EC Paediatrics

Guest Editorial Volume 15 Issue 3 - 2026

Editorial: Consequences of Making Vaccines Optional in the U.S.

AJ Russo*

Visiting Professor, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY and Research Director, Mensah Research Institute, Warrenville, Il, USA

*Corresponding Author: AJ Russo, Visiting Professor, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY and Research Director, Mensah Research Institute, Warrenville, Il, USA.
Received: February 02, 2026; Published: February 17, 2026



The issue of making vaccines optional in the United States raises significant public health concerns and ethical dilemmas, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications of this decision extend beyond individual choices, affecting societal health, vaccine uptake, trust in health systems, and future disease outbreaks.

  1. Rus M and Grošelj U. “Ethics of vaccination in childhood-a framework based on the four principles of biomedical ethics”. Vaccines2 (2021): 113.
  2. Williamson L and Glaab H. “Addressing vaccine hesitancy requires an ethically consistent health strategy”. BMC Medical Ethics1 (2018): 84.
  3. Taylor S., et al. “A proactive approach for managing COVID-19: The importance of understanding the motivational roots of vaccination hesitancy for SARS-CoV2”. Frontiers in Psychology 11 (2020).
  4. Bardosh K., et al. “The unintended consequences of COVID-19 vaccine policy: why mandates, passports, and restrictions may cause more harm than good”. BMJ Global Health5 (2022): e008684.
  5. Babcock H., et al. “Mandatory influenza vaccination of health care workers: translating policy to practice”. Clinical Infectious Diseases4 (2010): 459-464.
  6. Galanakis E., et al. “Ethics of mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers”. Eurosurveillance45 (2013).
  7. Mills M and Rüttenauer T. “The effect of mandatory COVID-19 certificates on vaccine uptake: synthetic-control modelling of six countries”. The Lancet Public Health1 (2022): E15-E22.
  8. Savulescu J. “Good reasons to vaccinate: mandatory or payment for risk?”. Journal of Medical Ethics2 (2020): 78-85.
  9. Chantler T., et al. “Vaccination: Is there a place for penalties for non-compliance?”. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy3 (2019): 265-271.
  10. Gori D., et al. “The impact of mandatory vaccination law in Italy on MMR coverage rates in two of the largest Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna and Sicily): An effective strategy to contrast vaccine hesitancy”. Vaccines 1 (2020): 57.

AJ Russo. “Editorial: Consequences of Making Vaccines Optional in the U.S.”. EC Paediatrics  15.3 (2026): 01-02.

ECronicon Journal

Our Services

Quick Links

Information

Creative Commons LicenseOpen Access by ECronicon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Based on a work at www.ecronicon.net