The ethics of federal mandatory vaccination in the United States can be determined through the following case-study. Description of case study: In 2003, President George W. Bush put forward a plan to vaccinate 450,000 public health-care workers (including military personnel, health care workers, and first-responders) against smallpox in case of a bioterrorist attack on the United States. The plan was ultimately unsuccessful because only 4,213 of the desired 450,000 actually opted to get the vaccine. Inoculation is optional for the targeted personnel (except for those in the military), so with no initial financial protection plan in place, most of the workers decided to stay unvaccinated. This is most likely due to the risk of illness and the subsequent absences from work possible. The Bush administration realized this and instituted a compensation plan for those who opt for vaccination a few months after the first plan was put in place. It is hard to say whether this plan, had it been successful, would have been for the public good. Before this vaccination period, smallpox had been declared eradicated, and only the United States and Russia were allowed to remain in possession of strains of the disease for research. Fearing an attack, President Bush chose to target those who would be the first-responders in the face of a national medical emergency. However, the CDC has emphasized that there is no imminent threat of an outbreak, which leads one to wonder if this vaccine is really necessary or useful to the public, or if it only hinders our workforce and wastes the tax-payer’s money (5). History: Humans have been trying to cure disease and illness for thousands of years, only truly succeeding in 1796. Edward Jenner created the firs... ... middle of paper ... ...reintroduces an eradicated, contagious virus into a society where the majority of people are not immune to it. It could lead to deaths of some of the most-integral members of society while preventing a projected #% of these people from going to work, for multiple days due to illness. Additionally, those healthcare professionals who directly treat the immunocompromised on a daily basis could potentially spread illness to those whom they care for, as well as to other people whom they interact with most often such as their family-members (7). The risk of illness is not shared equally by all U.S. citizens, just by those vaccinated. The immunocompromised may be put at high risk for disease for the sake of the American public. The authenticity...”achieving a goal in a manner consistent with what is valued about the performance and seen as essential (or true) to its nature”
There is a war going on against parents that refuse to vaccinate their children. It is coming from the government that makes and enforces laws requiring parents to vaccinate their children, hostile parents of vaccinated children, and doctors that refuse to see unvaccinated children. They are concerned about the potential health risk unvaccinated children pose to the public. These parents aren’t lunatics but are concerned parents that are trying to make the best choice for their children. In fact, these parents aren’t fighting alone; a number of pediatricians and medical experts are apart of this crusade and have taken the lead. They will tell you there is an agenda, “Vaccine manufacturers, health officials, medical doctors, lead authors of important studies, editors of major medical journals, hospital personnel, and even coroners, cooperate to minimize vaccine failings, exaggerate benefits, and avert any negative publicity that might frighten concerned parents, threaten the vaccine program and lower vaccination rates.” 4
The authors used a historical timeline to introduce a need. Stressing the number of lives lost allows the authors show the importance of vaccines. The repeated emphasis on those lives being the lives of children played on the emotions of readers. Once the need is established Lee and Carson-Dewitt clarify the use of “a dead or mild form of a virus” to create a vaccine (Lee, Carson-Dewitt, 2016, p.2). The distinction of the types of
Polio eventually phased out from the development of an effective vaccine the late ‘60s and was officially eradicated from the United States in 1994. By the time it was pushed out of the Americas, Polio had swelled to over 350,000 recorded cases. Europe and America had always been on the developmental forefront, but prior to the Polio vaccination’s discovery, vaccines had only been created for mortality driven epidemics such as cholera, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, and diphtheria. All of the outbreaks had devastated large masses, and vaccines were created out of fear of further destruction. This way of thinking was challenged after Polio. Soon there was planning for the future, and there was work being done to halt deadly diseases. Protection against less harmful but just as significant viral infections were developing. These viral infections include the various strains of influenza we still see today. We started out with a significant advantage over other people and have only grown on it. Our superior technology, research, and access to information have helped us land to where we are to...
Believe it or not, but investing money in vaccines actually helps our economy. When a person thinks about it, it makes sense. For every vaccine you receive, the less likely you will have to pay medical expenses if you get sick. And that money adds up, “Every $1 invested in immunization returns an estimated $16 in health-care savings and increased economic productivity” (Bustreo par. 4). Using those statistics, every ten dollars a person spends on getting a flu vaccine potentially saves them one hundred-sixty dollars from doctor visits. Imagine what that could do in third world countries where hundreds of people are dying everyday from vaccine-preventable diseases. Imagine how quickly that money could add up. Not only would it save their citizens’ lives, it would actually help their economy
“In 1736 I lost one of my sons...by the smallpox...I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.” — Former president of the United States, Benjamin Franklin. Our president had supported vaccines when they were just released, despite the risks involved. With our modern today, our vaccines are even safer and more risk-free than in the 1700s. Vaccines
Vaccinations are designed to help people go through their everyday life. A country doctor, Edward Jenner, who lived in Berkeley, England, first administered vaccines in 1796 (Health Affairs). Throughout history, vaccinations have become better to where they are safer for the human body. Everyone should get vaccinated against certain disease to stay healthy. Vaccines have been proven to make people immune to serious diseases (Childhood Immunization). By being vaccinated the person is not only helping themselves but others around them too. Vaccines are an important tool for preventing disease and should be mandatory for all people.
Forethought and practicality comes into importance when dealing with mandatory vaccinations. Why is it wise to immunize? What are the costs involved and how do you get the vaccines to people? How can public health policy work to benefit both those who choose to vaccinate and those opposed? These are some of the questions that must be answered, and logistical scenarios must be worked out.
Parkins, Christine. "Protecting The Herd: A Public Health, Economics, And Legal Argument For Taxing Parents Who Opt-Out Of Mandatory Childhood Vaccinations." Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 21.2 (2012): 437-490. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. .
Upon liability being lifted from vaccine manufactures, there was a dramatic spike in how many more vaccines were added to the vaccine schedule. (see figure). Many of these vaccines are unnecessary as the diseases they target have essentially disappeared. “There is no reason to vaccinate against diseases that no longer occur in the United States. The CDC reported no cases or deaths from diphtheria between 2003 and 2011 in the United States. Fewer than 51 cases and 10 deaths per year from tetanus were reported between 1994 and 2011. Polio has been declared eradicated in the United States since 1979. There have been fewer than 25 deaths yearly from mumps since 1968. There have been fewer than 21 deaths yearly from rubella since 1971 and on
Vaccinations and whether to vaccinate or not has been a topic that has been argued for greater than 100 years. The use of vaccinations can be dated as far back as 1000 BC. “Indian doctors traveled to households before the rainy season each year” (Vaccinations, 1) and inoculated persons against smallpox. The encouraged use of vaccinations in the United States began in the early 1700’s with the smallpox vaccine. In 1813, “President James Madison signed into law An Act to Encourage Vaccination, which created the National Vaccine Agency (now part of the US department of Health & Human Services)” (Background of the Issue, 1). Approximately 40 years later states began “mandating vaccinations for schoolchildren” (Background of
Ever since the first vaccine for smallpox was invented over 200 years ago, there has been plenty of controversy over children receiving vaccinations (Smith & Bouck, 2009). It seems to be a delicate balance between personal liberty and public health. Every parent is concerned for their child’s health and todays parents want more information. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate should be an informed choice and not one made from fear (Glanz, Kraus, & Daley, 2014). Edward Jenner invented the first vaccine for smallpox in 1796 which, according to the World Health Organization (2015), eradicated the disease worldwide by 1980. A vaccine is “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease” (CDC, 2014, para.
Human beings have benefitted from vaccinations for more than two hundred years. However, this pathway to finding the most effective vaccines has been neither orderly nor immediate. The idea of mandatory vaccines has been highly controversial for many years. This controversy plays a key role when students head off to college and vaccines are mandatory. Based upon religious beliefs, some students have been able to receive a waiver for these vaccines. But, if they’re mandatory vaccines, why can some students receive waivers while others cannot? Famous, well-known personal such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have intervened with this controversy, adding their own viewpoints on the topic.
It’s Wednesday morning and I’m shadowing my physician to get a better perspective on how the medical field works. Patient after patient goes by and I can’t help but notice that some parents are denying vaccines to protect their children from the danger of them. I thought to myself “Shouldn’t these children be receiving vaccines to keep them healthy?” The physician I was shadowing always insisted on giving kids a vaccine and explaining to each parent why their kid needs one. But half the time, parents insisted “no” and were there for checkups or to get advice on their child. A vaccine works by injecting a weak or dead germ of the disease into the body and the body develops antibodies that recognize the disease and destroy it when it enters
Medically speaking, most doctors strongly suggest that all children should take vaccines, saying it can prevent cold, influenza, and other contagious diseases. However, some people question about the effectiveness and the side effects of vaccine especially on children. Therefore, they are reconsidering the doctors’ statements. I believe vaccine should not be mandatory for everyone, mainly because it is not fully effective. In addition, it is costly to get vaccine and causes side effects.
For innumerable centuries, unrelenting strains of disease have ravaged society. From the polio epidemic in the twentieth century to the measles cases in the latter half of the century, such an adverse component of nature has taken the lives of many. In 1796, Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to cowpox could foster immunity against smallpox; through injecting the cowpox into another person’s arm, he founded the revolutionary concept known as a vaccination. While many attribute the eradication of various diseases to vaccines, many United States citizens are progressively beginning to oppose them. Many deludedly thought that measles had been completely terminated throughout the United States.