In his post, Bodily Autonomy and Halacha, Rabbi Michoel Green argues that bodily autonomy is a Torah value, within precise halachic limits. A person’s autonomy, he writes, may only be overridden when the danger to them is real, present, and unambiguous, not theoretical or statistical. Applying this to vaccines, which are for a theoretical risk, generally sometime in the future, a healthy person faces no present danger. However, every injection carries some risk, and “public health policy” is not a factor in halacha. Mandatory vaccination, he argues, has no halachic basis, and a healthy child may not be excluded from public life for declining it. He makes the following points:

• Freedom and personal independence are cherished Torah values — “the Children of Israel are My servants, not servants of servants.”
• Bodily autonomy can only be overridden when danger is real, present, and clinically confirmed. Not for a theoretical or statistical. In some cases, there is no risk at all. He mentions the Hep B vaccine as a case in point. ¹
• Even to save someone else’s life, you cannot be compelled to accept risk to your own body — even minimal risk requires consent.
• Every injection constitutes a chavala (wound) and carries risk; therefore, the patient must have a choice
• The measles mortality rate of 1/1000 only justifies overriding Shabbos — and bodily autonomy — once the patient actually has measles, not before.²
• “Public health policy” and “herd immunity” are not factors in halacha.
• In a purely halachic state, vaccination would not be enforced even during an outbreak.
• A healthy child may not be quarantined or barred from public life for not complying with a vaccine schedule.

Read Rabbi Green’s full post here: Bodily Autonomy and Halacha.