Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2026 Mar 13:jhag009.
doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhag009. Online ahead of print.

Collective Paternalism and Vaccination Programs

Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen  1 , Viki Lyngby Hvid  1 , Søren Flinch Midtgaard  1 , Didde Boisen Andersen  2
Affiliations

Collective Paternalism and Vaccination Programs

Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen et al. J Med Philos. .

Abstract

One important objection to vaccination policies involving nudging or coercive measures such as restrictions on unvaccinated people's access to public spaces is that they are paternalistic. This objection is weaker than is often assumed. We defend this claim by (1) introducing a novel distinction between individual and collective paternalism; (2) showing that, across a range of circumstances, vaccination programs involve collective, not individual, paternalism; and (3) arguing that collective paternalism is not wrong for the reasons that, arguably, individual paternalism is.

Keywords: collective paternalism; disrespect; individual paternalism; paternalism; vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources