Mandatory Vaccination Laws/Acts: The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act / The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector
US – The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act: planning for and response to bioterrorism and naturally occurring infectious diseases
The Model Act is structured to reflect 5 basic public health functions to be facilitated by law: (1) preparedness, comprehensive planning for a public health emergency; (2) surveillance, measures to detect and track public health emergencies; (3) management of property, ensuring adequate availability of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and hospitals, as well as providing power to abate hazards to the public’s health; (4) protection of persons, powers to compel vaccination, testing, treatment, isolation, and quarantine when clearly necessary; and (5) communication, providing clear and authoritative information to the public.
Compel – to bring about (something) by the use of force or pressure.
Canada – The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector
Planning for a pandemic involves the consideration of what activities are necessary for optimal management of each stage of the pandemic. This annex provides a preliminary list of planning activities developed to facilitate planning at provincial and territorial (P/T) and local levels. These checklists will need to be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as they are completed. These planning activities should take place during the Interpandemic Period (i.e. WHO Phases 1 and 2) with the recognition that, when novel strains are detected or pandemic alerts are issued, they will need to be reviewed and adapted as necessary.
Activities have been listed and grouped in this annex according to the following components of the Plan: Surveillance, Vaccine Programs, Antivirals, Health Services Emergency Planning and Response, Public Health Measures, Communications.
Ensure that appropriate legal authorities are in place to allow for the implementation of major elements of a proposed distribution plan. (For example, will P/T laws allow for non-licensed volunteers to administer influenza vaccine? Do P/T laws allow for“mandatory” vaccination of certain groups if vaccination of such groups is viewed by the P/T public health officials as essential to public service?)
Develop contingency plans for storage, distribution and administration of influenza vaccine through public health and other providers to nationally defined high-priority target groups, including: how to identify and target individuals belonging to priority groups (recognizing that the strategy will involve immunizing the whole population as soon as possible but that prioritization may be necessary for the first batches of vaccine that become available).