Why Vaccinations Should Be Mandatory Essay

Diseases such as the flu, meningitis, hepatitis B and tetanus are rather serious, and have become common. For this reason, the common corresponding vaccinations for each illness along with a possible few others should now become mandatory, as doing so will be effective not only personally, but to an entire society. By receiving vaccinations one can easily improve and preserve his or her health as well as children and those around them. The first reason that vaccinations should become mandatory is that common vaccines, such as the flu shot, hepatitis B, and meningitis have been proven to be increasingly effective. Several cases have proven that when vaccinated, it aids in one’s body preventing and fighting against these illnesses. In the book “Public Health England” by Stephen Dorrell, it is described how a vaccine works and is effective, for example, “Vaccines produce their protective effect by inducing active immunity and enables the immune system to recognize and respond rapidly to exposure to natural infection at a later date, thus to prevent or modify the disease.”

In the journal article “Should Vaccination Be Mandatory for Preschool Attendance?” written by immunization expert Mary Beth Koslap-Petraco, an outbreak of disease linked to Disneyland is described, and shares that the outbreak resulted in 166 cases. Most of those affected were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown. According to Koslap-Petraco, “We no longer see large numbers of children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases because vaccination has been so successful” (Koslap-Petraco, “Should Vaccination Be Mandatory”). This proves illness can be caught anywhere, that not being vaccinated does increase one’s chance of being effected by illness, and increases the severity of the