Mandatory vaccines may curtail voluntary compliance

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies may have a substantial negative impact on voluntary compliance, according to a study released Monday.

Researchers from the University of Konstanz in Germany and the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico sought to study citizen opposition to COVID-19 vaccination in response to some of the mandatory vaccination policies that have taken hold around the world. The study revealed that enforced vaccinations reduce people’s desire to be vaccinated, particularly among those with low levels of trust in public institutions.

The researchers surveyed German citizens on how they would respond if they were legally required to be vaccinated. While those who stated they had high levels of support for voluntary vaccinations, they found increased opposition for vaccinations if they were mandated. The researchers also found that policies aiming to incentivize vaccination also could “undercut individuals’ sense of a moral or ethical obligation to do the right thing.”

The researchers said the result should be taken into account by governments considering mandating vaccinations and consider the possibility of heightened “social conflict by further alienating citizens from the government or science and medical elites.”

The full study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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