Compulsory Childhood Vaccination: Human Rights, Solidarity, and Best Interests.

Across Europe an increasing number of States have set out policies which limit the right of parents to refuse routinely administered vaccinations on their children’s behalf. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Vavricka and Others v the Czech Republic has found that compulsory vaccination can be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. We argue that the Court’s consideration of the collective and individual best interests of children and the value of solidarity are pertinent to parental vaccine disputes and to the broader debate as to whether quasi-mandatory measures could be accepted in the United Kingdom.