Bioethics and mass childhood vaccination

Abstract

Vaccinesare consideredoneofthegreatestachievementsofmankindinthe controlanderadicationofinfectiousdiseasesandalsooneofthemostcontroversialbiomedicaltechniquesandgreatercontroversyconside-ringtherisksofsideeffectsandtheircompulsoryuseinmillionsofhealthychildren.Thecurrentparadigmofpreventivemassvaccinationhasbeenchallengedinrecentdecadesbychangesinrelationshipswithimmu- nization,improvementofsanitaryconditionofpopulationsandtheemergenceofuniversaldeclarationsfor humanprotection.Thus,thepresentworkaims toanalyzethemasschildhoodvaccinationfromtheperspectiveofbioethicsintheindividualandcollectivecontextandcreateanenvironmentfordiscussionofethical reflectiononvaccinationprograms.Weconcludethatdenewbioethics’approachproposesanewtheoreticaland methodological framework that can be used for theethical debate of current health policies.