Policy Brief : National Vaccine Information Center And Non Medical Vaccination

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.

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.

In the 1850s the first school vaccination requirement were enacted to prevent smallpox. Federal and state efforts to eradicate measles in the 1960s and 1970s motivated many to mandate policies. By the 1990s, all 50 states requirement for children to be enrolled in school must receive certain immunizations and if these requirements were not met than children were not allowed to be enrolled in school (Center for Disease Control Prevention, 2010). For example, in the state of California, private public school or daycare cannot admit children unless vaccinations were received for all ten of the diseases. If the California Department of Public Health implements a requirement for vaccination parent can be allowed to obtain personal belief exemptions that would allow parents to opt out of vaccination for their children if form is filled out by healthcare professional that states vaccinations were countered to personal beliefs. This law has not been implemented as of yet but should be in 2016. The healthcare of policy decision in laws can have an influence on individuals based on the decision that are made. Health care policy and issues can affect providers and patients in many different ways. Stakeholders’ in the policymakers for vaccination main concern is the safety and health of children so the implement exemptions of laws from concern about vaccine

Throughout the U.S., individualism is greatly promoted. Individualism has allowed our country to moved forward in many, many ways. It has brought about many topics that are controversial due to clashing mindsets. One of the topics that has been heavily debated upon are vaccinations. Vaccinations have been given throughout time in order to make the person receiving the vaccination immune to a disease or to improve their current health condition. Many religions, however, don 't approve of vaccinations or injecting anything in to the body. These religions range from non-theistic religions like Buddhism to monotheistic religions like Christianity. Among religions that disagree are people who have personal issues with vaccinations. These reasons can range from being a vegan to just being against medicine. Whether someone disagrees with receiving a vaccination based on religion or personal belief, their choice should be protected at all costs. I believe that the U.S. should respect an individuals choice on this topic and not only continue to respect non-medical exemptions, but expand their current acceptance of non-medical exemptions across all fifty states. To do this, I recommend that the law that is in place currently, should be put in place in all fifty states to protect the citizens who are choosing to not receive a vaccination, no matter what their choice is based on.

Both children and adults unable to be vaccinated (for reasons such as having a compromised immune system) have a right to immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases for an unvaccinated person is afforded through herd immunity, which is achieved when a certain percentage of the population is vaccinated (1). The right of a medical exemption to protection afforded by herd immunity may be considered to undermine the right to choose for parents and/or guardians; it is not a choice for the medical exemption to be unable to be vaccinated (1). However, some persons believe that vaccinations for diseases that are non-transmissible, such as tetanus, should indefinitely remain off the compulsory childhood vaccination schedule as the only person that benefits from that vaccine is the one receiving the vaccine (1). Remaining unvaccinated to a non-transmissible disease induces no harm to anyone other persons in the community or medical exemptions and a parent should reserve their right to non-compliance (1).

Studies have shown that childhood immunizations nonmedical exemptions have been increasing in many states. This issue creates a public treat. With the utmost concern, when a public treat continues to be a challenge for the public health, further actions on the policy level need to be initiated and actively maintained to ensure public safety. Growing concern shows that higher incidents of nonmedical exemptions calls for new and improved health policies that can lower theses occurrences. New and innovative approaches need to be implemented in order to ensure diseases that are preventable by vaccinations do not impose health threat to the public.

There is a huge issue arising in the United States over non-vaccinating your babies at birth to prevent certain illnesses. The main problem we are facing is whether or not it is a necessity to vaccinate your child at birth or expose them to life threatening illness by not vaccinating them. Another issue I will address is that now, parents have an option to immunize their child, as back in the early 2000’s they did not have an option; whereas now they do and it is causing utter chaos. This paper will discuss the current debate of immunizations across the United States. It will also talk about the pros and cons of vaccinating and not vaccinating your children.

This being said, having a mandatory immunization policy disregards a parents right to decide what they believe is right for their child, since the child cannot decide for themselves. The right to self-determination is violated by the mandatory immunization policy that is invasive and denies the opportunity and right to make decisions about their children’s health and well-being (Dubov & Phung,

Should children’s health be at risk for the greater good of community health? The news today is full of tragic stories about complications of vaccine use and there have been injuries from the beginning of vaccine use due to incomplete data on the side effects. The injuries have also brought about changes in the way vaccines are manufactured. The Georgia State Government requires citizens to receive vaccines in order to attend day care, go to school, and work at certain jobs and each state has its own mandates as well. The only way to get around the vaccine is to claim religious or medical exception. For either of these exceptions, one has to have a notarized affidavit for religious exception or a

Legislature plays a crucial role in protecting the interest of public health, although no vaccination policy exist at a federal level, each individual state has compulsory laws that mandate certain vaccines for children (Escobar 268). Escobar describes, three types of vaccine exemptions that may be offered by the state, according to their own stipulations, which include medical, philosophical, and religious exemptions. Medical exemptions are granted to immune-compromised children, in which vaccines can pose a danger of illness, and or adverse reactions if vaccinated (268). Philosophical and religious exemptions are not considered detrimental and may or may not be granted. The controversy in these exemptions, are related to increasing the

Vaccinations has become controversial in recent years. A growing number of parents feel that vaccines can cause harm. They believe that they have the right to decide whether or not to have their children vaccinated (“Introduction to Vaccines: Current Controversies” 6). This is true, however, public health and individual rights should be equally taken into consideration. While there is growing number of people who claims that mandatory vaccinations is against civil liberties and are not safe, vaccinations are scientifically proven to be effective and have given greater benefits to public health.

Vaccines are substances which stimulate antibodies to be produced and provide immunity to diseases, they are supposed to act as an antigen without giving the patient the actual disease; unfortunately the health risks associated with some of them make getting vaccines a much more complex decision. Within America, throughout the past hundred plus years, the idea of vaccinations have become increasingly popular, especially for children of very young ages. Recent studies have proven that some mandatory vaccines, especially when given in a short intervals, can lead to severe and chronic health problems. Since there have been so many studies proving that certain mandatory vaccines are severely harmful to one 's health, a question arises: why are those vaccines mandatory? In order to resolve this problem, there are two solutions: either pass a bill making all vaccines, that have been proven to have negative and chronic side effects, optional, and take other precautions in preventing outbreaks of diseases or make vaccines less harmful to our health. Either of these options would lead to a more healthy outcome in the long run, so for the most effective outcome, using both of these methods in conjunction would be the most beneficial.

More than ever vaccines are met with a high suspicions and very little education on the realities of vaccination success.

Gary L. Freed, et al., "Parental Vaccine Safety Concerns in 2009," Pediatrics, Mar. 1, 2009

Throughout history, it has been shown that vaccines make a significant impact on the health of our communities and “administration of these vaccines led to dramatic reduction in the number of cases of, as well as deaths from smallpox, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps and preventable diseases” (Jacobson, 2012, p.36). Generally, those involved in campaigns for and research in these preventable diseases attribute vaccines for children as the main contributing factor to the overall decline in diseases such as measles, mumps, smallpox and pertussis (Jacobson, 2012). In the public health setting, there are many issues that threaten the health and safety of the public, not just in the local community but the nation and world-wide. One such issue, surfacing in public health, is the issue of vaccinations; those who choose to vaccinate, those who choose not to vaccinate and those who do not