The Case for the Vaccine Passport

In this critical commentary, we address the egalitarian critique according to which the use of a vaccine passport is unethical because it conflicts with the principle of equality, understood as requiring that citizens ought to be treated in the same way. We argue that this criticism is vulnerable to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jocelyn Maclure, Keven Bisson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Programmes de bioéthique, École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal 2022-03-01
Series:Canadian Journal of Bioethics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cjb-rcb.ca/index.php/cjb-rcb/article/view/505
Description
Summary:In this critical commentary, we address the egalitarian critique according to which the use of a vaccine passport is unethical because it conflicts with the principle of equality, understood as requiring that citizens ought to be treated in the same way. We argue that this criticism is vulnerable to the levelling-down objection often addressed to some egalitarian theories. We add that the vaccine passport is morally justified if two minimal ethical conditions are satisfied: 1) it must be designed as a temporary and transitory public health restriction, and 2) the disparities of treatment it introduces ought to infringe as little as possible upon fundamental rights and should not negate access to essential public services.
ISSN:2561-4665