The Discovery of Vaccines Prevented The Spread of Infectious Diseases

The discovery of vaccines prevented the spread of infectious diseases around the world. Vaccines control the spread of diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, smallpox, and the flu. In addition, vaccines increase the overall health of not only individuals, but of populations. Although these benefits prove effective on the world wide scale, the requirement of vaccinations of children to enter the public school system remains a current public health concern. Some argue that vaccines are dangerous for children and can lead to adverse effects. Others assert that the enforcement of requiring children to be vaccinated before entering schools protects the health of those attending school. These views create a challenge amongst parents who must decide whether or not to vaccinate their children with no regard to the benefits that vaccinations contain. The absence of federal regulation deepens the issue as many assert that states are violating constitutional law.
States require that children be vaccinated before being enrolled in the public school system. The tenth amendment, from the bill of rights, gives states the authority to enforce public health recommendations. It is through this power that states are able to enforce vaccinations, such as vaccinating children in order to be enrolled in public schools. According to Alexandria Stewart, some have opposed this view by claiming that states have no right to enact such policies (Stewart 2008, 801-803). Opponents adhere to the rights granted to them under the first and fourteenth amendment. Stewart points out that the courts have stated that policies taken by states to vaccinate children are not a violation of the first and fourteenth amendments because states reserve the right to protect...

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...to be vaccinated before entering the public school system. Some argue that the government should not interfere in people’s health decisions, and some argue that getting vaccinated helps protect overall health. However, vaccinations have helped reduced preventable deaths in the United States and a mandatory federal law should be enacted in order for all children to become vaccinated.

Works Cited

Alan, Hinman R., Orenstein A. Walter, Williamson E. Don, and Darrington Denton. Childhood Immunization: Laws That Work. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2002: 30, (3): 122-27.

Khalili, Donya, and Arthur Caplan. "Off the Grid: Vaccinations Among Homeschooled Children.The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2007: 35(3): 471-77.

Stewart, Alexandra. Childhood Vaccine and School Entry Laws: The Case of HPV Vaccine. Public Health Reports Nov-Dec 2008:123 (6): 801-803.