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TRANSCRIPT
A legal organization is joining in the effort to make the Wuhan virus vaccine mandatory for all Americans.
In May, the health law section of the New York State Bar Association is claiming in a new report that the U.S. Supreme Court established legal precedent over a century ago allowing the government to force Americans to get vaccinations.
The report declares forced vaccinations "are supported by the authority of the state police power when the vaccinations are necessary to protect the health of the community."
Jacobson vs. Massachusetts, a 1905 case involving mandatory smallpox vaccination, ruled that a person "may be compelled, by force if need be, against his will and without regard to his personal wishes or his pecuniary interests," to be vaccinated.
A leading specialist in public health law, Professor Lawrence Gostin of Johns Hopkins as well as Georgetown, called Jacobson v. Massachusetts "the most important judicial decision in public health."
During the Wuhan virus pandemic, government officials — both state and federal — have been calling for vaccinations against the virus.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration selected five companies it would work with to develop a vaccine: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and a partnership between Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
But critics like Dr. George Rutherford, professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley, called vaccine goals "optimistic" but cautions "the logistics of manufacturing it, manufacturing 330 million doses — if we only need one dose — and the logistics of administering it still remain big lifts."
Despite it being 12–18 months at a minimum for a vaccine to be available, some are already seeking to make them mandatory whether they prove safe and effective — or not.
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