Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Keywords
vaccine, vaccination, COVID-19, coronavirus, payment, nudge, socioeconomic discrimination, racism, vaccine hesitancy, vaccine trust, misinformation, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, reward, ethics, injury compensation
Abstract
As several pharmaceutical companies approach the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorization to bring COVID-19 vaccines to market, concerns about vaccine mistrust cloud the prospects of imminent vaccination efforts across the globe. These concerns have prompted some commentators to suggest that governments may nudge vaccine uptake by paying people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This post argues that, even if potentially viable, this idea is undesirable against the backdrop of a pandemic marked by the intertwined phenomena of health misinformation and mistrust in public health authorities. Even beyond the context of COVID-19, paying for vaccination is likely to remain dubious public health policy likely to backfire in terms of (re)building public trust in vaccines.
Recommended Citation
Santos Rutschman, Ana, Why the Government Shouldn't Pay People to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19. Bill of Health (December 1, 2020), Saint Louis U. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-36.
Included in
Clinical Epidemiology Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Immunology of Infectious Disease Commons, Infectious Disease Commons, Influenza Virus Vaccines Commons, Other Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Virus Diseases Commons