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Erschienen in:
23.03.2020 | Original Article
Sacred immunity: religion, vaccines, and the protection of public health in America
Erschienen in: Journal of Public Health | Ausgabe 6/2021
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Background
In a recent report from the World Health Organization, Vaccine Hesitancy, “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines,” was listed as one of the top ten threats to global health in 2019 (World Health Organisation 2019). This article will examine this issue primarily in the context of religious vaccine exemptions in the USA.
Methods
The article assesses available research on the use of religious vaccine exemptions and the public health effects these exemptions have in relation to preventable contagious diseases.
Results
Religious vaccine exemptions are available in the vast majority of American states. However, there is very little religious justification for refusing current vaccine protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a result, these exemptions are frequently used ostensibly for religious reasons by those supporting the current anti-vaccination movement that has emerged over approximately the last 20 years in the United States and abroad, posing a serious risk to public health.
Conclusions
The American constitutional freedom of religion does not guarantee the protection of religious practices that are a direct threat to public health. Therefore, I will argue that religious leaders have an obligation to join with the public health community in order to promote public policy that will contribute to ending nonmedical (including religious) vaccinations.
