Vaccine Hesitancy Across Time: Legal and Policy Interventions from the Dawn of the Anti-Vaccination Movement to the Era of Social Media

43 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2022

See all articles by Ana Santos Rutschman

Ana Santos Rutschman

Villanova University - Charles Widger School of Law

Date Written: January 28, 2022

Abstract

This symposium article explores the intertwined topics of hesitancy and trust towards vaccines. It traces the evolution of anti-vaccine sentiments, their consolidation into organized movements, and their recent evolution as vaccine misinformation and disinformation circulates with unprecedented ease through digital channels. The Article then examines selected legal and policy interventions that have been used to counter vaccine hesitancy—sometimes through top-down or mandatory frameworks, other times through voluntary ones. In particular, the Article examines vaccination mandates, as well as rules imposing or promoting vaccination; mechanisms designed to increase the flow of information about vaccines; and nudges to vaccination, such as lotteries and other prize-like mechanisms.

Note:
Funding Information: None to declare.

Conflict of Interests: None to declare.

Keywords: vaccine, hesitancy, anti-vaccine, vaccination, anti-vaccination, public health, misinformation, disinformation, polio, COVID-19, social media, nudge, prize, lottery, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, Davis v. Wyeth, Reyes v. Wyeth, Occupational Safety and Health Act

Suggested Citation

Santos Rutschman, Ana, Vaccine Hesitancy Across Time: Legal and Policy Interventions from the Dawn of the Anti-Vaccination Movement to the Era of Social Media (January 28, 2022). North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4088920 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4088920

Ana Santos Rutschman (Contact Author)

Villanova University - Charles Widger School of Law ( email )

299 N. Spring Mill Road
Villanova, PA 19085
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
280
Abstract Views
717
Rank
198,701
PlumX Metrics