WikiJournal Preprints/Ethical Analysis: Vaccine Mandates in Public Schools

Ethical Framework
It is important that an ethical framework be described in the process of analyzing the ethicality of vaccine mandates in public school settings. It should be noted that such a framework is to be used to guide ethical public health policy, not as a set of criteria in determining the ethicality of public health policy. According to the Public Health Leadership Society, the principles of ethical practice of public health are as follows:


 * 1) "Public health should address principally the fundamental causes of disease and requirements for health, aiming to prevent adverse health outcomes.
 * 2) Public health should achieve community health in a way that respects the rights of individuals in the community.
 * 3) Public health policies, programs and priorities should be developed and evaluated through processes that ensure an opportunity for input from community members.
 * 4) Public health should advocate and work for the empowerment of disenfranchised community members, aiming to ensure that that the basic resources and conditions necessary for health are accessible to all.
 * 5) Public health should seek the information needed to implement effective policies and programs that protect and promote health.
 * 6) Public health institutions should provide communities with the information they have that is needed for decisions on policies or programs and should obtain the community's consent for their implementation.
 * 7) Public health institutions should act in a timely manner on the information they have within the resources and the mandate given to them by the public.
 * 8) Public health programs and policies should incorporate a variety of approaches that anticipate and respect diverse values, beliefs and cultures in the community.
 * 9) Public health programs and policies should be implemented in a manner that most enhances the physical and social environment.
 * 10) Public health institutions should protect the confidentiality of information that can bring harm to an individual or community if made public. Exceptions must be justified on the basis of the high likelihood of significant harm to the individual or others.
 * 11) Public health institutions should ensure the professional competence of their employees.
 * 12) Public health institutions and their employees should engage in collaborations and affiliations in ways that build the public's trust and the institution's effectiveness."

Constraints Related to the Development of the COVID-19 Pandemic
As scientific knowledge of the virus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19 has expanded rapidly, creating the need for rapid changes in public health policy. It is important to remember this constraint during the reading of this article as the information cited in this article may no longer be up to date.

Acknowledgements
The WikiJournal of Medicine, for their commitment to being free to publishers and readers alike. Dr. Wilson, as she has guided the creation and editing of this article. The WikiJournal of Medicine reviewers, as they have spent their time reviewing and providing feedback on this article.

Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests in relation to this article.

Ethics statement
Ethics statement not required as this is a review article.

Temporary Note
This article may include information not intended to be read as a publication. Copyright review is ongoing, and every reasonable effort has been made to avoid copyright law violations.