. How should international refugee law grapple with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, mistrust, and refusal?
Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora (2021) Refugees and the Scope for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination, Cornell International Law Journal 54: 16–20.
