The Possibility of Introducing Conscientious Exemption from Mandatory Vaccination in Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-376
Author(s):  
Łukasz Mirocha

Abstract Considerations comprised in the article concern the problem of mandatory vaccination in Poland. Particular attention is paid to the issue of conscientious exemption from the vaccine obligation. The article presents the problem of social support for vaccination in Poland, the arguments issued by vaccination opponents, the current legal status of vaccination in Poland, and finally – the legal analysis regarding the introduction of a conscientious exemption from mandatory vaccination in Poland. The article focuses on judicial opportunities of introducing conscientious exemption in the field of mandatory vaccination; it presents possibilities and obstacles to establishing institution under discussion. The thesis that public health reasons should prevail over conscientious or moral demands is advocated in the article.

Author(s):  
Tatsuya Yoshihara ◽  
Kazuya Ito ◽  
Masayoshi Zaitsu ◽  
Eunhee Chung ◽  
Izumi Aoyagi ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a serious public health problem worldwide. In general, healthcare workers are considered to be at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, the prevalence of COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Japan is not well characterized. In this study, we aimed to examine the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among 2160 healthcare workers in hospitals and clinics that are not designated to treat COVID-19 patients in Japan. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G was 1.2% in August and October 2020 (during and after the second wave of the pandemic in Japan), which is relatively higher than that in the general population in Japan (0.03–0.91%). Because of the higher risk of COVID-19 infection, healthcare workers should be the top priority for further social support and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872199681
Author(s):  
Kerry Hanna ◽  
Clarissa Giebel ◽  
Hilary Tetlow ◽  
Kym Ward ◽  
Justine Shenton ◽  
...  

Background: To date, there appears to be no evidence on the longer-term impacts caused by COVID-19 and its related public health restrictions on some of the most vulnerable in our societies. The aim of this research was to explore the change in impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the mental wellbeing of people living with dementia (PLWD) and unpaid carers. Method: Semi-structured, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with PLWD and unpaid carers between June and July 2020. Participants were asked about their experiences of accessing social support services during the pandemic, and the impact of restrictions on their daily lives. Results: 20 interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed, which produced 3 primary themes concerning emotional responses and impact to mental health and wellbeing during the course of the pandemic: 1) Impact on mental health during lockdown, 2) Changes to mental health following easing of public health, and 3) The long-term effect of public health measures. Conclusions: The findings from this research shed light on the longer-term psychological impacts of the UK Government’s public health measures on PLWD and their carers. The loss of social support services was key in impacting this cohort mentally and emotionally, displaying a need for better psychological support, for both carers and PLWD.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Meta Rus ◽  
Urh Groselj

Although vaccination is recognised as the top public health achievement of the twentieth century, unequivocal consensus about its beneficence does not exist among the general population. In countries with well-established immunisation programmes, vaccines are “victims of their own success”, because low incidences of diseases now prevented with vaccines diminished the experience of their historical burdens. Increasing number of vaccine-hesitant people in recent years threatens, or even effectively disables, herd immunity levels of the population and results in outbreaks of previously already controlled diseases. We aimed to apply a framework for ethical analysis of vaccination in childhood based on the four principles of biomedical ethics (respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice) to provide a comprehensive and applicable model on how to address the ethical aspects of vaccination at both individual and societal levels. We suggest finding an “ethical equilibrium”, which means that the degree of respect for parents’ autonomy is not constant, but variable; it shall depend on the level of established herd immunity and it is specific for every society. When the moral obligation of individuals to contribute to herd immunity is not fulfilled, mandatory vaccination policies are ethically justified, because states bear responsibility to protect herd immunity as a common good.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jes Bak Sørensen ◽  
Mathias Lasgaard ◽  
Morten Vejs Willert ◽  
Finn Breinholt Larsen

Abstract Background High levels of perceived stress have a negative bearing on health and well-being, and stress is a major public health issue. According to the Stress Process Model, stressors are socially patterned and combine to produce strain. Despite this, most studies on stress have focused on work-related stressors leaving non-work determinants under-investigated. The aim of the present study was to determine the relative importance of work-related and non-work-related stressors and perceived social support for the overall perceived stress level. Methods Self-reported data were drawn from the 2017 population-based health survey “How are you?” conducted in the Central Denmark Region (N = 32,417). Data were linked with data drawn from national administrative registers. Work- and non-work-related stressors assessed included major life events, chronic stressors and daily hassles. Perceived social support was assessed using a single question. Overall perceived stress was assessed by the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. We conducted dominance analyses based on a multiple linear regression model to determine the most important explanatory variables of overall perceived stress. Analyses were weighted and adjusted. Results Work- and non-work-related stressors along with perceived social support explained 42.5% of the total variance (R2) in overall perceived stress. The most important explanatory variables were disease, perceived social support and work situation. The stratified analyses produced slightly varying results (“dominance profiles”) of perceived stress between subgroups. Work situation was the most important explanatory variable in the employed group. However, adding non-work-related explanatory variables to the analysis tripled the explained variance. Conclusions The overall level of perceived stress can be statistically explained by a combination of work- and non-work-related stressors and perceived social support both at population level and in subgroups. The most important explanatory variables of overall perceived stress are disease, perceived social support and work situation. Results indicate that public health strategies aiming to reduce stress should take a comprehensive approach and address a variety of stressor domains rather than focus on a single domain. Trial registration The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (r. no. 2012-58-0006) and registered in the Central Denmark Region (r. no. 1-16-02-593-16).


Author(s):  
Vladislav Topilin ◽  
Roman Fedorov

The article is devoted to the problems of the legal status of the prosecutor’s office in the system of separation of powers. In the study, the author uses grammatical (philological, linguistic) logical, systematic and other methods of scientific knowledge. The author proposes to separate the prosecutor’s office into a separate (supervisory) branch of government, which will not belong to either the executive branch or the judicial branch, as a result of which the state will receive an independent state structure that will be able to exercise its supervisory functions independently of anyone, which will allow for better and faster suppression of possible violations by any branch of government, as well as improve the work of the state apparatus as a whole.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Ritschl ◽  
Fabian Eibensteiner ◽  
Erika Mosor ◽  
Maisa Omara ◽  
Lisa Sperl ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee declared the rapid worldwide spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global health emergency. By December 2020, the safety and efficacy of the first COVID-19 vaccines had been demonstrated. However, global vaccination coverage rates have remained below expectations. Mandatory vaccination is now being controversially discussed and has been enacted in some developed countries, while the vaccination rate is very low in many developing countries. We used the Twitter survey system as a viable method to quickly and comprehensively gather international public health insights on mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to understand better the public's perception of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in real-time utilizing Twitter polls. METHODS Two Twitter polls were developed to seek the public's opinion on the possibility of mandatory vaccination. The polls were pinned to the Digital Health and Patient Safety Platform's Twitter timeline for one week in mid-November 2021, three days after the official public announcement of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in Austria. Twitter users were asked to participate and retweet the polls to reach the largest possible audience. RESULTS Our Twitter polls revealed two extremes on the topic of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. Almost half of the respondents (49% [1,246/2,545]) favour mandatory vaccination, at least in certain areas. This attitude is in contrast to the 45.7% (1,162/2,545) who categorically reject mandatory vaccination. 26.3% (621/2,365) of participating Twitter users said they would never get vaccinated, which is reflected by the current vaccination coverage rate. Concatenating interpretation of these two polls needs to be done cautiously as participating populations might greatly differ. CONCLUSIONS Mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 (in at least certain areas) is favoured by less than 50%, whereas it is vehemently opposed by almost half of the surveyed Twitter users. Since (social) media strongly influences public perceptions and views through and social media discussions and surveys specifically susceptible to the "echo chamber effect", the results can be seen as a momentary snapshot. Therefore, the results of this study need to be complemented by long-term surveys to maintain their validity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 04012
Author(s):  
Elena Viktorovna Oleynik ◽  
Olga Mikhailovna Shevchenko

The purpose of the study is to analyze the provisions of the novelties of the Russian legislation on digital financial assets and digital currency. The methodological basis was the method of comparative legal analysis, using which the authors identify general patterns and features of the legal status of Russian digital joint-stock companies and decentralized autonomous organizations widely discussed in foreign literature. The results of the study were conclusions about the significant differences between the above organizations. A company issuing digital shares, under Russian law, differs from an ordinary non-public joint stock company by limiting the circulation of digital shares within the framework of a digital platform. Unlike the decentralized autonomous organization, it has legal entity and governing bodies. It was also concluded that there is a significantly greater variety of rights of holders of foreign token-shares in comparison with the rights of shareholders of Russian digital joint stock companies. The novelty of the research is contained in the results of the analysis and doctrinal interpretation of the norms of Russian federal laws concerning digital shares. So, in particular, it was established that such are recognized at the same time as securities and digital rights. Such a legal structure appears to be unnecessarily complex. According to Russian law, digital shares differ from ordinary shares in the form of certification of shareholders “rights, while no differences have been revealed in the scope of shareholders” rights.


Author(s):  
Faridun Z. Zavurbekov

The article deals with the rights of women in the Fatimid Caliphate (10th to 12th centuries) by analysing the judicial practice of the time, the decisions of the Sharia and Mazalim courts. The author focuses on the legal status of women in the sphere of marriage, family and criminal law in the Ismaili tradition. Historical-legal and comparative-legal methods are used in the analysis of sources. The study begins with a short digression into the history of the Fatimid Caliphate. The features of the judicial system, the role of the cadi and its competence are described. There are a number of court cases, one of the parties to which was a woman. Based on the analysis, the author makes a conclusion about the specifi city of the Fatimid approach to marriage, in comparison with the Sunni and Imamite legal schools. The special role of guardians at the conclusion of the marriage contract and restriction of freedom of its termination is noted. Attention is drawn to the fact of extremely negative attitude to marriage between Muslim women and representatives of other religious movements, as well as to such an institution of family law as temporary marriage, legalised in the Imamite school of law. The fi nal part deals with criminal cases in which a woman is both the victim and the accused. Based on these precedents, it is a non-trivial conclusion that the judges of the Fatimid Caliphate did not always rely on Sharia norms when making decisions against women, which is completely atypical for Muslim traditions in general. At the same time, any crimes against this group of the population were punished rather severely. Particular attention is drawn to the state’s approach to women plaintiffs, depending on the degree of their personal participation in the judicial process.


Author(s):  
B. Drychyk

The article describes and analyzes the peculiarities of the legal status of the defendants in criminal proceedings. There is a need for a thorough legal analysis of the legislative consolidation of the rights and guarantees of participation of this category of subjects both at the stage of pre-trial investigation and at trial. The result of the work is the conclusion about the possibility of the defendant's participation in criminal proceedings, his release from legal liability, the use of legal aid, confidentiality, provision of information, provision of information on the status and results of the examination, inspection and / or investigation, lodging an appeal.


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