Consent to coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination

How are the vaccines being delivered?

Three vaccines have now been approved by the UK regulator as safe and effective. All three provide high levels of protection against coronavirus symptoms and severe COVID-19.

Under the national vaccination programme, two of these vaccines are now being offered to people in very large numbers. The third vaccine will be brought into the programme later this year.  Other vaccines are also likely to become available in the future.

The government has produced guidance on who should be the first to be offered a coronavirus vaccine. People living and working in care homes are top of the list, with people aged over 80 and other frontline health and social care workers next. The next group is people aged 75 or over, then those 70 or over and so on. Many people in these groups have already received their vaccine.

These groups include many people living with dementia – some will have lost the ability to make certain decisions for themselves. This raises important legal and ethical issues for the person and those who care for them. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is a crucial law in these situations.

What if the person still has mental capacity to decide?

This is fairly straightforward. If a person with dementia is able to make the decision for themselves, they can choose whether to have the vaccine or not. They just need to give informed consent to do so – the same as for any medical procedure. That decision is theirs to make and must be respected, even if to others it seems unwise.

A health professional should explain clearly how the vaccine works and how it can keep them well, together with any risks such as side-effects. Any discussion of the risks and benefits should be tailored to the person as much as possible, taking into account their age, gender, ethnicity and other health conditions. The professional must communicate with a person with dementia in the way that works best for the person and consider how quickly or reliably they are able to process the information. The person should be supported as much as possible to make their own decision before any check of their mental capacity is done.

If appropriate, risks and benefits that go beyond the individual should be explained. We don’t yet know if vaccines significantly reduce the spread of coronavirus. But if they do, a person living in a care home who is vaccinated may help protect other residents, and so vaccination will have a wider benefit. But there must be no coercion, if the person has made an informed decision to refuse.

What if the person with dementia no longer has mental capacity?

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) says that we must always support decision-making. As well as giving people information in a way they can understand, this could mean communicating with them at their most alert time of day. The MCA also says that we must assume capacity unless we have reasonable doubt. If there is reason to doubt capacity, this needs to be assessed by an appropriate person, often their GP. 

If the person does not have mental capacity to make the decision themselves then a ‘best interests’ decision about vaccination will need to be made on their behalf, although they should still be involved as much as they can. If the person with dementia has appointed an attorney for health and welfare, the attorney should discuss things with professionals but it is ultimately the attorney’s decision acting in the person’s best interests.

Otherwise, the decision will be made by health professionals in consultation with those closest to the person and those who know them best. The best interests decision-making must focus on the individual person and include looking at the risks and benefits of them having or not having the vaccine. If possible, the decision should be made in good time before any possible vaccination and recorded in the person’s care record.

Under the MCA, the best interests decision must also take into account the person’s past and present wishes and feelings. For example, have they held strong views against vaccines? Have they always been public-spirited, thinking about the well-being of others first?

There may be other benefits to the person from vaccination in the future, such as the possible relaxation of rules about visitor contact. These might also be relevant when looking at the person’s best interests. 

The care home may have an interest in all its residents being vaccinated but it must not exert undue influence or seek to override a best interests decision.

In a recent legal case, the Court of Protection ruled that it was in the best interests of an 80-year-old woman with dementia and diabetes living in a care home to have the coronavirus vaccine. This was even though her son had objected to this because he was sceptical about the vaccine.

The woman lacked capacity to decide for herself, but had previously had the flu vaccine and she placed a lot of trust in her doctors, who favoured vaccination. She said that she wanted ‘whatever is best for me’. There had also been recent coronavirus outbreaks at the care home. 

The best interests decision in this case was made from the woman’s trust in doctors and the immediate risk of COVID-19 for her. This was based on her health and individual situation – compared with the low risk of a serious adverse reaction to the vaccine. 

Where can I find out more about the benefits and risks of coronavirus vaccines?

Coronavirus vaccines have been developed a lot more quickly than normal. At present, results of other vaccine trials are emerging every few weeks.  

As with other aspects of coronavirus, there is a lot of misinformation being spread about COVID-19 vaccines. Be especially wary of sensational stories or claims made on social media. 

Further advice

You can get an independent general overview of progress with COVID-19 vaccines at websites such as Wellcome. 

The British Society for Immunology has a video on YouTube about COVID-19 vaccines.

For information about how the vaccine is given, as well as benefits and side effects, visit the Public Health England or NHS vaccine pages. For more specific advice about your personal situation speak to a health professional you trust, such as a GP. 

If you want to take part in a vaccine trial, visit the NHS coronavirus vaccine research page.

Last updated 03 February 2021