Boyd Wilson Mrs. Dodson English II-Pre AP April 8th, 2024. Vaccinations are a fundamental part of our medical system and have saved millions of lives. With the recent Covid-19 pandemic, debates occurred regarding the necessity of vaccinations due to individuals questioning the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Individuals are using this reasoning as a way to justify not getting vaccinated, and in doing so they are putting themselves and others at risk. To combat a future health crisis caused by people declining vaccination, vaccines should be made mandatory because they reduce the risk of illness, save lives and are safe to use. Vaccines should be mandatory because they play a major role in keeping society healthy by reducing the risk …show more content…
If a vaccinated individual is infected with a deadly disease, the individual already has been exposed to a template of the virus from the vaccine. This allows the immune system to use the template to fight the virus, producing antibodies, which can be the difference between life or death. Immunity from vaccinations saves lives by preventing deadly diseases from being as strong and mandatory vaccines would save even more lives because the vaccinated individuals would have enhanced immunity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that getting vaccinated can lead to herd immunity, which decreases the ability of the virus to travel from person to person and as a result the entire community is less likely to get sick (“Vaccines Protect Your Community”). Herd immunity especially helps to protect at-risk people such as the elderly and immunocompromised because they have a weakened immune system and they can more easily get infected with diseases. While the disease will potentially be less potent because of their vaccines, the disease can still cause serious harm or death. Mandatory vaccines could help protect these people because the community as a whole would …show more content…
Vaccines are the safest of all medicines because they are tested and studied in a larger population than most drugs (“Vaccinations Are Safe: Explaining Why”). Vaccines have been proven to be safe after extensive testing. If vaccines were made mandatory, there would be significantly less health risks in the community getting vaccinated. The extensive testing that vaccinations undergo can disprove anti-vaccine statements because people say that vaccines are not tested enough. However, more safety tests are done on vaccines than on the medicines taken every morning. After vaccines are released to the public, federal agencies like the FDA, CDC, and other departments that regulate citizen safety continue to monitor the vaccine to make sure there are little to no adverse side effects (“Vaccine Safety”). The constant monitoring done by the federal government ensures that the vaccines continue to be safe and effective. Worries about safety concerns with mandatory vaccines will be put to rest because the government ensures the vaccines people receive are safe and constantly monitors them to ensure their safety. Vaccines are among the safest medicines and
Eradication is the concept that a disease is entirely eliminated in a region. (Carter n.d.) Only one infectious disease to date, smallpox, has been categorized as eradicated worldwide (CDC 2010). How did this eradication occur? From 1958 to 1965 all fifty states enacted legislation to mandate school age children receive the small pox vaccine (College of Philadelphia). Consequently, by 1971, no small pox cases had been reported in the United States for 20 years. The last known smallpox case in the world was in Somalia in 1977 (CDC 2010). Even though small pox is the only listed eradicated disease, the Carter Foundation has listed six other diseases as having the potential to be eradicated: lymphatic filariasis (Elephantiasis), polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and pork tapeworm. In addition to these previous listed diseases are to date the following diseases which are considered preventable by vaccination: chicken pox, diphtheria, Haemohphilus Influenza type B, Hepatitis A and B, HPV, Influenza, Measles, Meningococcal Disease, Mumps, Pertusis, Pneumonia, Polio, Rotavirus, Rubella, Shingles, Smallpox, Tetanus, Yellow Fever, and STDs (Carter n.d.).
The article “People Should Not Be Allowed to Refuse Vaccination” focuses on the dangers people who choose not to vaccinate are opening to others. The argument stems from the ease with which disease can spread through an unvaccinated community and the threat this poses to those who cannot vaccinate. Because of this danger the author of the article believes vaccination should not be left to choice, but required for the good of public safety.
“Vaccinations are causing a major upsurge in childhood diseases, adult maladies, and even deadly ailments such as Gulf War Syndrome and Lou Gehrig’s disease” (Blaylock). Every now and then an individual’s doctor calls telling them about the latest vaccine they should receive. The person immediately schedules a time to come in and get it done. But do they even give a second thought about it? Have they ever thought that maybe they do not need another vaccination? Many people have not taken the time to seriously think about the process of immunization. The truth is, there are many dangers that the average person should be unaware of. Rarely do vaccines actually accomplish what the public has been told. In fact, a lot of vaccines contain harmful substances that have been linked to disorders such as autism. The lack of education and dishonesty from doctors are putting people in danger of health problems without even realizing. Many parents feel obligated for their children to get vaccinated because of school, not knowing they have the alternative option of refusing immunization.
Through the years, controversy has surrounded vaccinations such as, whether or not they have harmful side-affects, are a government scheme, or simply unnecessary. Parents today have a choice whether or not to vaccinate their children, but should vaccinations be choice? By mandating vaccinations, fewer people are likely to contract diseases. Although vaccines have been subject to scrutiny, vaccines have worked for many years, are not harmful, and use safe ingredients.
Vaccinations have been very helpful for all ages of people over many centuries. Vaccinations help protect us from infectious diseases. Most people believe in medicine because it improves people’s health. The first vaccination was performed by Edward Jenner in 1796 stated in the article, “The History of Vaccines And Immunization: Familiar Patterns, New Challenges.” (Stern and Markel n. pag.) Vaccinations have improved tremendously since that time frame. Many people do not believe in vaccinations due to personal opinions like religion or the small effects. Vaccinating should be mandatory for all humans around the world due to the effects, or even death of a infectious diseases. Diseases can be very dangerous for humans to come in contact with. Vaccinations can help prevent people from getting infectious diseases, or even spreading the disease to someone else. Many people do not care about others, when not getting immunizations. People need to have a bigger perspective, when it comes down to yours and others health. Immunizations should be mandatory, no matter what people voice about them. Vaccinations may have downfalls to it like the actual feeling of the shot or side
One of the major criticisms of mandatory vaccinations is the shift of balance in autonomy and choice versus the protection of the public (Anomaly, "Public Health and Public Goods"). I can see how from a Kantian perspective that mandatory vaccinations could be using people as mere means for the greater good of the public health, but when one’s individual rights and choices endanger my personal safety there needs to be some regulation. The idea of herd immunity may follow from a utilitarian framework that vaccinations bring about the greatest possibly good and minimize harm and ultimately maximize the happiness of the public, but it is a practice that promotes the health of our future generation. Individuals against mandatory vaccinations argue against the need for vaccinations due to the potential harmful side effects they may result in. The fear driving what vaccinations contain is based off misinterpreting data. The CDC provides great amounts of knowledge of the potential and tolerable side effects of vaccinations. Another major argument against mandatory vaccinations is the cost. Like mentioned above the vaccines that are currently required to go to school are measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Polio, Whopping Cough, Diphtheria, Varicella, Hepatitis B and Hib, which can be a costly doctor visit. The likelihood that these vaccines will no longer be mandatory for school-aged children is
Holding children’s hands while crossing the road, buckling them up in the car, and teaching them to stay away from strangers, are all important when it comes to child safety. But what about vaccinations? It is necessary that each child be properly vaccinated for many reasons, but most importantly for their health and well-being. With the help of vaccinations, many diseases have been eradicated and many lives have been saved. If parents do not properly vaccinate their children, health issues and other complications will arise for everyone, leading to a higher disease and death rate worldwide.
“Vaccines are the most effective tool we have to prevent infectious diseases… Most childhood vaccines produce immunity about 90-100% of the time” (Vaccines). If it weren’t for vaccines we would be having bad epidemics like we did in the earlier 1900’s. Vaccinations have been proven useful and highly popular among societies. Immunity is much higher when majority of the community is vaccinated. We started to have vaccines around 1885 with the rabies vaccine. Throughout the 1930’s antitoxins and vaccines were made for diphtheria, tetanus, anthrax, cholera, plague, typhoid and tuberculosis (Vaccines). The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million
Vaccines are one of the many great advancements that modern medicine has made over the years. The ongoing debate on whether or not to vaccinate children has been argued for countless decades. The majority of parents base their decision to immunize their child or not merely on their opinion of what is best for their child. What some parents might not realize is that vaccinations are ultimately the best way to defend and protect the precious lives of their children. Prior to the period of vaccinations, parents would have never imagined we would be able to successfully protect future generations from deadly diseases. According to an article titled, “History of Immunizations”, written by the American Academy of Pediatrics, in the 1920’s, diphtheria
Vaccines are said to be one of the greatest public health achievements in history. They date back to 1796, when Edward Jenner used cowpox material to create immunity to the smallpox disease. (Historyofvaccines.org 2014) Now over two-hundred years later they’ve helped dramatically reduce the instance of viral diseases in children. For example, old childhood diseases such as Polio, Smallpox, and Diptheria have either been completely eradicated or are rarely seen in the United States thanks to vaccines. However, in recent years we’ve seen a sharp increase in parents who opt out of having their children receive these life-saving immunizations. This is mostly due to accusations over different side effects and a link between vaccines and autism, which is causing this new trend known to most as “the Anti-Vaccine Movement.”(Ashbrook, 2014) A major side effect of this movement is the comeback of old world diseases. We are seeing a rise specifically in measles and pertussis mostly within states that have the lowest vaccination rates. (Raja, Mooney 2014) Even though we have proof of their effectiveness based on scientific research and statistics, there are still parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated, ultimately putting their health at risk and the health of others who are not well enough or old enough to be vaccinated. It is extremely important that we try to reach out to these people and educate them on why their children should be vaccinated, not only for their health but for overall health within our communities.
Vaccinations are designed to help people go through their everyday life. A country doctor, Edward Jenner, who lived in Berkeley, England, first administered vaccines in 1796 (Health Affairs). Throughout history, vaccinations have become better to where they are safer for the human body. Everyone should get vaccinated against certain disease to stay healthy. Vaccines have been proven to make people immune to serious diseases (Childhood Immunization). By being vaccinated the person is not only helping themselves but others around them too. Vaccines are an important tool for preventing disease and should be mandatory for all people.
There is the well-known saying, “Better safe than sorry.” People are affected daily by diseases and illnesses that could be prevented by a simple vaccine. Specific vaccines should be required for every citizen by a certain age. The benefits of regulating vaccinations range from protecting future generations, economic savings, the safety of vaccines and the eradication of serious and deadly diseases.
Vaccines are a big controversy in the modern world. Many people are for vaccines, many people are against vaccines. Some people don’t even care about vaccines. Vaccines are definitely something to be concerned about. A vaccine can have serious side effects, some of which include death or disability. This is why I stand firmly resolved, vaccines should NOT be required for
Each year, about 2.1 million people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Many children may not receive their necessary first year vaccinations because of lack of availability, religious beliefs, and safety concerns (Healy, Rench, and Baker 540). The dictionary definition of a vaccine is a biological preparation that improves the immunity to a certain disease (Healy, Rench, and Baker 540). Although all 50 States in the United States require children to be vaccinated to certain diseases before entering school, the states also have exemptions for these vaccinations (Lu 870). Parents often choose not to get their children immunized, and it has proven harmful to the health of the global population. It is important for parents to have their children vaccinated against diseases such as measles, mumps, and polio because it is important to promote the welfare of the human race (Parkins 439).
Protecting Our Communities: Why Vaccines Should be Mandatory For Parents, hearing their children cry is like a stab to their heart. The restless nights are full of anguish for the parents, and pain for a child with measles. This disease, and many like it, can be completely eradicated simply by allowing children to get vaccinated. Throughout history, plagues and diseases have jeopardized civilizations and cultures. Modern medicine now provides protection against these diseases; it is a shame some parents still refuse this life saving aid.