Mandatory Vaccinations Of School Age Children

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.

Anti-vaccination movements have been happening since vaccines were created, but it has been picking up momentum again over the last decade. Vaccines began with the creation of the smallpox vaccine in the early 1800s after Edward Jenner’s experiments with cowpox. Through his experiments he found that we could save a child from smallpox by infecting them with a lymph from a cowpox blister. There were many oppositions from the public and government towards vaccinations. People claimed it was against religion, unsanitary, or there just wasn 't enough proof it would work. I don 't blame the criticism back then, because it included scoring the flesh on a child’s arm, and inserting lymph from the blister of a person who had been vaccinated about a week earlier. In 1853, the Vaccination Act of 1853 stated that vaccinations were mandatory for infants up to 3 months old. In 1867, the act extended this age requirement to 14 years. If you refused to vaccinate you would face a penalty. Citizens were upset because they felt that they had the right to control their bodies and their children’s bodies. This is when the Anti Vaccination League and the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League formed.

Although the negative claims behind anti-immunization stances are deceptive and discredited, some parents find it difficult to accept that vaccines are necessary and safe. Many of these reasons are due to personal or religious beliefs that have persuaded parents to bypass immunizations for their children. Consequently, health officials are seeing disquieting rises of diseases that are easily preventable. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported hundreds of measles cases in the United States in 2011, the largest number in 15 years (Ben-Joseph, Elana). Essentially, almost all of these cases were in individuals who had not received a vaccine shot. Also found in the article was that a great amount of the quarrel over the shots comes from a 1998 study that tried to connect autism to a type of vaccine that defends against measles. However, there has been no scientific evidence that a vaccine or a combination of any of the shots induces autism. Undoubtedly, the doctor that wrote the article, calling vaccines a “deliberate fraud” ,lost his license for not submitting any evidence of his claim and causing people to neglect shots for that year. Sadly, due to that article, 1 in 4 parents still believe that vaccines are

Throughout the years, there have been many serious diseases that plagued the world, a number of which have been eradicated through the widespread administration of vaccinations. In the 1950s, the number of polio cases in the United States was at 58,000, and in 1988, this disease had affected 350,000 people (11 Facts About Polio). Because polio mainly affects children under the age of five, it became very important to parents that something was done to cure and protect their children. When the polio vaccine was created, doctors were able to administer it to people across America, eventually erasing the virus from the country. While the majority of parents in the United States agree that vaccinations should be mandatory for children (excluding certain children with medical conditions preventing vaccination), there are a growing number of parents choosing to take a stand against these rules. Vaccinations are important because when they are administered, the child becomes protected against the diseases, resulting in fewer cases of contraction. In order to protect the children and adults of the United States from many potentially life-threatening illnesses, vaccinations should be mandatory for every able-bodied child.

Polio, mumps, and diphtheria are a few of the diseases that have killed numerous amounts of people in the past. Yet, in today’s time, they are diseases people rarely hear about others dying from unless they are discussing the past. The reason for this is modern day vaccinations. Vaccinations are shots that help prevent against certain diseases. Vaccinations not only prevent diseases, but can also cause them to become nearly extinct in treated areas. One example of this would be the small pox vaccine, people were dying from this disease every day, and now you rarely, if ever, hear people talk about it. Although these vaccines are lifesaving, parents are becoming reluctant to provide these treatments for their children. For this reason, all children should be required to get particular vaccinations, unless they have certain medical conditions.

Unfortunately, little progress has been made since then, as reports from 2015 show only 72.2 percent of U.S. children are fully vaccinated (KFF, 2017). Healthy People 2020 recommends a national goal of 80 percent to maintain herd immunity (Child Trends Databank, 2015). Despite the life-saving importance of immunization, these stagnant rates show that many mothers of U.S. children do not adhere to vaccination recommendations. These critics and skeptics of vaccines are a part of the anti-vaccination movement. Originating upon the discovery of the first vaccine in 1796, this movement has progressed for hundreds of years. Currently, through media and prominent anti-vax social figures, the public can easily be relayed messages of vaccine controversies rather than scientific facts. Falsehoods include perceived low risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases, “overloading” the child’s immune system, mercury in vaccines, reports of negative reactions after vaccination, and the infamously popular myth that vaccines cause autism (Mittenzwei, Morrison, & Williams,

On June 30, 2015, California governor Jerry Brown signed the new version of Senate Bill 277, which 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 lower the vaccination rate. Personal belief exemption rates have gone up dramatically since 1994. During a survey done by Alexander Capron for his medical journal, “Personal Beliefs Exemption from Mandatory Immunization of Children for School Entry”, in 1994, schools on average had 0.6% of kindergarten students claiming personal belief exemptions; by 2009, the number was 2.3%. By the 2013–2014 school year, schools, on average, had 3.15% of kindergarten students claiming personal belief exemptions. While these percentages may seem low, they are not evenly distributed: Some communities have much higher rates, and a recent research paper demonstrated that those communities were most vulnerable to outbreaks.

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.

From vaccines, to eye tests, to physicals and more; getting a child ready to go back to school is a lot more than just trips to the mall. Today is the vaccine deadline for the state of New York, but doctors say not worry if you missed it.

Many parents stress over the choice of deciding whether or not to vaccinate their children. The reason why deciding to vaccinate children is so difficult is due to the wide range of myths and side effects that are connected with vaccinations. Myths spread to parents all over the United States that the diseases don’t even exist anymore, rumors of vaccinations weakening a child’s immune system, and the risk of a child becoming autistic due to thimerisol in vaccinations. Side effects also scare parents out of getting their children vaccinated like brain damage, seizures, or allergic reactions, but then parents are pulled back to the thought of the possibility of

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.

While the anti-vaccination movement appears to be a present issue, it has roots in 1866 England. Immediately following the formation of The Parliament of England Compulsory Vaccination Act, anti-smallpox propaganda spread. The argument against mandatory vaccination was it was a way, “to steal away our medical liberties one by one,” (Cawkwell). To have a more unified message, they formed the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League. In four years it had about 10,000 members (Cawkwell). Pamphlets and periodicals were published throughout Britain to illuminate the issue of mandatory vaccination.

We have all raised our eyebrows when the person sitting the row behind us starts coughing, and not just the “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, but regardless of these common concerns, opposition to mandated vaccinations for school-attending children continue to be raised. The effectiveness and overall safety of vaccines have repeatedly been questioned by society (especially when it comes to vaccinating infants and young children), and some studies have possibly even shown the danger of certain vaccinations. However, upon closer examination, it is clear that vaccines have prevented more disease and have improved the overall health of the United States, and consequently, should—with few exceptions—continue to be mandated in our school system.

Despite vaccinations being credited for the control and elimination of several childhood diseases, there are still many critics who raise concerns about the necessity of vaccination. In a national study of parents performed in 2000, 19% indicated they had “concerns about vaccines” whereas in a subsequent survey performed in 2009 this number had risen to 50%. There has also been a rise in non-medical vaccine exemptions that has occurred over the last several years. In a 2010 national survey of physicians, 89% of respondents reported at least one vaccine refusal by a parent each month (Dempsey & Gowda, 2013). Opposers argue that making school vaccination mandatory is against their right to make personal medical decisions. They feel that the government has no place to force parents to vaccinate their children if the parents decide it is not in their child’s best interest. Many parents are disagreeable about the multiple vaccinations received at one time, which results in possible pain and discomfort for the child. Another argument against vaccination is the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Critics are concerned about the unknown risks vaccines pose to children. Some parents noted their child acquiring a “high fever” or beginning to “act different” after the administration of a vaccine. There is a belief that there is a connection between the measles vaccination and autism. Another theory is that the influenza