Should Vaccines Be Mandatory for School-Age Children? - Argumentative Essay

Introduction

Vaccination was the first on the list of great achievements for the United States that was published in the 20th century by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vaccination has powerfully acted in the prevention of deadly smallpox and many other diseases worldwide. Historically, public health care has been a significant responsibility of the state, the local government, and the authority that legislates laws relevant to the health of the public. Thus with regards to the enactment of these laws, these authorities have powers to preserve health including isolation, quarantine measures, or mandatory requirements of vaccination. The state in due time enacted the regulations that require all school-going children to provide documents showing that they have been vaccinated. Mandatory vaccination programs for school-going children have played a significant role in the control and eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases. However, controversies have arisen over time regarding the essence of the action of making vaccination a mandatory event.

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Benefits Versus Risks

Vaccines are ranked as the most cost-effective and fruitful medical process that has ever been generated. A recent report done by the CDC suggests that the vaccination period of 1994-2013 of children in the United States prevented approximately 322 illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations, and 732,000 deaths of children (Rappuoli 122832). Vaccination has also significantly reduced the amount spent by the state on medical costs and trillions spent on societal expenditure. In addition to saving many lives from preventable diseases, they have been proven to protect against different types of cancers. Thus the state had a valid reason to make it mandatory that school-aged children be vaccinated. The response rates of children to vaccines are higher compared to that of adults; therefore, medical practitioners strongly suggest the administration be done to children. To enforce these events, the state governments like the Colombian state have made it a requirement that every child has to produce documents showing that they are immunized before they are accepted into the school. Despite the disadvantages and critics directed towards the laws on mandatory vaccination of school-going children, the process has shown more excellent benefits among them being a reduction of the death rate.

Parental Rights and Individual Choice

The Association of American Physicians (AAPS) is firmly against federal interference in medical practices, including mandatory vaccination of school-age children. This association claims that parents have the right to reject or accept the procedure done on their children (Lobo 261). Parents claim that the reason for the spread of diseases would not be because their children are not vaccinated if they make sure that they are medically checked often. The AAPS denote that Measles is a vexing problem that can never just be solved by vaccination. A parent has a right to refuse vaccination if they believe that they are taking better public health measures and seeking earlier treatment. Additionally, public health organizations at the community level also have to involve in public health measures by contact tracing, isolation, early provision of treatment services, and effective treatments. Parents of immuno-suppressed children ought to choose separation in any event because a vaccinated child could still possibly transmit measles even when they are not sick themselves. Therefore, mandatory immunization should not be made compulsory since it is a way of state interference on medical issues that should be managed by other institutions or parents themselves.

State Responsibility and Public Health

Texas state mandates childhood vaccination for children that are enrolled in schools because the government believes that every child should never be denied an opportunity to be educated in an environment safe from diseases. Lack of vaccination in schools causes a considerable health risk to the children and can deny them a right for education in case of an outbreak of preventable illness. A twisted concept of parental responsibility for their children should not risk the lives of many other children in school. Also, according to the state, it is their responsibility to protect the citizens from preventable chronic diseases such as cancer through making immunization a mandatory procedure (Cole 255). Additionally, it is essential to eradicate viruses that are preventable through vaccination process. Parents should exercise their responsibility by the protection of their children share an environment in school that is not entirely proved as safe. According to Sarah M Davis, it is mandatory that the state claims responsibility of keeping its citizens healthy since the burden of treatment is also directly faced by the country (Huber). Accordingly, the Texas state has proven that vaccines can only be administered after careful review by scientists; therefore, the immunization process is safe and effective. Consequently, it is necessary that states make vaccination mandatory for school going children so that every child gets an opportunity for education.

Vaccination is a program by the government to act as a one-size-fits-all procedure. However, according to parents in Mississippi state, the school-age children are given twice as many dosses than they were administered to minors in the past when vaccines were just introduced (Huber). The bureaucrats in the federal health department have no much information on the type of children or the lives that they lead when they order for mandatory vaccination (Lobo 261). The government exercises absolute power over the care of children that are not theirs and understand no health problem that they are exposed to. Thus it would be a meaningful way of restoring the fundamental rights of parents of taking care of their children. Parents understand the responsibility that their children need and at the same time, the risk that some vaccines pose to the children. No person should be forced by the government or by societal pressures to receive medication. This policy should also apply to children as they are under the care of their adult parents. The constitution provides for rights in making own choices, including medical decisions (Lobo 216). The vaccination process of the government should, therefore, be understood as a process that is not accommodated by everyone in society.

Regulations work to help push for more vaccinations; however, firm and fair policies don to work effectively for the public. Firm rules can then be replaced by other methods of persuasion, including the provision of strong information systems and educating the people on the importance of vaccination. Some vaccinations have been found to cause a severe spread in some diseases instead of treatment. For instance, many parents are still in denial of the whooping cough vaccine that caused, which caused a significant increase in the condition in the 1970s (Miller 267). Allegations pointed that the vaccination was the leading contributor of neurological disorders and inefficient in the prevention of the disease. According to Miller, there was not enough study done on the vaccine; thus, instead of prevention, the vaccine made the illness worse. However, Miller later did research and assured the public that the vaccine had been made safe (Miller 267). Lack of proper information is the primary cause of rejecting immunization. Most parents in the United States are sceptic about vaccinations, even in the contemporary world. By the government of states making the vaccination mandatory, the situation gets worse since the regulation is a way of pushing a rejected policy to a group of adamant people. Vaccination of children should not be made mandatory, but the state government should use more straightforward ways to push for the treatment such as educating the public on the necessity of this procedure in achieving good public health.

Protecting Future Generations

Vaccination should be made mandatory to protect the future generation by reducing death cases. For instance, currently, it is not necessary to give smallpox vaccination to children because earlier immunizations help eradicate the disease globally (Miller 261). Through vaccinating children against rubella, there are fewer chances that the disease is passed down to the unborn baby. States find this as reason enough to mandate immunization so that defects of birth caused by lack of vaccination is reduced. Some diseases in the current generation can be eradicated through vaccine at an earlier age. Basic school vaccine should be a legal obligation to school going children to save the nation from future diseases. The civil society cannot work with no shared responsibility, therefore to protect the other children that are exempted from vaccination by the law, it should be made as a legal requirement that all school-age children be vaccinated. The law provides an exception to children based on religious or medical grounds. Therefore, to reduce the risk of the spread, it is essential that every school-age child who is not legally exempted be vaccinated to help protect the others (Cole 255). Additionally, to achieve full protection against some diseases like measles, over 95 % of the specified population must be immunized (Miller 267). Protecting the future generation can, therefore, only be achieved through firm policies that mandate the immunization procedure.

Conclusion

In sum, mandatory vaccination of school-age children is done because of the primary responsibility that the state has for the protection of public health, yet many parents and adults are opposed to this program. The opposes claim that their rights of choice are violated by the law when they are not allowed to decide for their children. However, the government has proven vital reasons for imposing vaccination regulations on school going children. Vaccination is critical in the control and elimination of diseases such as measles and even cancer. Therefore, it is crucial that every child is vaccinated to protect the general health of the public while nurturing a diseases free generation. However, these requirements should not be mandatory, but instead, the government ought to implement more fair tactics of pushing for immunization of school-age children. It is essential that the state governments, provide education to the public and health providers and make available relevant information on specific vaccines to persuade the parents and the broader public to have their children vaccinated. For the government to succeed in the persuasion process without imposing the mandatory regulations, they should convince the public that immunization of school going children is safe and practical at the same time acts as a way of saving lives.

Work Cited

Miller, Elizabeth. "Controversies and challenges of vaccination: an interview with Elizabeth Miller." BMC medicine13.1 (2015): 267.

Cole, Jared P., and Kathleen S. Swendiman. "Mandatory Vaccinations: Precedent and current laws." Current Politics and Economics of the United States, Canada and Mexico 17.2 (2015): 255.

Lobo, James. "Vindicating the Vaccine: Injecting Strength into Mandatory School Vaccination Requirements to Safeguard the Public Health." BCL Rev. 57 (2016): 261.

Huber, Mary. "Vaccine Advocates Push for Policies to Strengthen Texas Immunization Rates." Austin American-Statesman, www.statesman.com/news/20190402/vaccine-advocates-push-for-policies-to-strengthen-texas-immunization-rates.

Rappuoli, Rino. "Vaccines: science, health, longevity, and wealth." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences111.34 (2014): 12282-12282.