Should Vaccines For Children Be Required By Law Essay

Immunizations can save a child’s life; due to the medical advances that have taken place, kids are now protected from many illness/ diseases. At one point in time, Polio was a horrible illness that is now preventable by simply receiving a shot (USDHHS, n.d.). Immunizations protect not only the individual receiving the vaccination, but others as well. Certain individuals are not suitable for specific vaccinations, therefore, if everyone else has the vaccination, the people who cannot are more likely to be safe from the illness (USDHHS, n.d). Generally, immunizations are safe, effective, cheaper in the long run, and can save families time.

It is important for all people to be vaccinated to protect themselves from contracting communicable diseases, from spreading these diseases, and from the high cost of treating these preventable diseases. It would make sense to do so. No one wants to contract diseases, or be laid up if they can prevent it. Getting vaccinated will prevent anyone from spreading contracted diseases to others. It can also be very costly when trying to treating a communicable disease that could have been prevented with a vaccine.

One of the many benefits of vaccinating children is it saves them from life-threatening diseases. The many diseases which children are immunized from include, Measles, Mumps, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough), Polio, Hepatitis A and B and much more. Long before the time of vaccines, there was a shocking rate of deaths that occurred worldwide.

Today, young children receive vaccines to protect them against 14 different diseases. Because some vaccines require more than one dose, children can receive as many as 26 inoculations by 2 years of age and up to five shots at one time. For this reason, some parents now ask their doctors to space out, separate or withhold vaccines. If the parent(s) decided to not vaccinate their child, the child may not have the necessary antibodies to fight off infection. That is why to protect the child, the vaccine needs to be not enforced on the child, but strongly suggested by the doctor.

The article “Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child” reasons that “Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction– primarily due to safe and effective vaccines”. Because of vaccines the world today as we know it is slowly becoming safer as more and more diseases are being eradicated. The U.S. has helped in their own way to get rid of diseases. The article “Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?” states that “In 1855 Massachusetts passed the first U.S. state law mandating vaccinations for schoolchildren [5], followed by New York (1862), Connecticut (1872), Indiana (1881), and Arkansas (1882).” So as the years went on the U.S. has continually integrated vaccinations for the youth, in this case, it is needed in order to attend

As disease outbreaks began in 1850, such as smallpox, public schools made it mandatory that a child enrolling had to have all the required vaccines. Since the requirements were enforced, many parents did not believe that it should be the

Do the benefits of getting vaccinated outweigh the risks. Although both sides of the argument have persuasive points; in the end, vaccinations should be mandatory for children. Requiring vaccinations would be beneficial because vaccines prevent disease and also keep communities safe. First we should look at what the experts have to say about vaccines, “ The Centers of Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of physicians recommended that children be vaccinated against fifteen different common childhood illness / disease”

Required Immunity Mandatory vaccinations for children in public schools have been the center of much debate since laws were first developed to regulate immunization. Fears from parents about side effects and adverse reactions have steered many away from wanting to vaccinate their children despite the numerous infectious diseases they prevent. These debates have gotten in the way of progression in schools for preventing the spread of disease. To me, the risks of not vaccinating children are far greater than the risks of adverse reactions.

Many people may think that vaccination is a bad thing, that instead of preventing it causes illness, that is not natural. Natural or not, there are many reasons as to why we should vaccinate us and the younger generation. Most of the time children don’t like vaccination because it hurt, but is the responsibility of a parent to seek the wellbeing of his or her child. Vaccination it’s a preventive measure of various diseases. Unfortunately, things like the anti-vaccination movement, the misinformation on the Internet, and the believe that vaccination causes more damage than is worth, have led our society to think that it’s right not to vaccinate.

There is likely a small chance for a child to get a disease if they’ve already had the vaccine for it. If not, the child has a higher risk of catching a disease that may be spreading around school, neighborhoods and even other public places. By getting a vaccination, it helps you to be immune to the disease if it ends up spreading like a wildfire anywhere and can even help you live a better life. You are taking a risk if you have your child to get vaccinated but it is a lot safer than putting your child in more danger by not taking him/her to get their vaccination

Is mandatory vaccination really necessary? Experts around the world collectively say 'Yes '. Mandatory vaccinations have proven, several times throughout history, to be incredibly helpful and at times crucial to the well-being of the human race. Mandating certain vaccines has saved entire nations from disaster and defeat. The lack of vaccinations and medical treatment for some viruses has wiped out populations as a whole.

Vaccinations When it comes to vaccinations, there are many different opinions on immunizing a child, especially when that child’s parent has a strong like or dislike towards vaccinating. Immunizations have existed for at least a thousand years and as technology advances more, there are new vaccines being designed to help protect our children from contracting contagious and sometimes deadly diseases, such as Bordetella pertussis, polio, and even influenza. For decades, all 50 states have required that parents vaccinate their children against various diseases, including polio and measles, as a prerequisite to enrolling them in public schools (Ciolli, 2008). Enrollment in public school requires up to date vaccinations in order to protect the children and even the adults from contracting and spreading a disease, possibly causing an epidemic.

I do believe that Vaccinations should be required because of my personal experiences with vaccinations. While I was a young child many of the vaccinations really helped me strengthen my immune system. I believe that it depends on the type of vaccination if it should be required or not. There is fear and controversy in this because the faith the people put into the government and the medical field. I will go into more details on why or why not we should be required to have vaccinations.

Vaccinations can help prevent future diseases or viruses in the upcoming life of a child. According to an article from vaccines.gov, “Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction- primarily due to stay safe and effective vaccinations.” Throughout the years more viruses have been prevented due to vaccinations in children. There has also been an increase in the amount of children that get vaccinations at a young age.

Vaccinations may create substantial evidence as to why vaccinations should not be given, but vaccinating children still trumps all. When a child is vaccinated, it provides a better environment for everyone in the future, those around us, and the risk that is present now. By getting vaccinations, all the ‘what-ifs’ surrounding life-threatening diseases are diminished. According to statistics, vaccinations are said to “avert 2 and 3 million deaths each year” (Immunization). If a terrible disease has the opportunity to be stopped, why not stop it?