Vaccines are considered one of the greatest achievements of mankind in the control and eradication of infectious diseases and also one of the most controversial biomedical techniques and greater controversy considering the risks of side effects and their compulsory use in millions of healthy children. The current paradigm of preventive mass vaccination has been challenged in recent decades by changes in relationships with immunization, improvement of sanitary condition of populations and the emergence of universal declarations for human protection. Thus, the present work aims to analyze the mass childhood vaccination from the perspective of bioethics in the individual and collective context and create an environment for discussion of ethical reflection on vaccination programs. We conclude that de new bioethics' approach proposes a new theoretical and methodological framework that can be used for the ethical debate of current health policies.
Bioethics; Mass vaccination; Adverse effects; Health policy; Brazil