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?” If the healthcare system took the Utilitarian approach to assess whether getting vaccinated should be mandatory then surely this would be the case. Utilitarianism looks at the foreseeable utility that one's action would produce. To do the right thing you try to do the greatest good you can and produce the most overall happiness. The implementation of a law making vaccinations mandatory for everyone would ensure immunity against a specific pathogen for all. As
Mandatory vaccination is an extremely controversial topic because it violates constitutionally protected right to practice religion and personal beliefs in the absence of the true health emergency (First Amendment of the Constitution). The new law destroys the individual rights of parents to make voluntary decisions in the best interest of their children in the health care decisions and diminishes the role of parents in upbringing and educating their children (Skov).
Vaccinations have gone through opposition and critics, but for the most part legislation has been slow, but treated vaccination fairly. To this day vaccination still faces many of the challenges that it faced in the early nineteenth century. The reasons have gone from personal freedom issues and just the overall effectiveness of mass immunization. The courts in the nineteenth century typically supported the enactment of mandatory vaccination programs. Most importantly for the future of mandatory vaccination policy, one important Supreme Court decision in the early part of the twentieth century acknowledged the power of state governments to mandate vaccination.
For this round, I will be making three points: firstly, that vaccines are safe and effective, and secondly, that the government has a responsibility to protect its citizens—even if it may result in less opportunities for people to choose personally, and finally, that vaccination should not be a choice since herd immunity means that one’s decision not to vaccinate can affect others as well.
In the past, Americans did not have much say in their own health care. In today’s time, with the advent of new health-care bills and peaked interest in personal well being, Americans are now anxious to determine for themselves what they need to maintain their own and their loved ones’ health. However, there are still government-regulated requirements for people of all ages in regards to keeping the general public healthy. Vaccinations have always been a topic of contention in regards to younger children, but have been a staple of health for older adults. In fact, college requirements for vaccinations are mandatory, and failure to get the proper vaccines before college starts could result in holds on college students’ accounts or delays in
The decision of whether or not to make childhood vaccinations mandatory can rile up deep emotions in both parents and people arguing their rights. The side that makes
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.
Vaccination give in two doses, the first one between 12-15 months of age, the second given between 4-6 years of age (CDC).
Vaccinations first surfaced during the turn of the 19th century. It is currently a law that all school aged children receive a specific list of vaccinations in order to attend a school system of any kind. While the requirements in America are general consistent from state to state, they do vary slightly across one another. Although it is required, there is a list of exemptions that would allow parents to send their children to school without receiving the required immunizations. An example of the exceptions are, medical reasons that would mean the child is not stable enough to receive these vaccinations, or a family that has specific religious beliefs and cannot vaccinate. Those children that are not protected rely on us with able children
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 a long history of fear and doubt surrounding vaccination, especially whether or not it will become fully mandatory. Here in the United States of America, we have a semi-mandatory system of vaccination. The laws surrounding vaccination are handled on a state by state basis, and every single state offers the opportunity to opt out of vaccination. So, should vaccines be a mandatory procedure in the United States, or should the system stay as it is, that is, people being able to opt out of vaccinations on religious, philosophical, and medical grounds? Vaccines should continue to be a semi-mandatory practice in the United States. Vaccination is part of the survival of the human race. More people in history have died from disease than any other factor. However, there are good reasons to not vaccinate. If it truly goes against ones moral code, or if there is a serious medical reason not to vaccinate, then vaccinating may not be for that
Mandated Vaccinations are a huge argument right now because of health and disease issues. There are people on both sides of this argument. Some people are against vaccinating their children because they feel they are being forced to have their child get vaccinated. While some people feel the need that vaccinations are important to protect themselves from any illness or diseases. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all schools and health care purposes.
People always have their own values and beliefs about social issues that arise in our society. Some of these issues have been a problem for several centuries and we haven’t been properly informed to know what causes certain epidemics. One of the problems is the question whether people should vaccinate or not. Opposition of vaccinations have existed since the 1800s, it has only been these past few years that I have started to hear about the increasing negative feedback about vaccinations. The terms pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination were introduced to me recently through the medias discussion about the two. The reason people are for or against vaccinations is based on many different unanswered questions such as, religion, research, personal incident, and other values people have about the subject. I will be discussing the benefits of vaccinations versus not taking vaccinations and bringing both of the ideas together by responding to a YouTube debate.
Should children be vaccinated? This is a question that has been a hot topic for some time now. All children should be vaccinated. We often ask “Why should we have our children vaccinated”? There are pros and cons to vaccinations. Vaccinations will reduce the risk of illness, provide a safer environment, and keep the parents from worry as much. In some cases, people think they cause more harm than anything.
So, under the framework of utilitarianism, can compulsory vaccinations for children be justified? To answer, vaccinations must ensure that it can increase the health of the public whilst minimising the harmful effects and therefore, increasing ‘happiness’. When weighing up the balance between the benefits of having compulsory vaccinations, it is clear to see that vaccinations have shown great successes. Vaccinations have had a great effect on reducing mortality and even being able to eradicate disease in children of both developed and developing countries. When analysing the benefits alongside the costs, the benefits stand to be much superior. For all stakeholders in this hypothesis, under utilitarian standards, compulsory vaccination will
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.