Ethical Concerns Regarding Pediatric Vaccinations

The argument encompassing whether or not parents should vaccinate their children is ongoing. It is a very interesting matter to learn about and I possess some strong feelings about the case. This issue interests me because there are parents who don’t have their children vaccinated, and there are parents who do have them vaccinated. But all these parents share one particular quality: they all would like for their kids to be safe.

Between 1924 and 2013, vaccinations prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Bailey). Vaccinating is “the process by which pathogenic cells are injected into a healthy person in an attempt to cause the body to develop antibodies to a particular virus or bacterium—successful creation of antibodies is referred to as immunity to the disease caused by the particular pathogen” (Introduction to Should Vaccinations be Mandatory). Popular conflicts regarding vaccination include the worry that this form of immunization isn’t natural, the idea that vaccination schedule for children in the U.S. takes away parents’ rights to make decisions for their children, and the concern that vaccinations aren’t safe for all children. Most doctors and scientists advocate for vaccinations in the name of herd immunity, protection against foreign diseases and prevention against pockets of disease outbreaks. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children in the United States for who they are deemed safe and effective.

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.

Parents face many different decisions when raising a child; some decisions are trivial, and others can be controversial. Whether or not to vaccinate a child is one of the most controversial choices. So controversial, in fact, that there is a political conversation of making immunizations a requirement. Many people support the movement of making vaccinations mandatory. Proponents argue that vaccines save lives, vaccine-preventable diseases have not been eradicated, and vaccines protect herd immunity. Many people also disagree with the possibility of required vaccinations. Opponents argue that vaccines cause harm, immunity by vaccinations is inferior to natural immunity, and government policies should not dictate personal medical choices.

Childhood vaccinations have not been a topic of controversy until recent times. Due to the recent outbreaks of diseases that were thought to be eliminated, people are now investigating vaccinations. State representatives and Congressional people have even gotten on the bandwagon to emphasize the importance of vaccinations. Many states already require children to be vaccinated before entering school, but states allow religious, medical, or personal exemptions. Getting rid of these exemptions would be beneficial to not only parents and children, but also to members of society. Having children vaccinated at a young age when the immune system can respond correctly to vaccines will benefit the future health of children. Children are more at danger at a younger age to catch infectious diseases. Vaccines are a safe way to prevent the child from getting sick. “Proponents say that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century”

For many years, there has been a controversy about whether or not vaccinations should be mandated for everyone. In the United States, many diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, and whooping cough used to be extremely common, until vaccinations came around and started preventing these diseases. The main point for vaccines is to prepare a person’s immune system for any possible attack of a disease that comes in the future; a person’s body will be prepared to fight off the disease with the vaccine (“Basics”). Vaccines have the ability to prevent many cases of these diseases in advanced, but there are people who think vaccines are unnatural and should not be required for their children. It is said that immunity in child vaccines are about 90%-100%, which is an increase over the past few years (“Childhood”). Although many Americans believe that vaccines are unsafe and cause autism in children, vaccinations for children should be mandatory because they can save a child’s life, create herd immunity in a community, and they have been proven safe/cost-effective.

This ethical misconduct is a nightmare. I feel sorry for the parents and the children. The sad part is that many believed his research. It also sparked the death of children due to Measles and a decline in vaccinations for years. (Harmon, K., 2010). Retractions has been done, regardless the issue still exist, along with ongoing debate of vaccinations for children.

What happens when the promotion of health involving public health actions affects the right of individuals? There is extended debate involving a lot of situations when the public health ethics are questioned and it is hard to find a right answer on the academic literature. An article wrote by Rajczi, A (2015) entitled “Liberalism and Public Health Ethics”, one of the points brought by Rajczi is a type of liberalism that allow the state stop individuals from harming themselves when their choices are involuntary (e.g. children). Where is the childhood vaccination found in the middle of this debate when parents decide not to immunize their children?

Parents all across the United States have an issue with vaccinations for their children. Parents as of today do not have the option whether or not to immunize their children. These vaccinations are potentially harmful for children, but they also help and prevent life threatening illnesses. Parents should be allowed to choose to vaccinate their children because at times, the vaccine might harm the child, and because the parents simply just have right.

refuse them for reasons of medical, safety, or religious observance. This paper will look at what the current policy is in Ontario for childhood vaccines, the difference between parental right of choice and the best interests of the child. It will further discuss how the harm principle with public knowledge on immunizations can provide a strong base for parents to make informed decisions regarding vaccinations.

Ever since the invention of the first smallpox vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been plenty of discussion over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination and immunization. It has recently been argued whether laws should be introduced that make some or all vaccines mandatory for all children (Salmon 47). Parents, health care specialists, nurses, teachers and children all have an important stake in this issue. Parents argue that it is they who should have the ultimate decision-making right on whether or not to vaccinate their children. Nurses and health care officials oppose that view on the grounds that by making vaccination rates in children incomplete, we expose all children to contracting the vaccine-preventable diseases. If this is a risk some parents are willing to take, but others face unwillingly, there is obviously a complication.

It seems that a growing number of parents may refuse immunizations based on their beliefs regarding the risks and benefits. This will likely present itself one day in our very own practices. As providers, ethically we are obligated to provide information on risks and benefits and do what is in the best interest of our patient. According to Diekema (2005), immunizations are one of the most innovative and beneficial health interventions in 20th century medicine. While immunizations have prevented 3 million deaths annually, parents may still refuse based on knowledge interpreted from other sources, such as the internet (Diekema, 2005). Reasons for parents refusal of vaccines may include religious beliefs, the pain elicited on their child as well

For years children have been immunized against dozens of infectious diseases. Routine shots starting at birth protect them from illnesses such as polio, measles and hepatitis. In recent years, since the outcry that too many immunizations, too early may cause autism, many parents have decided against immunizing their children. In this debate that has continued for years, non-vaccinating parents believe that by forcing them to vaccinate or not allowing them to go to school is a violation of the child’s human rights. But vaccinating parents believe that by other parents choosing not to vaccinate they are trampling on the rights of others and putting them at a greater risk of contracting diseases.

Vaccines have been a crowning achievement in modern society over the past 100 years and have been able to irradiate infectious diseases, such as polio, through mandatory vaccinations which have effectively eliminated the pathogen. This phenomenon is called Herd Immunity. Herd immunity is achieved when there is a sufficient level of vaccine protection in the population to prevent circulation of the disease to those who remain biologically susceptible (Swartz 21). While there are clear benefits for mandatory vaccinations, there are clear ethical dilemmas which are at work, that of the extent of the individual's responsibility to protect the entire population, their own desires to receive or not receive the vaccination and their right to autonomous decision making. Throughout this paper, I will outline these dilemmas and implement the ethical frameworks such as utilitarianism, Epicurean ethics, and Kantian ethics to focus on the ethical question at hand being “is it morally permissible to make vaccinations mandatory?”

When it comes to vaccinations for children, many parents have extreme thoughts and outlooks on the topic. Whether it be for or against vaccinations, each parent has a specific stance on the matter. Many new facts have come to the surface as medical professionals research and learn more about why or why not vaccinations are the way to go. I plan to discuss and put forward the reasons that I believe vaccinations are helpful and prevent many illnesses in our world today.