Vaccines & Law

Modern vaccines are one of the greatest medical achievements of our times: they save tens of thousands of lives per birth cohort, prevent millions of cases of disease each year and save billions of dollars in cost. While nothing is risk free, the risks of modern vaccines are very small. Increasing vaccination rates is an important public health goal, and protects all members of society.

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss (LLB, PhD), UC Law SF professor, examines law and policy issues related to vaccines. Projects include examining the constitutional framework governing vaccine mandates for children and healthcare workers, examining incentives and legal remedies that can help combat non-vaccination, and working on various legal questions of interest to immunization advocates. Recently, Professor Reiss’ paper (with Richard Hughes IV), Legal Structural Barriers and External Threats to Vaccines and Preventive Services, was accepted for publication by the Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences Journal. Her paper (with Richard Hughes IV), The Ninth Circuit’s Nod to Anti-Vaccine Advocates, was accepted for publication by the Ohio State Law Journal.

• Vaccine Litigation Overview
• Scholarly Work
• Law and Vaccines Blog