The TRIPS Waiver: Intellectual Property, Access to Essential Medicines, and the Coronavirus COVID-19
Australian Centre for Health Law Research
QUT Faculty of Business and Law
Friday, 10 December 2021
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Z1064, Gibson Room, Level 10, Z Block
QUT Gardens Point Campus
1:30 pm – 1:50 pm
Vaccine Hesitancy and COVID-19 Misinformation
Samuel Roach (QUT)
Abstract
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that vaccines provide ‘the largest potential for controlling’ SARS-CoV-2. However, realising this potential requires that people are vaccinated. ‘Vaccine hesitancy’ is one of four underlying issues that undermine widespread vaccination. This phenomenon is characterised by indecision about or refusal of vaccination, where vaccination services are available.
Vaccine hesitancy is not unique to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations dedicated to opposing vaccination, such as the ‘Anti-Vaccination Society’, began emerging in 1798, just two years after Edward Jenner published the first scientific work on vaccination. The concerns raised by such groups are analogous to those heard today. Common themes involve religion, vaccine safety and effectiveness, and the perceived violation of one’s liberty. This presentation will examine the role that these vocal vaccine deniers play in disseminating misinformation, the relationship between misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, and the various interventions available to a government when responding to this phenomenon.
Biography
Samuel Roach is an Associate Lecturer and PhD student in the Faculty of Business and Law at the Queensland University of Technology.
His thesis examines the role of law in promoting adult vaccination. Australia has implemented a number of policies aimed at promoting childhood vaccination, however there has been comparatively less emphasis on improving vaccination uptake in the adult population. Using an interdisciplinary approach, he is examining how uptake can be improved without unduly infringing upon individual liberty.
As an Associate Lecturer, Roach developed, implemented and now coordinates the unit 'COVID-19 and the Law'. This unit is taught in a blended learning environment, utilising multi-media Sway modules and online discussion forums. The unit follows the life cycle of a pandemic, drawing on present-day examples, to develop students’ knowledge of public health law. Using Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic as a case study, students develop knowledge of the history of public health law and the entities tasked with pandemic preparedness. The unit also examines the issues associated with pandemic responses, including the inherent tension between executive power and individual rights, and the impact on vulnerable communities. Further, this unit analyses regulatory and ethical requirements relevant to vaccine development and vaccination.
Roach also coordinates the Community Justice Project and International Legal Placement units. These units enable students to experience the real-world application and development of their legal knowledge and skills through participation in a project focused on social justice. Students work in small groups to assist a community legal centre or not-for-profit organisation to develop resources and undertake law reform, community legal education or other service-learning projects. Through these projects, students engage in legal research, draft reports and prepare presentations under the supervision of a lawyer. This unit affords students an authentic learning context in which to complete pro bono work in a real-world legal environment.
Roach has taught undergraduate law students in the areas of Criminal Law, Statutory Interpretation, Equity, Trusts and Contemporary Law and Justice. He has also taught undergraduate nursing students about their ethical, legal and professional responsibilities.
Prior to commencing his PhD, Roach was a solicitor at MinterEllison and LawRight.
