The right of individual freedoms and the collective good for society as a whole, is an ethical dilemma that is debated time and time again. Many will agree that each individual has control over their own body and what is done to it or what goes into it. However, when it comes to the question of what is better for society, those same individuals will agree that individual rights are superseded by public good. (Leonard, 2009). As mentioned above, vaccinations are the a prime topic debate of this issue. While there are no federal mandates that requires children to receive vaccinations, all fifty (50) states requires certain vaccines before a child can enroll in public schools. Proponents argue that vaccines are good and are the greatest
One of the things that not all parents agree on is whether or not there should be a law making vaccinations mandatory. The public school system requires all students to be immunized. There have been so many published reports, articles, television programs, public service announcements, and other public attention being paid to all sides of this issue.
These articles have spurred a controversy about vaccinations and have discouraged parents from them. Reluctance to vaccinate has increased over the past years and has caused parents to neglect the fact that they need to vaccinate their kids. Under-immunization has caused the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases like polio and measles to breakout in schools. Concern for recent outbreaks has lead me to pose the question: Should it be mandatory to vaccinate your kids?
All 50 states require certain vaccines for school children. However, to date no federal law exists that mandates vaccinations. I believe that American citizens have the right to choose what and when they are subjected to medical procedures. Personal medical decisions should not be made by the government. The liberty an individual has over their physical person is
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.
Based on the review criteria, your thesis takes the position that all infants and children should be vaccinated. First, I find your thesis suitable and able to be supported within the length requirements of the paper. Secondly, I believe your thesis clearly indicates the intention of your paper, and that chosen your supporting ideas adequately defends your paper’s stance on vaccinations. Thirdly, in effort to strengthen your thesis, I would also highlight the consequences of contracting the aforementioned diseases. Finally, in addressing your concern, If you feel your topic is too broad, perhaps you should pick three definite reasons as to why all infants and children should be vaccinated. That way you can reduce the topic by focusing on key
Controversy concerning the risks of vaccinations will always exist. As is the nature of a preventative intervention, it is difficult to rationalize giving a completely healthy child an injection that is known to have varying degrees of sides affects5. Additionally, these injections are to provide immunity to children for diseases that have an extremely low risk of circulating within a population. Since these vaccines have been able to protect so many individuals from experiencing these dangerous infections, most parents do not even have personal experiences regarding the impact of these diseases. As such, many parents do not see the vaccine-preventable disease as a threat to their child. This often causes parents to not fully understand the risk their child has for contracting a disease and the subsequent danger of a vaccine-preventable disease infection verses the potential side effect of a vaccine which is normally only mild to moderate discomfort for their child15.
My topic will be about the controversy of vaccinations. I am going to research its usage, the effect on your body, advantages and disadvantages. I am also interested in the reasons behind not getting vaccinations for your children, even when the parents could be willingly risking their child’s health and other children’s health. Furthermore, I wonder how doctors and professors view vaccinations and if they believe vaccinating your children is mandatory. The reason why I chose this topic is because recently, I watched an episode of Private Practice where a parent objected her child to be vaccinated for measles because she believed it caused her other son’s autism. To me, it seemed absurd that anyone thought that vaccinations, a precaution used against viruses, could be causing harm. So, instead of going off a T.V. show to understand vaccinations, I wanted to do in-depth research on it and become well-informed on this topic.
The term “herd immunity” became a common phrase as the debate surrounding mandating vaccines continues to grow. The modern vaccination debate often appears to focus on the effectiveness of vaccines as many media sources affirmed or denounced a potential correlation between autism and vaccines. Although these stories about autism and vaccines became headlines, the history of mandating vaccines addresses the authority of the government to distinguish between individual concerns and the common good. The current now ultimately focuses on examining the authority of the government to distinguish between individual concerns and the common good rather than the effectiveness of vaccines.
Is it ethical to allow parents to be exempt from vaccinating their children before they begin attending school due to their religious or personal beliefs? Childhood vaccinations have been around since the 1977 Childhood Immunization Initiative. It is important to have your child vaccinated for both the benefit of your child and your surrounding community. Vaccinations help prevent the spread of diseases that can lead to hospitalizations and sometimes even death. In the United States, only medical exemptions are allowed throughout all 50 states. Exemptions that are religious or personal vary from state to state. These exemptions are given due to the fact that individuals have a constitutional right to exercise such beliefs. An important fact to keep in mind is that many cases of diseases like measles, smallpox, and polio have been prevented from turning into an outbreak because a majority of the population in the United States is immune to them. If it were not for this majority, diseases would be spreading rapidly. We have progressed as a society to protect each other’s health and allowing an alarming number of individuals to opt out of getting these vaccinations will cause a serious threat to our society. Is it ethical to allow people to put the lives of others in danger?
Influenza is a respiratory infection caused by a range of flu virus. The virus is very contagious and can cause mild to severe illness and even death. Droplets spread the virus, especially when infected people cough, sneeze or talk. Touching a contaminated surface or object can also transmit the virus. Getting vaccinated annually is the best method of averting the flu virus. When there is a vaccine shortage, it will be fair and ethical to give the vaccine to the most vulnerable or high-risk members of the society such as; those with asthma, diabetes, and heart diseases, children and the elderly and most importantly health care workers. Selling the vaccine will undermine those at high risk who cannot afford to buy the vaccine. The ethical principles of Utilitarian and egalitarianism are the contending principles for rationing the seasonal flu vaccine.
This ethical misconduct is a nightmare. I feel sorry for the parents and the children. The sad part is that many believed his research. It also sparked the death of children due to Measles and a decline in vaccinations for years. (Harmon, K., 2010). Retractions has been done, regardless the issue still exist, along with ongoing debate of vaccinations for children.
Living in an environment where we are prone to many viruses, it’s very important that one take the proper precautions or considerations to control the risk of getting affected. However, when utilizing the ability of not becoming infected, one may question the fact weather there’s an actual effective form of prevention or not. To clarify the uncertainty, over many years one of the most strategic methods that have been used for the control and preventions of viruses are vaccinations. A vaccination takes advantage of one’s body natural ability to primarily learn how to eliminate almost any disease causing germ or microbe that affects it. Therefore vaccinations are considered one of the most effective ways to prevent severe outcomes initiated by viruses.
You can get hepatitis A through contaminated food or water in Estonia regardless of where you are staying.
One of greatest moral issues facing society today is that of freedom. Freedom is a principle that this country was founded on at the start of its inception. Freedom is still a cause that requires our attention. The great debate on simple liberties such as the right to decide what happens to one’s body is still an issue that society has failed to resolve. It is a moral quandary that will continue to be discussed and a deliberated on as long as humankind are free moral agents with personal moral preferences. The question is do we allow our personal preferences to impede the decisions of other individuals? If we have the right to have our set of moral preferences do, other individuals deserve that same
The classic essay Tragedy of the Commons describes the dilemma society faces when the interests of a group conflicts with the interests of individuals (Hardin, 1968). The example presented is that of a group of cattle ranchers commingling their cattle in a common pasture. At full capacity, each cattle owner still has an incentive to include additional cattle, since the slight decrease in overall yield per animal is offset by the additional animal. Unfortunately, this overgrazing inevitably leads to failure of the commons. The community goal of maximizing food production can only be achieved by placing controls on the interests of the individual cattle ranchers in favor of those of the community (Hardin, 1968). This paper is