Stigma, vaccination, and moral accountability.

Günter Kampf argues that use of the term pandemic of the unvaccinated by officials in Germany is both overly simplistic and dangerous. The danger he says arises from “engender[ing] negative experiences by stigmatising parts of the population…I call on high-level officials and scientists to stop the inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens”. I leave it to epidemiologists to comment on whether the description that Kampf condemns is simplistic. I disagree that it is dangerous.

Stigma involves an unwarranted or unfounded negative attribution to a group of people. It is not the same as holding a group morally accountable and responsible for behaviour that leads to or causes preventable harm. All too often public health and government officials have failed to realise that battling the COVID-19 pandemic has as much to do with morality as it does with facts. Criticising those who, through their non-vaccination, wind up in hospitals and morgues in huge numbers, put stress on finite resources, and prolong the pandemic by permitting higher rates of viral transmission, is not stigmatising, it is deserved moral condemnation. Those who do not get vaccinated harm not only themselves but also their communities. That is inappropriate, selfish behaviour. It might be that how the condemnation is worded needs to be carefully considered to have maximum effect; however, condemning choices that increase harm to others and society is not stigma.