Should Vaccinations Be Mandatory And That No One Should Be...

Vaccines have been shown to be the most effective way to eliminate or reduce the prevalence of life-threatening diseases within our population (Lantos, Jackson and Harrison, 2012). However, there has been a growing concern with outbreaks of these diseases showing up repeatedly throughout the last few years. This has caused a sense of worry among parents with children. I believe that vaccinations should be mandatory and that no one should be exempt based on personal belief if the disease is deadly enough to cause harm. I will explain my argument to justify mandatory vaccines through the benefit for the common good of society, the harm principle and its welfare baseline. Opel and Diekema (2012) are still on the offence about mandating vaccines because they believe that it disrespects parental autonomy and their ability to make a decision for their child. However, the vaccine is there to protect children from developing these serious conditions and has been shown to be beneficial when all children are immunized to stop the spread of disease from circulating in a community, which is known as herd immunity (Lantos, Jackson and Harrison, 2012). Therefore although it may be said to be true that it disrespects parental autonomy it also violates other parent’s autonomy to choose to vaccinate and keep their children safe from disease. The choices of those parents not vaccinating are putting the ones that do at risk. On the other hand, Dare (1998) talks about parents not vaccinatingShow MoreRelatedEuthanasi Vaccine Refusal On Religious Grounds1624 Words   |  7 Pagescase by insisting that vaccination refusal on the grounds of prioritizing the intere st of one’s own children over the interests of public health is not morally justified. He provides two strong moral reasons that he uses to justify his case in favor of vaccinations. Both of these reasons, he suggests, should compel people to get vaccinated and to vaccinate their children. However, Navin fails to recognize the group of people who have strong religious beliefs against vaccinations and the way that theyRead MoreImmunizations And Vaccinations : A Hot Topic1426 Words   |  6 Pages Immunizations and Vaccinations: A Hot Topic Crystal L. Clauser Frostburg State University Immunizations and Vaccinations: A Hot Topic In the United States, the childhood immunization schedule recommends that children receive approximately 15 vaccinations by 19 months of age, and it specifies ages for administration of each vaccination dose (Luman, Barker, McCauley, Drews-Botsch, 2005, p. 1367). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a vaccine is a product thatRead MoreEssay about Vaccinations Should Be Required1105 Words   |  5 PagesImagine two children; one who has been completely vaccinated, and the other has never been vaccinated. Both children fall ill from the same virus, but the child who had been vaccinated fully recovers, while the child who was not passes away due to complications. That child’s life could have been saved if the child received the proper vaccinations. Ever since the invention of the Smallpox vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been an abundance of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectivenessRead MoreMandatory Vaccinations For School Chil dren Essay1782 Words   |  8 PagesMandatory Vaccinations for School Children We have all raised our eyebrows when the person sitting the row behind us starts coughing, and not just the â€Å"soda went down the wrong pipe† cough, but the real, mucus breaking, uncontrollable hacking. Likewise, many of us have also tried to not get too close to the person with the visibly red, irritated nose and the constant sniffling that comes with the absence of a tissue. As a society, we tend to be conscious of the threat of contracting a disease,Read MoreShould There Be Mandatory Vaccinations for Children Entering School?1582 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Should there be mandatory vaccinations for children entering school?† There are many diseases that are preventable with the use of vaccines such as measles, pertussis, polio and rubella. In the United States, Massachusetts became the first state to mandate vaccinations for children upon entering school in 1855. Since then each state has added or amended various requirements of the vaccination schedule. However, various exemptions exist to override vaccinations such as religious reasons, or medicalRead MoreThe Anti Vaccination Movement :1300 Words   |  6 PagesMSM Critical Thinking Problem Solving GEN 1113 19 March 2016 The Anti-Vaccination Movement Step one: The current issue I have selected to discuss is vaccinations. In particular, I will be addressing the anti-vaccination movement that has gained popularity in recent years and the contributing biases that influenced its emergence. One event stands out at as a major contributing factor to the growth of the anti-vaccination movement, the 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield that was published by the EnglishRead MoreThe Importance Of Mandated Immunization For School Age Children1996 Words   |  8 PagesUniversity Introduction Immunization for school age children is an integral aspect of early healthcare and is a reliable method of developing resistance to specific, potentially life threatening diseases. Immunization, which is also known as vaccination, is crucial as it not only protects the immunized individual but also the surrounding community members (Grace, 2006). When a child is not vaccinated, there is an increased risk to develop symptoms of a particular disease, which can result in anRead MoreMandatory Immunization Of Children For School Entry1601 Words   |  7 Pageswhich eliminated California s personal belief exemption. These laws create a very low bar for parents to obtain an exemption. Often they simply have to check a box stating they don’t want to vaccinate their children, and that is sufficient. States with personal belief exemptions have 2.5 times the vaccine refusal rate as states with religious exemptions only. Essentially, the easier it is to obtain a vaccine exemption, the lo wer the vaccination rate. Personal belief exemption rates have gone up dramaticallyRead MoreReasons For Mandatory Immunization Records1850 Words   |  8 Pages California now along with two other states joined Mississippi and West Virginia that perm only medical exemptions as legitimate reasons to evade vaccinations. The four times that a student’s vaccination records are required are: 1. Entering daycare or preschool; 2. Entering kindergarten; 3. Entering kindergarten and 4. Any time a k-12 student changes school districts. That is, just changing schools within a district does not require the student’s parent/guardian to provide immunization records.Read MoreThe Center For Infectious Diseases Communicable Disease2296 Words   |  10 Pagessigned by Governor Brown on June 30, 2015. Effective one year from now in July 2016, SB 277 will no longer permit immunization exemptions based on personal beliefs for children in child care and public and private schools; permit personal belief exemptions submitted before January 1, 2016 to remain valid until a pupil reaches kindergarten or 7th grade. The bill in 2016 will also remove immunization requirements for students in home-based private schools, students enrolled in an independent