Mandatory Vaccination Benefits

As more and more vaccinations are being set in place for our children to receive, the society including parents, caregivers, teachers and even researchers begin to develop fears about whether or not they are truly safe for children. Researchers have argued that vaccinations could potentially be unnecessary for our children. Due to studies that show that the targeted diseases have essentially disappeared. This raises the question of why children are still required to receive large amounts of vaccinations at a young age. Another argument focuses on the financial motives. A statement released talked about the government benefiting trillions of dollars from vaccinations since 1994 (Whitney).

Recently an anti-vaccination movement has sparked a worldwide discussion about both the safety of vaccines and the responsibility of people to vaccinate. Recent outbreaks of preventable diseases have caused both fear and anger from people on both sides of the issue. These same outbreaks have also served to cause significant political tension between those against vaccines, who do not want their right to choose compromised, and many proponents of vaccines, who are calling for mandatory vaccinations.

According to the association of state and territorial health officials, every one dollar spent on immunizations saves sixteen dollars in avoided costs. In the Jackson vs. Massachusetts case, “the supreme court addressed for the first time the issue of compulsory vaccination” (Jacobson v. Massachusetts. (1999). When this court case happened, it was the beginning of the vaccination issue. “vaccines are one of the most successful advances in public health of all time” (tinyurl.com/gtgzrlo). “among American children born between 1994 and 2013, three hundred and thirty-two million cases of illness and seven hundred and thirty-two thousand deaths will be prevented over their lifetime” (tinyurl.com/gtgzrlo). Over the course of nineteen years seven hundred and thirty-two thousand lives were saved due to the law put in place. The spread of sickness in schools were cut down drastically after this law was put into

Vaccine are a common topic in todays society, they are used in the medical field everyday and most people have had vaccines. Vaccines are used to prevent specific illnesses that the immune system might not be able to handle if not vaccinated. Most people assume that they are safe, and that they should be used by everyone, but is that really the case? There currently exists a debate over the safety of vaccines, and the possible dangers that they might pose. The debate consists of two sides, the Pro-Vaccine group, and the Anti-Vaccine group. The Pro-Vaccine group believes that vaccines are a good thing, and that we should use them. The Anti-Vaccine group believes that vaccines are a bad thing, and that we should not use them. Each group has their fair share of good points. In the standpoint of who’s winning that could go to the Pro-Vaccine group, they currently have more support in society and most people believe that vaccines are safe. But number do not always mean something is right, the Anti-Vaccine group can not be discredited just because they have less support. The Anti-Vaccine group has their fair share of valid points on the issue. The middle ground in-between these two sides is pretty clear, the option to opt-out of vaccines that might be mandatory, while would be a big win for the Anti-Vaccine group it still has yet to happen. The best solution would be to make vaccines mandatory in a way

Public health is controversial in many cases because it requires balancing individual freedom and the greater good of society. Vaccinations can eliminate communicable diseases, but can be difficult to impose vaccinations upon individuals because of their sense of liberty. In this debate, there are those that support mandatory vaccinations to promote the health and wellbeing of the entire population and those that oppose mandatory vaccinations to protect themselves from any potential side effects. This controversy must be handled delicately by public health workers.

Prevention is better than finding a cure. This statement relates to the controversy surrounding the effectiveness and safety of childhood immunization. Every year many children and babies get sick and die from illnesses that could have been prevented with vaccinations such as; the Flu, Meningitis and Whooping Cough. The biggest argument here is whether or not there should be laws established declaring mandatory vaccinations for all children. Vaccinations should be mandatory because the benefits outweigh the potential risks. In the United States some states have actually enacted laws that require proof of specific vaccinations before allowing a child to go to school. Some states also allow exemptions. These exemptions could be due to

“Vaccines are the most effective tool we have to prevent infectious diseases” (mandatory vaccinations) As a result, in the future, if the body is exposed to the same virus it will be able to create the antibodies, and fight it off. The government allows competent adults to decide whether they would like to vaccinate themselves or their children. However, in certain situations, there are mandatory vaccinations. Mandatory vaccinations are when, “Public health benefits overcome strong individual rights protections” (Orenstein, 100). This is mostly for diseases, that in the past have caused mass fatalities. In 1905 the supreme court ruled, in the case Jacobson vs. Massachusetts that vaccination requirements are within the power of the state if

Since the development of vaccinations, there has been an underlying question; should vaccinations be mandatory? People know of cruel tests conducted to “save lives” while in the process of developing the vaccination. “Unfortunately, the first attempts at creating a polio vaccine were disastrous and rather primitive…(Tolsma 4)” People also know of the tribulations that saved so many others. However, people can’t help but wonder will it be safe for them or their children? People can’t help but feel that they shouldn’t have to get vaccinated because they believe mandatory vaccinations take away their amendment rights. Therefore, the question of mandatory vaccinations has been on many minds. Mandating vaccinations although saves many lives,

There has been an ample amount of dispute over the morality, effectiveness and the safety of vaccination ever since the original smallpox vaccine over two centuries ago. Parents, teachers, children and health care specialists all have a vital stake in this debate. Parents believe they should have the right to make the decision on whether or not to vaccinate their children. While health care officials disagree, claiming that by not vaccinating, all children will be susceptible to the vaccine-preventable diseases. Megan Heimer discusses the risk of vaccinating a child and that it should not be mandatory in her article, “The Hate Debate”. Although Megan Heimer writes a relatively convincing argument, I strongly disagree. I believe that vaccination should be mandatory. It is a parents’ responsibility to protect our children and future generations from these preventable diseases.

Further justification for mandatory vaccinations is logically discerned by reading John Stuart Mill’s and Arthur Okun’s views on rights. In On Liberty, Mill articulates that the only form of acceptable coercion is through the “harm principle” or “other regarding.” This translates as no one can or should want to harm their neighbor; therefore, society can willingly accept vaccination to protect others (Colgrove 2006, 4). Opponents argue that “harm principle” is not applicable because the only direct consequence is the side effects and harm a person receives from the vaccination (Colgrove 2006, 4), not the indirect effects such as a susceptible person obtaining the disease from lack of herd immunity. In response, I would argue, it is impossible to comprehend all the consequences our actions. Therefore, the government’s role is to prevent citizens from creating externalities that potentially hurt our neighbors.

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.

Public health officials and vaccine manufacturers should not be allowed to pay for research the vaccine or do the clinical trials. The government should be responsible for safety studies since the taxpayers are paying for the claims. The research should be unbiased with studies that show the negative effect of vaccines on healthy individuals. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have the greater good of the country at stake and both have an agenda to vaccinate against devastating disease. If the public loses confidence in the vaccines, they would not be vaccinated. Imagine what would happen if the vaccines were unavailable for some reason. All the diseases would reappear and wreak havoc on the medical community (Orfitt 182-185). The manufacturers have reputation and financial gain to consider. If the need for

Vaccination “has been one of the most spectacularly effective public health initiatives this country has ever undertaken. Use of vaccines has prevented thousands of children's deaths each year and has substantially reduced the effects resulting from disease.” H.R. REP. 99-908, 4, 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 6344, 6345. However, despite the general benefits to the population as a whole, some individuals are exposed to some to harm. A portion of the population that receives childhood vaccinations may suffer long term medical damage from an adverse effect of vaccination. In the 1980s the trend towards products liability and design defect suits overall contributed to a rise in vaccine manufacturer lawsuits from 24 in 1980 to nearly 150 in 1985.

To the average individual, the word ‘vaccination’ means to prevent illness. Vaccinations have many advantages; they allow us to be less susceptible to a variety of illnesses and diseases. Many individuals believe that vaccinations should not be mandatory. However, the benefits from vaccinations greatly outweigh the risks from side effects. The judgments are factual and ethical and are supported by testing and research findings from multiple sources.

Mandatory vaccines are also beneficial to our economy. “The CDC estimates that children vaccinated between 1994 and 2014 have yielded net savings of $1.38 trillion in "societal costs,"…” meaning that for each person who gets vaccinated more money goes into our nation for more research to fight the diseases.