Vaccination Decisions as a Perpetual Compulsory Democratic Programme for Society and Individuals
Infectious agents, which can spread rapidly within large groups of people, have always been a threat to human health. Hygieneand vaccination measures have played a crucial role in reducing diseases on a large scale. Globally, however, infectious diseases continue to affect the differences in life expectancy between the populations of different countries. In societies with a high standard of living and well-trained health care systems, the threat posed by infectious diseases has been comprehensively suppressed through successes in prevention. This can lead to individuals deciding against immunization because they do not perceive an individual threat from the disease. Global pandemics such as HIV and currently SARS-CoV-2, make it clear however, that many infectious diseases cannot be regulated without the presence of vaccines, or can only be regulated by accepting considerable consequences for society. A single vaccination protects the individual; high vaccination rates protect the population as a whole and particularly those at risk. Vaccination decisions must, therefore, be made on the basis of a public consensus-oriented discussion. Against this background, the vaccination idea should be a permanent part of educational canons.