Vaccination, first practiced by Dr. Edward Jenner in the 18th-century, is known as the most effective way to prevent epidemic disease throughout the world. Not only the people in the United States have had a vaccination in the past, but also almost most people on the planet. For instance, the government of Republic of Korea provides free injections for children from age of 0 to 12 in public health centers and pediatrician centers. In Korea, it is compulsory to be vaccinated. Except under extraordinary medical conditions, a child is not authorized to either admission into a school or graduate. In the United States however, there is currently no law requiring citizens to have inoculation. Vaccination-requirements depends on the discretion of each state's health departments, or private schools . The issue of mandatory vaccination has been debated over the past years. In addition, the number of children and parents who do not want to receive vaccination keeps increasing, due to several reasons, namely religious beliefs, a fear of an increased risk of autism, and the right of choice. Yet, there is clear evidence that vaccines actually helped to eradicate serious disease such as smallpox and tetanus. According to the statistics from Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) (2013), the statistics shows that there is serious decrease in number of outbreaks of epidemic disease. Since vaccination protects both individuals and the community from infectious disease, any individuals should not have the right to endanger the public health just to satisfy their personal and religious views. Thus, there should be a federal law mandating vaccination for all children, with the exception of a child's medical conditions.
Even though there is clear ...
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...and enact a law that strictly mandates vaccination, and minimizes potential side-effects by giving a detailed instructions carefully provisioned by health professionals.
To conclude, vaccines are proved as the safest methodology to prevent an epidemic disease breakout throughout the world. These injections are only given to people after a careful and long-term review by various pediatricians and health professionals. Side effects after vaccination is very rare. The benefits of getting inoculations are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all people. Thus, to solidify the safety of our society to the great extent, the U.S. government should legislate to provide and require vaccinations for every child by providing a governmental subsidy to offer vaccination at the possible lowest cost. This will prevent epidemic diseases that may endanger society.
“Vaccinations are causing a major upsurge in childhood diseases, adult maladies, and even deadly ailments such as Gulf War Syndrome and Lou Gehrig’s disease” (Blaylock). Every now and then an individual’s doctor calls telling them about the latest vaccine they should receive. The person immediately schedules a time to come in and get it done. But do they even give a second thought about it? Have they ever thought that maybe they do not need another vaccination? Many people have not taken the time to seriously think about the process of immunization. The truth is, there are many dangers that the average person should be unaware of. Rarely do vaccines actually accomplish what the public has been told. In fact, a lot of vaccines contain harmful substances that have been linked to disorders such as autism. The lack of education and dishonesty from doctors are putting people in danger of health problems without even realizing. Many parents feel obligated for their children to get vaccinated because of school, not knowing they have the alternative option of refusing immunization.
¨The Benefits of Vaccination Outweigh the Risks¨ addresses the pros and cons of vaccination, weighing the possible side effects of different vaccines against the possible benefits. The article argues that the small chance of side effects is worth the protection a vaccine provides. Claiming that the prevented diseases usually result in many more serious illnesses or deaths than the vaccines do. The article uses clearly presented evidence to support claims in favor of vaccinations while also acknowledging that choosing to vaccinate is up to the individual.
Parents must be forced to vaccinate their children. The detrimental effects of failing to vaccinate a child can be spine chilling for not only your child but you and your loved ones around. Despite our best efforts to keep our children safe, their lives are unhygienic, a proverbial germ fest some might argue. Children must be vaccinated as they are unaware of their surroundings and a vaccination will save their life; only the child’s but also the people around them.
Vaccination was first introduced globally for small pox and later on extended to other communicable diseases which are now known as vaccine preventable disease. Vaccination is beneficial both for individuals and community. This bring us to the ethical dilemma - Vaccination of a healthy child with the intention of protecting both the individual child and the community at the same time exposing the child to the theoretical risk of exposure to disease products whether live, attenuated or killed. There was a time when people never questioned the government or their physicians. Now because of more public awareness and accessibility to medical information, they are questioning the safety aspects of vaccines.
Since Edward Jenner’s first inoculation of the smallpox virus science has made leaps and bounds in the development of vaccines. Today the CDC recommends at least 16 vaccines for children. Through vaccines and crowd immunization we have eradicated polio and smallpox. There is no doubt that vaccines have helped human life grow and develop. However, there are growing concerns about side effects of vaccines. There are groups of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Groups like this have lead to outbreaks of diseases we have not seen in decades. While there are those who doubt the efficiency of vaccines it is clear that vaccines are our only option to eradicate disease.
America looks at disease as a war. Illness is the enemy, vaccinations are the weapons, and the unfortunate cost is that some innocent civilians may lose their lives. A vaccine is a substance used to provide immunity against a disease. In some cases, vaccines have done more harm than good. Ignoring this fact, vaccines are mandatory in every state, and some states are trying to take away the parent’s right to deny them. The disadvantages, diseases, and disabilities caused by vaccines justify the parent’s right to decide against the risk of vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed immunizations as the number one greatest public health achievement in the 20th century. This attainment towards the goal of health and safety is a huge success for not only our country but from the global perspective as well. Immunizations help to prevent illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. The World Health Organization states that global vaccination coverage has remained consistent for the past few years; for example, the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis has held secure at 83%. Programs for population-wide vaccinations have helped with the annihilation of polio in America since the late 1970’s, the eradication of smallpox, and the control of numerous other infectious diseases in the United States and other parts of the world.
The ethics of federal mandatory vaccination in the United States can be determined through the following case-study.
Vaccination protects children’s lives from fatal illness and complications of preventable disease, which could include amputation of body parts, paralysis, brain damage, and death. The scientists are constantly conducting research for a vaccine before it can be approved by the FDA. In addition, the research conducted by the National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention demonstrated the vaccines’ effectiveness. Likewise, immunization of children protects society by preventing the spread of disease. If infected children are not immunized, they could spread disease to other young children, who cannot be vaccinated. The cases for several infectious disease have dramatically decline in the United States. However, numerous disease are still common in other countries and are brought to the United States by international travelers. As a result, there should be a national law for mandatory vaccinations of
Vaccines save millions of lives each year and are among the most cost-effective health interventions ever developed. In fact, vaccines have led to the eradication of the smallpox virus. And a 74 percent reduction in childhood deaths over the past decade (Unicef). According to the Pharmaceutical Journal, in the least developed countries, we cannot get the vaccines to the children who desperately need them; one child dies every 20 seconds from vaccine preventable diseases (Leifer). Yet here in the United States, we are fortunate enough to have vaccines readily available, but there are parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Children should be required to get vaccinated statewide for their own safety and the safety of other children.
It is a very controversial topic but I feel it should still be mandated, but if there are people that have objections, then we can have exemptions or find alternate ways of ensuring immunity. “Several states already have exemptions for cases of medical, religious and philosophical reason; if their reasons are logical or stand fair, then they do not have to be vaccinated. For example, California has medical exemptions, Florida has medical and religious reasons and Texas allows exemptions for philosophical, medical and or religious reasons. There should be, however, a system that ensures that everyone that have legitimate reasons for exemptions actually qualifies, otherwise more and more people will follow the bandwagon for exemption” (NVIC). All in all, my push for a mandate is very valid and will yield great results, but I do understand there are risks and liabilities to be held, so my opponent's argument does stand. I hope I both sides can come to the conclusion I posed so we can all benefit but keep our
Students everywhere with medical disabilities are being put at a serious risk for deadly diseases due to the lack of vaccinated students. From religious to social reasoning, thousands of parents across the United States are moving towards the "no vaccination" movement, and sending their children to public schools without proper vaccinations. As it stands now, students with either medical or religious reasons can be exempted from the required vaccinations in all states except for Mississippi and West Virginia; however, parents are taking advantage of this policy. All students in public school systems should be required to get all of their vaccinations, unless there is a medical circumstance preventing that, in order to decrease the risk of infection for all public schools.
Vaccines are becoming increasingly hazardous for many children and parents are not being informed about the safety of their children. Current reports are linking vaccines to serious life-threatening disorders such as asthma, autism, immune system dysfunction, and mental retardation (Williams). These recent revelations are causing an increasing amount of people to claim religious and medical exemptions from vaccines. From 1999 to 2006, exemptions have more than doubled from 9,722 to 24,919 (Cronin). It is very clear that vaccinations are posing many problems for parents everywhere. Each day researchers are finding out about vaccines and are realizing that there are a lot more risks than benefits. Dr Phillip F. Incao explains: “Today, far more children suffer from allergies and other chronic immune system disorders than from life-threatening infectious disease. It is neither reasonable nor prudent to persist in presuming that the benefits of any vaccination outweigh its risk” (qtd in Spaker). While infectious diseases are becoming uncommon there is no need for any person to get vaccinated.
According to World Book Advanced Encyclopedia, immunization is defined as the process of protecting the body against disease by means of vaccines or serums (Hinman). While medical science backs up the efficiency and necessity of vaccines, within the past decade, a rise in parents disbelieving the medical community and neglecting to immunize their children has occurred. This “fear of vaccines” is nothing new, but with the ever-increasing safety of vaccines, the benefits of inoculation far outweigh the risks. Parents who refuse to vaccinate, or anti-vaxxers, put more than their children’s lives on the line, but also risk the safety of the whole community. Because vaccines are essential to protecting individuals and communities
Today society is given numerous civil liberties to adapt their own beliefs, and opinions to past generation’s staples like immunizations. The creation, and medical advancements of immunizations changed the course of several deadly diseases, such as measles and whooping cough. These diseases became less deadly through the use of immunizations, and thus the first-hand knowledge of their deadly complications went with them. Immunizations from newborn to adolescence should be mandatory. By doing so, it will ensure a steady growth of the community immunity. Along with minimizing the number of allowed nonmedical exemptions will limit the possibility of a vaccine preventable disease outbreak, and promote a healthier environment outside of the home.