Argumentative Essay On Mandatory Vaccines

Mandatory or Voluntary Vaccinations

G124/ENC1101 Section 09 English Composition - 2013 Summer Quarter

September 9,2012 Katrema Beasley

Mandatory or Voluntary Vaccinations
The first smallpox vaccine was discovered a few centuries ago and since that time there has been controversy of voluntary or mandatory vaccinations this is something every parent must face when having a child. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, parents making this decision must weigh the risks, the cost, and the long term effects for the child later in life.
Mandatory vaccines have saved many lives over the years. From smallpox to influenza, vaccinations have prevented thousands of people from getting sick and possibly dying. (Schuchat, 2011) Countries where vaccination programs are mandatory there are very few cases of preventable diseases. “To date, smallpox is the only vaccine-preventable disease ever to have been globally eradicated,” (Furgang, 2011.) The fight against infectious diseases starts at an early age. Children begin their series of immunizations at the age of 2 months and receive them until they enter into high school. Hospitals are not flooded with
people seeking medical attention for preventable diseases. Mandatory vaccinations save insurance companies millions of dollars each year not to mention the cost a family would have to pay out if a child became sick. The working class is more productive since they are not spending time in the hospital receiving medical care for themselves or their children. “Technological advancements, including landmark innovations with molecular virology show the changes in society and that Model-based analyses of vaccination programs have often concluded that it would be difficult or impossible to eradicate a vaccine-preventable disease under a voluntary vaccination policy without other incentives.” (Oyewale, 2011)This could prove costly as the government battles parents in the courtroom who refuse to immunize their children. Not all people have good reactions to immunizations. Some are severely allergic and have life threatening reactions’ when given vaccinations. Mandatory vaccinations are given even after they have been informed of an allergic reaction. Recent parental concerns about perceived vaccine safety issues, such as the link between vaccines and autism have led to an increase of parents refusing to vaccinate their children. “The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system (VAERS) database, 1990-2010, was investigated; cases that specified either hospitalization or death were identified among 38,801 reports of infants.” (Goldman & Miller, 2012). The VAERS findings show a positive correlation between the number of vaccine doses and the percentage of hospitalizations and deaths.
A child that was immunized in early childhood has a chance to live a longer, healthier life and have less health complications growing up. Looking at countries where vaccinations are voluntary or have little importance you see preventive diseases starting to remerge, you do not see this happening in countries that require vaccinations. Polio has started to remerge again in the United States because parents are refusing to vaccinate their children for fear that the child will become sick. What parents do not realize is that when a child is not vaccinated against one of the diseases that when the child is exposed and exposes other children to the disease it could be life threatening. Other children are at risk because unimmunized children go to school or day care when they are contagious but asymptomatic, exposing many more children to potentially dangerous infections.”(Lantos, Jackson, & Harrison, 2012). Personal beliefs have cost the child along with the parents a great amount of pain. Countless trips to the ER could have been avoided if the child was given the proper vaccinations mandated by health department. If given the choice people will ignore science and make a decision based of personal belief.
Voluntary vaccinations allow the parents to raise their children as they see fit. If the child is allergic to certain vaccinations allowing an exemption for medical reasons could save the child’s life. The health department does not have the resources to keep track of every child’s medical records. Therefore it is up to the parents to inform and decline vaccinations that are known to give the child a severe allergic reaction. The act of doing this is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights under the First Amendment.
Mandatory vaccinations has saved countless lives and improved the quality of life.
It has helped eradicate smallpox around the word. Mandatory vaccinations impose on personal and religious beliefs. This is what the First Amendment protects. Voluntary vaccinations safe guards children with known allergic reactions. Voluntary vaccinations are allowing certain diseases to resurface and spread to locations once thought to have no known cases. You have many pros and cons for mandatory and voluntary vaccinations. When weighing in on whether to vaccinate or not. You have to consider the risk to a child whether it would be better off to have the vaccinations or to take the chance of the child becoming deathly ill, The cost could be totally devastating to a family not to mention the long term effects on a child and the
family.

References

Goldman, G., & Miller, N. (2012). Relative trends in hospitalizations and mortality among infants by the number of vaccine doses and age, based on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 1990-2010.

Perisic, A., & Bauch, C. T. (2009, 2010, February). Social contact networks and disease eradicability under voluntary vaccination.
Schuchat, A. (2011). Human Vaccines and Their Importance to Public Health. .
Furgang, A. (2011). Smallpox (1st ed.). [Discovery eBooks].
Lantos, J., Jackson, M., & Harrison, C. (2012). Why we should eliminate personal belief exemptions to vaccine mandates.
Oyewale, T. (2011). From smallpox eradication to the future of global health: Innovations, application and lessons for future eradication and control initiatives.