MandEval
Multidisciplinary vaccine research and policy project.
The MandEval Project
We are a global team of researchers from diverse fields—including Political Science, Medicine, Psychology, and Economics—investigating the impact and public response to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The MandEval team includes experts from Australia, France, Italy, and California, and our work is supported by the Medical Research Future Fund.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how important it is not just to develop vaccines, but to understand how to translate vaccine availability to health policy improvements."Professor Katie Attwell
What we do
Through different study streams, MandEval aims to better inform policy-makers and future pandemic preparedness, as well as policy settings for routine adult and childhood immunisation programs.
Our study streams are each led by a Chief Investigator who is an expert in the relevant field. The study streams include:
No Jab, No Job? Share your story
Were you a frontline worker in Australia who experienced job loss or suspension due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates? We want to hear your story.
This research explores the experiences of frontline workers like you who were impacted by vaccine mandates. Your participation can help shape future workplace vaccination policies.
Click here for more information and to register your interest
Your privacy and confidentiality will be strictly protected throughout the research process.
Contact us if:
- You were a frontline worker in Australia who was mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine, AND
- You left your job, were let go, or suspended without pay because you were not vaccinated, AND
- You are aged 18 or older.
Publications
- 2025
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- (2025) Antonini M., Genie M.G., Attwell K., Attema A.E., Ward J.K., Melegaro A., Torbica A., Kelly B., Berardi C., Sequeira A.R., McGregor N., Kellner A., Brammli-Greenberg S., Hinwood M., Murauskienė L., Behmane D., Balogh Z.J., Hagen T.P., Paolucci F. Are we ready for the next pandemic? Public preferences and trade-offs between vaccine characteristics and societal restrictions across 21 countries. Social Science & Medicine.
This study explored what people in 21 countries value most in vaccination programs during a future pandemic. Using a survey of more than 47,000 people, we found that vaccine features such as effectiveness, safety, and where the vaccine is made were viewed as more important than social restrictions or vaccine mandates. People who were already vaccinated against COVID-19 were more supportive of future vaccines, while women and younger people were more likely to be hesitant. These findings highlight the importance of building trust, ensuring equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, and strengthening local production to improve vaccine uptake in future pandemics. The results also suggest that understanding public concerns, particularly about safety, testing, and where vaccines are produced, will be crucial for effective communication and preparedness.
- (2025) Thomasson A. Learnings from Johnston v Carroll: The place of human rights in legal challenges to COVID-19 vaccine directions. UNSW Law Journal Forum.
This journal article summarises the reasoning in a Queensland Supreme Court case, Johnston v Carroll, the first successful court challenge to vaccine mandates in Australia. The article explores the reasoning of Justice Martin, how similar cases might be decided and explores the implications for mandates of this kind more generally in future pandemics. It is the foundational piece of Amy's PhD, which she is undertaking through MandEval, exploring how the law addresses, or fails to adequately address at times, the tension between individual rights and public health measures in emergency settings.
- (2025) Gebremariam A.G., Genie M., Le H., Attwell K., Liu B., Regan A.K., Beard F.H., Macartney K., Paolucci F., Moore H.C., Blyth C.C. Impact of vaccine mandates and removals on COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Australia and international comparators: a study protocol. Health Economics.
- (2025) Devsam B., Bortolussi K., Tippins J., Vasiliadis S., Danchin M., O'Neill J., Attwell, K., Kaufman J., The experience of seeking & granting special medical exemptions for mandated vaccines: A scoping review. Vaccine.
- (2025) Antonini M., Genie M.G., Attwell K., Attema A.E., Ward J.K., Melegaro A., Torbica A., Kelly B., Berardi C., Sequeira A.R., McGregor N., Kellner A., Brammli-Greenberg S., Hinwood M., Murauskienė L., Behmane D., Balogh Z.J., Hagen T.P., Paolucci F. Are we ready for the next pandemic? Public preferences and trade-offs between vaccine characteristics and societal restrictions across 21 countries. Social Science & Medicine.
- 2024
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- (2024) Attwell K., Kaufman J. NSW may end its COVID vaccine mandate for health workers. That doesn’t mean it was a bad idea in the first place. The Conversation.
- (2024) Thomasson A., Attwell K. Queensland ruling doesn’t mean all COVID vaccine mandates were flawed. Here’s why. The Conversation.
COVID-19 Vaccination mandates – community conversation: insights
The University of Western Australia’s School of Social Sciences’ VaxPolLab was successfully awarded national funding to explore the impact of government COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The VaxPolLab MandEval team actively partnered with the Consumer and Community Involvement Program to facilitate a Community Conversation to bring together people with a range of views on COVID-19 vaccines, to discuss their lived experience of the impact of mandatory vaccination policies.
Our collaborators
