Undervaccination results from both deliberate vaccine refusal and access or logistical problems.

These barriers are commonly thought to affect very different social groups. However, popular and political discourse emphasises the vaccine refusing parent as the policy target of new vaccine mandates. Discourses around the need for strict mandatory policies may or may not acknowledge disadvantaged populations facing access problems, and the policies themselves may or may not differentiate between underserved populations and those who deliberately refuse vaccines.

This talk explores how these two distinct categories of under-vaccinated populations are treated within vaccine mandates in Australia, Italy, France, and California, and why it matters.

Childhood vaccine mandates: are they tackling the right problem? with Prof Katie Attwell