In the face of a potential H2N2 epidemic, New Jersey’s Health Commissioner enforced a statute requiring the vaccination of all public health professionals, school-age children, pregnant mothers, and asthmatics. The law also prohibits people outside these high-risk groups from receiving inoculations voluntarily until these classes of people are fully vaccinated. The states, as governments of general jurisdiction, have police powers to pass legislation designed to protect society’s health and safety. As such, New Jersey needs no specifically enumerated constitutional power to enact such legislation. Indeed, the Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts upheld a state law requiring mandatory immunization even in the face of concerns about vaccine safety and bodily integrity. The issue before the court in this case concerns the constitutional legitimacy of requiring specific categories of people to receive vaccination and of restricting access to the vaccine for people outside of those categories. For its categories to be legitimate, the state must have some rational basis for requiring the specific groups to receive vaccination while not mandating it for the population at large. The state must also have a rational basis for restricting voluntary access to the vaccine until the target groups have been inoculated. In general, the court affirms both the vaccine mandates and the mandatory vaccination ban in the New Jersey statute. Before discussing several specific cases and caveats as to how the law applies to specific groups, it is necessary to justify the decision to hold these classifications only to the level of ordinary scrutiny. First, appellants argue that the classifications merit heightened scrutiny because they violate th... ... middle of paper ... ... but New Jersey’s law goes farther, restricting voluntary vaccinations “until every person in categories (a) and (b) had been inoculated” (Prompt). The State’s interest in banning voluntary vaccination derives from the vaccine’s scarcity. Once enough of the vaccine has been produced to inoculate all of the target groups, the State may set aside enough vaccines to accomplish this task, but it may not restrict public access to surplus vaccines. As a practical matter, it could take weeks to find and vaccinate every last health care professional, asthmatic, child, or pregnant woman; the State has no rational basis for restricting access to the vaccine while it does so. As such we affirm the New Jersey statute’s prohibition on voluntary vaccination only until such time as the State has sufficient stockpiles of the vaccine to accommodate its mandatory vaccination targets.
In the Frontline episode The Vaccine War, a progressively distressful debate ensues among many scientists and doctors within the public health system and an unnerving alliance of parents, politicians, and celebrities. The topic of debate is the overwhelming pressure parents feel to vaccinate their children and their right to decline such vaccinations. In several American neighborhoods, groups of parents have been exercising their right to refuse vaccinations, which has elevated anxiety on the return of vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis and measles. The reason such parents are denying their children various vaccines such as the MMR “triple shot” for measles, mumps, and rubella is because they are convinced that it is linked to autism, a link that has yet to be proven. Many of these parents are focused solely on their children, not taking into account that their decision may put the American populace at risk for disease. Such parents are not thinking about other members of society that vaccines don’t work for, and in certain adolescents the effects deteriorate, thus only when every person is immunized the “heard immunity” is successful.
Between 1865 and 1900 technology, economic conditions, and government policy influenced American Agriculture greater than it ever had before. Technologically, Railroads, factories, and farm equipment changed American agriculture by allowing the production of farmed goods to be increased substantially, while economic conditions caused the prices of these goods to go down and then fluctuate. Farmers hurting from the economic disarray began influencing the laws being passed to help them in their economic troubles. Because of the influence of technology, government policy, and economic conditions between the 1865 and 1900 American agriculture was affected.
The article “People Should Not Be Allowed to Refuse Vaccination” focuses on the dangers people who choose not to vaccinate are opening to others. The argument stems from the ease with which disease can spread through an unvaccinated community and the threat this poses to those who cannot vaccinate. Because of this danger the author of the article believes vaccination should not be left to choice, but required for the good of public safety.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Public confidence in immunization is critical to sustaining and increasing vaccination coverage rates and preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs)” (para. 1). In recent history, there has been a significant decline in public confidence because of a variety of factors, such as vaccination does not always mean immunization, vaccines expose children to toxins, and children can build immunity naturally. The number of parents who are choosing not to vaccinate their children is growing yearly because there are certain exemptions that parents can claim, even if the vaccine is mandatory in their state.
Clearly there are a number of opinions on whether this vaccine should be mandatory or not, and further investigation is needed. Some critics are against the vaccine itself; others like Allen question the timing of the mandate. Allen’s essay convincingly argues that the mandate should be delayed to get public buy in. It is unfortunate that Adams’ style and lack of support keep his essay from making what could be valid points about the safety of the vaccine, and the possibly unethical relationship between drug companies and politicians regarding this mandate.
Regulation has multiple legal foundations supporting its existence and use. The court case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts is arguably a cornerstone to public health’s regulatory and policy foundation. The court ruled that the government could justifiably infringe on an individual’s rights in order to benefit the larger population. In this case, it was related to mandatory vaccinations (Gostin, 2008; Turnock, 2012). This set a precedent deciding that the government can step in make requirements for the good of the entire population despite individuals’ rights and oppositions.
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. .
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.
The more people in a population who receive vaccinations the greater the chance of meeting critical immunization threshold and reaching herd immunity, which benefits everybody in a population. In order to protect as many people as possible the government should require all eligible students receive vaccinations before attending public schools. This would greater lower the risk of spreading preventable diseases to the most at risk members of our society. The discourse surrounding personal belief exemptions for vaccines only considers the individual risk factors and fails to account for the dangers this holds for society. Whilst vaccinations cannot be made mandatory for all citizens, mandates should be imposed for those seeking a public education, as these individuals would be in direct contact with other children, the most at risk population to preventable disease in the United
Throughout history, diseases have been a burden on humanity, impacting both qualities of life and life expectancy. Diseases have had a significant influence on our personal and collective lives, our economies, our values, and our daily rituals. The advent of vaccinations made it possible for people to live longer and lead more fulfilling lives. This paper will explore the issue of whether vaccinations are a personal responsibility for the public safety or a personal right to individual freedom.
There are three types of exemptions from the compulsory laws: medical, religious, and philosophical. The acceptance of these exemptions varies among states. This means that some states could require vaccinations with “exemptions available only for medical reasons.” Only two states have allowed only medical exemptions: Mississippi and West Virginia. Other states may require vaccinations with “exemptions for medical or religious reasons.” For example, New York allow for parents to claim vaccination exemptions if they “hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs” or are qualified for a medical exemption. And the remaining states require vaccinations with exemptions for any of the three reasons mentioned above (medical, religious, or philosophical). For example, California allows for all three types of vaccination exemptions. The exemptions based on personal beliefs, which seem to include religious and philosophical beliefs, are found within California Health and Safety Code §120365(a), while the religious exemption is found in §
Vaccines are responsible for global community health achievements, such as the obliteration of smallpox and decline of other severe infections like measles, mump, and polio. However, vaccines have also been subjected to countless ethical disputes such as vaccine regulation, developments, research and testing, informed consent, access inconsistencies, and mandates. State policies dictate certain immunizations are needed for school entry requirements in the United States. After being researched, tested, and monitored, coordinated and reviewed by The National Vaccine Program, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) inoculations are licensed and added to the immunization schedule (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2018)
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.
Carbon Dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs in small quantities in the earth's atmosphere naturally. The earth's ocean, soil, plants and animals release CO2. The formula of Carbon Dioxide is CO2. The CO2 molecule contains 2 oxygen atoms that each share 2 electrons with a carbon atom to form 2 carbon - oxygen double bonds. The atoms are arranged as so (OHT). This is called a 'linear molecule'.