Ethics And Childhood Vaccination Policy Essay

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.

Recently, many diseases that had been eradicated because of childhood vaccinations have been making an appearance. Health officials are concerned that diseases will spread and lives will be lost. Officials all agree that vaccinations will benefit the population. Some parents feel it is an infringement on the right to keep the children healthy and safe. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children because it will prevent diseases from spreading, protect future generations, and save children and parents time and money.

​Over the past decade, the concern among parents regarding the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations has become a concern in the United States and other countries around the world. A survey of physicians showed that 89% of the physicians who were surveyed reported at least one refusal of childhood vaccinations by parents each month (Gowda & Dempsey, 2013). Other researchers have noted that as many as 77% of parents have concerned about one or more of the childhood vaccinations that are recommended for children (McKee & Bohannon, 2016). However, organizations such as the World Health Organization (2017) note that not only are childhood vaccinations safe, the reduction in children receiving childhood vaccinations has brought back diseases such as measles that had been completely wiped out in the United States. It is clear that there are opposing viewpoints about childhood vaccinations that need to be understood and examined to determine which side has a better argument.

In the United States, the law states that vaccinations are required for children entering school unless they have a valid reason that prevents them from receiving the vaccinations. Starting when children are born, they begin the regimen of vaccinations that continue throughout their adolescent years and adulthood. Each year children receive a variation of shots to protect them from the illnesses they will encounter in the world, especially once they attend school. The most common reasons parents forego getting their children vaccinated are religious beliefs, medical exemptions, and personal beliefs. Due to the rising number of parents declining to get their children vaccinated, the number of outbreaks of preventable diseases has increased. The question is now should parents/guardians be forced to vaccinate their children?

Hendrix, Kristin S., et al. "Ethics and Childhood Vaccination Policy in the United States." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 106, no. 2, Feb. 2016, pp. 273-278. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302952.

Vaccinations are something that is none around the world. It is supported in many countries but in others it is not. In the United States there is a constant controversy as to whether to vaccinate or not. Most parents in our society opt for the vaccination process to protect their children in any way they can. Although, many parents do not see it that way. The controversy of childhood vaccination spans back more than just a few years it goes back as far as the 18th century (Nelson) but the fact of the matter is childhood vaccinations have very few side effects, there have been very few lines between autism and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Vaccines”; Shea, Diekema), and when children come in to contact with diseases they are not vaccinated for it can cause nationwide pandemic (Nelson; “Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?”).

Over the past year, vaccinations have sparked controversy all over America. Some parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children. I believe that all members of the community should be properly vaccinated to avoid the spread of disease, to prevent introducing eradicated diseases to other countries, and to prevent premature death.

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.

I stand firmly in believing that getting my children the recommended vaccinations for their age or what grade they are going into is the right thing. I do not believe the myths, I never have. I also do not feel there is enough evidence to show that autism is linked to vaccines. These vaccines are not only protecting my children but they are protection children around them including family and school. Today’s society with some many people moving to the United

Millions of lives have been saved thanks to a global effort to vaccinate for deadly diseases. Peter Yeo reports “Immunizations have saved more children than any other medical intervention in the last 50 years” (Reforming the U.N. 118). Yet, a new trend for parents is opting out of vaccinating their children for personal beliefs or religious exemptions. Although, the majority of Americans believe vaccines protect children, and conclusive evidence has proven vaccines can prevent the spread of deadly diseases. Still, a few parents believe vaccinating children is not essential for their health, additionally, they believe an increase in mandatory vaccines has insufficient scientific research to prevent serious medical side effects.

Over the years, there has been much controversy surrounding the subject of childhood vaccinations. With differing opinions, many are in favor about childhood vaccinations being required for children. Children vaccinations have been proven to be an effective means of preventing serious effects, including fatalities, from childhood illnesses yet there is still controversy over whether the risk of side effects from the vaccines outweighs the risk of contracting diseases. The belief behind mandatory vaccinations has been linked to people wanting vaccinations to be required for children because it will prevent the spread of childhood diseases, but there are still questions and concerns around why childhood vaccinations should be required. Questions surrounding this topic are: why should vaccines be required, are there any serious risks involved in vaccinating your child, and should children be turned away from school if they do not have vaccinations? There is also the question of should these vaccinations be mandatory or should this solely be a choice that the parents of the child should make? In order for us to be able to take our stance on the subject, we need to examine the answers to the question.

Any medicine that is put into your body will contain side effects. Every time you go to the pharmacy and get medicine, it will include those side effects on the label that may or may not happen to you just like the vaccines. This could be over the counter drugs or it could be a prescription drug prescribed by a doctor. Either way, we are aware of these side effects. This might be why people think vaccines will give their child autism. Autism is a birth defect that affects a child socially and mentally. These birth defects will affect their everyday life. Autism has in no way been linked to vaccinations. But yet, people still choose to believe that it can harm their child in that way. (Atkinson). Although many people argue that these vaccines can cause autism, many doctors have assumed that this cannot possibly be true. It is not found that there is any correlation between the two. It would be extremely unfortunate to get vaccinated to not catch a disease and to end up with a disability for a lifetime. Doctors at the Institute of Medicine went into this. They all agreed that this theory was not true. (Maron) With this, we see that they assure us that vaccines are not causing

This paper examines the controversy surrounding the public health issue of vaccinations in children. Following a careful review of the literature surrounding this issue, the possible reasons for and implications of having a large percentage of the population who remains unvaccinated are discussed. Possible interventions and purposed interventions for resolution of this problem are discussed and conclusions are drawn based on what it learned from the literature.