Vaccinate Children Essay

The argument encompassing whether or not parents should vaccinate their children is ongoing. It is a very interesting matter to learn about and I possess some strong feelings about the case. This issue interests me because there are parents who don’t have their children vaccinated, and there are parents who do have them vaccinated. But all these parents share one particular quality: they all would like for their kids to be safe.

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?

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.

Whether or not to vaccinate yourself/ your child has become a very important question to ask yourself. With recent news of vaccinations having a possible link to autism and many other negative side effects, it has become increasingly more important to weigh the risks and the rewards of vaccinations. While this may be a risk, the risk of zero vaccinations worldwide would have an exponentially larger and more negative effect on the majority of the world. Vacinations are the key to achieving longevity in life not only for one person but for the whole of the human species. This leads one to ask “if everyone is vaccinated, what is the difference if I decide not to vaccinate due to inherit risks?”

“Why should I get vaccinated? It is just a waste of time and money. I never got vaccinated before and never will.” That’s what one of my colleagues said when he was asked to get vaccinated during the outbreak of SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, few years ago in Mongolia. Then, I had reasoned him that disease comes all of a sudden and it is more serious than he thinks. As reported on CDC, Centers for Disease Control, 40 percent of all American parents were refusing one or more vaccines for their children (Willrich 3). So it is clearly one of the most significant public health issues today. There are lots of people who hold the belief against vaccination because of several reasons. Even though there is a public notion that vaccine

Recently, many diseases that had been eradicated because of childhood vaccinations have been making an appearance. Health officials are concerned that diseases will spread and lives will be lost. Officials all agree that vaccinations will benefit the population. Some parents feel it is an infringement on the right to keep the children healthy and safe. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children because it will prevent diseases from spreading, protect future generations, and save children and parents time and money.

​Over the past decade, the concern among parents regarding the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations has become a concern in the United States and other countries around the world. A survey of physicians showed that 89% of the physicians who were surveyed reported at least one refusal of childhood vaccinations by parents each month (Gowda & Dempsey, 2013). Other researchers have noted that as many as 77% of parents have concerned about one or more of the childhood vaccinations that are recommended for children (McKee & Bohannon, 2016). However, organizations such as the World Health Organization (2017) note that not only are childhood vaccinations safe, the reduction in children receiving childhood vaccinations has brought back diseases such as measles that had been completely wiped out in the United States. It is clear that there are opposing viewpoints about childhood vaccinations that need to be understood and examined to determine which side has a better argument.

Vaccination is widely considered one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization (Harvard Law School, 2007). Childhood deaths from infectious diseases were commonplace less than a generation ago; however they’re now increasingly rare due to vaccines. In order to be effective at eliminating communicable diseases, vaccines must be administrated to a sufficient level of people in the community. However, there has been plenty of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness and safety of immunization. It has been argued in the past whether laws should be introduced that render some vaccines obligatory for all children (Singer, 2009). These objections may lead to an unacceptably high number of exemptions, which can compromise vaccination programs and leave the population susceptible to outbreaks. Parents argue that it is they who should have the ultimate decision-making right on whether or not to vaccinate their children. Whereas nurses and health care officials oppose that view on the grounds that by making vaccination rates in children incomplete, we expose all children to contracting the vaccine-preventable diseases. The most recent Australian Childhood Immunization Register coverage report illustrates that 92.1% of children aged 12 to 15 months have been fully immunized in Australia (ACIR, 2014). A survey was conducted for the Mansfield community to analyze and identify the factors which prevents them from vaccinating their children.The

Conflicting reports about the safety of vaccinations is causing confusion and fear among parents. There has been tremendous hesitation in choosing whether or not to vaccinate children. The Federal Government has remedied this hesitation by creating a law. New legislation, effective at the start of the 2016 school year, requires parents to vaccinate their children in order to attend public or private schools. Parents that rely on school or day care systems to care for their child care while they work, are left without a choice. If these parents wanted to postponed or possibly not vaccinate, it is no longer of consequence, they are now obligated to take the leap. This law should be repealed until further research is done and more effective versions are created. Doctors need to understand why some children have adverse reactions and how to test for possible predispositions before vaccines become mandatory. Vaccinations should be an option for prevention, with parents in full awareness of the risks.

Due to the attention the anti-vaccination movement has received, many researchers have attempted to determine who is participating in the anti-vaccination movement. I am not the first to call for distinctions in children who were not fully-up-to-date (FUTD) on vaccines from those who are. Previous research on vaccination status has considered the children of “non vaccinators” as two distinct groups: undervaccinated and unvaccinated. Unlike selectively-vaccinated children, who intentionally were spared a particular vaccine, in much of this research undervaccinated children are identified as those who have inconsistent access to medical care (Reich 2014). Undervaccinated children are more likely to share particular demographic characteristics such as being below the poverty line, having a mother who is younger, unmarried, and has not attended college (Reich 2014; Smith 2004). This group is perceived to be unable, in most circumstances, to obtain the recommended vaccinations due to a wide variety of external factors. Undervaccinated children, in this sense, have been of particular interest to public health officials as they have attempted to implement programs to remove the cost of vaccines to increase availability (Smith et al. 2008). Undervaccination, like discussed earlier, has been reduced with the enactment of the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program by the United States government (Whitney et al. 2014).

Overwhelming amounts of data prove that the 2.6 percent of children not getting their vaccinations not only puts themselves in harm’s way, but also those who surrounds them. A study done by the Los Angeles Times recently showcased the destructive impact of not vaccinating children can be. Their findings being that though the percentage may only be 2 percent of California’s kindergartners do not receive vaccinations. Are clustered, disproportionately and increases the possibility of an outbreak of diseases we once thought eradicated. The clustering of children leads to increase of almost 10 percent of elementary schools statewide that are at risk.

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.

Parents are the most influential stakeholder as far as Childhood Immunisation is concerned, as both Government and Lobby Groups are dependent on their support and actions to make an impact on this topic and that is the reason why all NGO’s and Lobby Groups try to persuade public opinion in general and parents opinion specifically. However, we may see that the Parents opinion in this area of Childhood Vaccination/Immunisation are immensely divided. That’s why, we may find both most vaccinated areas as well as least vaccinated areas in our society.

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