“Anti-Vaccine Sentiment – an Existential Disrupter of National and International Security” is the title of a paper by Drs. Deon Canyon and Sebastian Kevany for Security Nexus. This paper suggests that taking a harder line against “anti-vaxxers” while balancing personal rights of individuals may be a solution in flattening the COVID-19 curve.

Summary:
Vaccines brought many benefits and advances to the global community, but their production, dissemination and use have never been exceptional for a variety of reasons. The existential threat to individuals, communities and even national security posed by SARS-CoV-2 and its expected continuation in our world make it imperative for policy-makers to take a harder line towards anti-vaxxers and vaccine doubters. The “new normal” presents governments with the challenge of balancing the need to protect a population against the rights of individuals, and the most likely outcome are that certain restrictions are left in place for the unvaccinated to protect society at large.