Medical officials have a right to worry as the recommended percentage of vaccinated people to maintain herd immunity is around 95%, however, in counties with such poor vaccination percentages such as Clark County, make herd immunity ineffective, resulting in diseases such as measles having the opportunity to infect those who cannot get vaccinated due to medical reasons. As all but 3 states allow being able to not be vaccinated for non-medical reasons, dodging immunization is quite easy, allowing the anti vaccination movement to spread easily. Concerns over the anti vaccination movement have risen, especially with how damaging it can be to those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
Questions:
1. Do you feel that the government should step in and force people to be vaccinated?
2. Is allowing people to avoid vaccinations due to religious reasons fair?
3. Should the parents who choose to avoid vaccinations due to non-reasonable reasons (ex: not medical/religious) be prosecuted?
source (usatoday)
Karen wins again, now her children can romp free of all those pesky life saving vaccines all throughout whole foods for their entire, noticeably shorter lifespan. Yes, the government should take the initiative in forcing vaccinations, not by direct force, but instead by financial coercion, something like making parents who don't vaccinate their children ineligible for any health insurance or by having CPS intervene by changing laws to include not vaccinating children as a clear sign of child neglect. No, people shouldn't be allowed to avoid vaccinations for religious reasons. It provides a loophole to anyone wanting to avoid a vaccine, and unless a person is part of an absurdly strict splinter faction (like hyper orthodox Jews), there are no theological traditions of vaccine avoidance. People who avoid vaccinations should be prosecuted once the law is changed, probably most effectively by having CPS intervene and take the child, because someone so unconcerned and ignorant about the health of their child is obviously unable to be a parent.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's the government's place to step in and force vaccinations, but access should be available for those children made aware of their parent's folly and who want to get vaccinated. I do also think in state of emergency, there is a clear and pressing reason to mandate vaccination as an operating procedure. There are certain mandatory vaccinations in place that one must get before going to college, and I would not be at all opposed to seeing a similar mandate take place in public schooling. Besides christian science and the aforementioned orthodox jewish ideology, I don't know of many sects that have just cause to avoid vaccination. I think access to education and workplace eligibility should be contingent on how safe it is to have a person around. This doesn't have to be done solely by the government, private schools and companies can mandate this as well. Parents barring their kids from getting vaccines should be subject to some sort of punishment-- that is simply neglect for the child's safety
ReplyDeleteI think that parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids -especially for non-religious reasons- should absolutely be punished. By not vaccinating their kids, they put their children and many others in danger. I think that in the case of Clark County, the government should step in to force these vaccinations as there is clear evidence of the dangers of leaving kids unvaccinated. In terms of religious reasons, I think that that is a more delicate issue. While religious values should be respected, when those values endanger others, then I think that they should try to be limited.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the government should require kids to get vaccinations because I understand that people don't believe in them. However, in a location where illnesses can easily be spread, I think that it should be a requirement. So, I think that schools should make it a that students must get vaccinated because being in this high traffic environment, it is super easy for kids to get sick and those who are not vaccinated make it an unsafe environment. I don't think that it needs to be a requirement for there to need to be a law, but I think that at a lower level having vaccinations as a requirement will help lower these illness rates because those who are not vaccinated put those around them at risk.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the government should force people to get vaccinated. I know that there are certain shots that kids are supposed to get before they go to school and these vaccinations should be apart of them if not already. Vaccinations are incredibly important because humans get sick so easily. Unless there is a medical reason for not taking the vaccination, it should be taken. I know that some think that vaccinations cause autism, but personally, I don't see enough reliable evidence for that.
ReplyDeleteIn the Supreme Court case Reynolds v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that while people were allowed to believe whatever they want, they were not allowed to practice whatever they want if that practice goes against they law. On the other hand, in Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that it was the right of the parents to exercise their freedom of religious expression under the First Amendment to remove their children from school. The whole argument is that there was no compelling government interest to make those kids stay in school, so do vaccinations fall under compelling government interest? I believe they do because it is for the health of the entire population. Preventing diseases from spreading or getting worse is a very compelling government interest.
Parents shouldn't be prosecuted if they decided not to vaccinate their kids because it hasn't been illegal. Unfortunately, their kids have to deal with their parents decision, but they didn't know. They were trying to do what they thought was best and it just didn't quite work out.
I think that mandatory vaccinations for some illnesses and infections should be mandatory unless there is a health concern or some sort of religious or cultural reason for them not to. I don't necessarily think that these vaccinations should be mandated for all citizens but I do think that for certain employment and access to public schooling there should be mandatory vaccinations. I don't think that there need to be mandatory flu shots or for illnesses that don't necessarily pose a major threat, but there should be for illnesses that could potentially pose a great threat if spread. I think that parents shouldn't be punished for refusing to vaccinate when it comes to more basic and optional vaccinations. However, as long as it's deemed safe for the child and doesn't violate any of the patient's morals, I don't see a reason why they shouldn't get a vaccine. Vaccines help our society be more healthy and keep other people safer. It's a bit selfish if you refuse to vaccinate your child for no reason.
ReplyDeleteI think that vaccinations should be mandatory for certain highly contagious and potentially fatal illnesses. While I understand and respect that some people may not want to vaccinate for religious purposes, I think that to live in this society and reap the benefits of our system you must also respect the safety and health of others around you. People considered dangerous in our society (such as criminals or the mentally ill) are put in prison or given help so that they do not disrupt and harm those around them. I see people without the proper vaccinations as a similar threat to our national safety and health. I believe for these especially pressing diseases vaccinations should be made mandatory, and failure to do so would result in heavy fines.
ReplyDeleteI think it is always best to be vaccinated since it is not only going to impact yourself, but also the people around you. Many illnesses are getting more stronger and causing lots of deaths that can easily be avoided with the current medical advancements. I think it should be required for children to get vaccinated not only to protect themselves, but also their peers at school and in public places where illnesses can be easily spread just by contact.
ReplyDeleteI think that the government should require vaccinations for contagious and dangerous illnesses. I believe this should also apply to people whose religious reasons reject vaccinations. I think the health and safety of the society should be prioritized over individuals personal beliefs. On the other hand, it is understandable for people with health issues resulting from vaccinations to not be expected to get them. Finally, parents who choose to no vaccinate their kids without a valid reason should be prosecuted because they are putting the health of their kids and other people at risk.
ReplyDeleteI think that parents should have a choice to whether or not their child should receive a vaccination, yet when the lives of others are put at risk - especially those who cannot get vaccinated due to medical purposes. In schools, viruses spread quickly so the best way to prevent an outbreak is for the students to receive vaccinations. The increase of students who are not receiving vaccinations is concerning because the less students who are vaccinated, the more lives are put at risk. The government should step in to prevent a larger outbreak.
ReplyDeleteMost of the comments above have argued that the government should require people to get vaccinated. I believe in an ideal world, everyone should be vaccinated to prevent diseases from spreading at all. However, I recently watched a video by Jubilee on their series of Middle Ground that invited three vaccine supporters and three anti-vaccinators. I have always believed that people should get vaccinated until I watched the video and learned more about the opposite side. One women's daughter now has severe seizures that disrupt her everyday life because she can no longer participate in the activities her friends do in fear of another seizure. Only 1 in thousands of people who are vaccinated have a serious reaction like this, but it is still possible. Thus, I think it should be up to the parents to decide whether it is worth the risk for them. That being said, I think vaccines should be mandated to life threatening diseases because it will reduce the spread of the disease and no side-effect could be as horrible as the death of hundreds of people. Another point I would like to add is the idea that many uniformed parents don't vaccinate their children because they believe it could cause autism, and I find that to be simply ridiculous considering the fact that there is no scientific research to back that claim whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe that parents should require their children to be vaccinated. Although some have their beliefs and their religion doesn't believe in them, however there are many reasons and evidence why vaccinations are very important to not only the health of their own children, but also the other children too. Because these diseases such as the Measles can be spread to other children, I believe it is necessary and mandatory for all children to be vaccinated no matter what. If this were diseases that didn't spread super easily, I believe that it would be a lot more acceptable for the parent to decide and put their own child at risk, but these parents should not put other children who aren't theirs in risk. I think that people's religious values should be respected, but it is the government's responsibly to step in when many other children are affected also.
ReplyDeleteLike many of the comments stated above, I believe that vaccinations should be mandated for certain and more deadly diseases like Measles. Certain outbreaks require a certain amount of care and treatment, and I believe that the only way to treat outbreaks of deadly diseases is to mandate certain vaccinations. However, at the same time, the government may not have the rights or regulations to mandate vaccinations. Sure, they can suggest the vaccinations in order to protect herd immunity percentages from lowering, but they cannot mandate it because parents and people have the choice of whether or not they or their kids should receive a vaccine. Most of the time, vaccinations are not an issue, but when a disease outbreak occurs, many people freak out making them turn to vaccinations. However, the lack of vaccinations may not be the issue but rather the lack of awareness to certain diseases. Therefore, I think that if the government is not allowed to mandate vaccinations they should at least heighten the media attention on any outbreak in order to alert the public to make a change which could possibly lead to someone getting a vaccination. Nevertheless, ethically, I believe that allowing people to avoid vaccinations based on religion is fair. These people believe in their religion and their faith should be respected and protected. However, at the same time, I believe that if the government was to heighten media attention, these religious followers would eventually be scared and end up getting vaccinations. Finally, I do not believe that parents who refuse to get vaccinations should be prosecuted because it is their body and therefore they have the choice of how they want to protect it. However, for the well-being of the people, I believe that all adults should get letters in the mail or receive newspapers which state the detrimental effects of the diseases which are outbreaking. Thus, this could eventually lead to change and all people stay out of prison.
ReplyDeleteI believe that although it is very important that people get vaccinated, people should have the choice over whether or not they want to get vaccinated. Vaccines are important to prevent diseases from further spreading because it also protects those around them because if a person doesn´t have the disease, they cannot spread it. However, people have their own set of beliefs regarding whether or not they want to get them and their children vaccinated, so I think it is best to strongly encourage vaccinations and maybe educating people about why vaccinations are important so that they think more about the consequences of not getting vaccinations.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe that vaccinations are too important to ignore, there are several factors which would complicate a potential mandate for vaccinations. First of all, medical history is important to evaluate when receiving a vaccination. Sometimes people have bad reactions, and that can be fatal. However, for fatal diseases, vaccinations should be mandatory. I think that this is the middle ground between pro and anti vaxxers.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to many of the other comments above, I believe that vaccines should be a requirement for highly contagious and fatal diseases. I think that the government should require these vaccines, unless families are able to provide cultural, religious or medical reasons otherwise. While some people may not believe in vaccines, in areas of low vaccination rates such as Clark county, vaccines become increasingly important. Maintaining herd immunity in such areas not only protects citizens living in those areas by providing and requiring vaccines, but they also protect those that are unable to get these vaccines to medical reasons.
ReplyDeleteAny argument stating that vaccinations create more harm than good is absolutely false and based in evidence that is not scientific. Outbreaks such as these show the obvious harm to having an unvaccinated population and healthy people not vaccinating harms those who cannot vaccinate because of health reasons. However, I think that this does create a tricky situation because it does not seem very ethical to try to force people to get vaccinations. I think that increased incentives and things such as not allowing children to enroll in school without vaccinations would help curb this and having a zero tolerance for not vaccinating kids who don't have serious medical reasons not to.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the government should step in and force people to be vaccinated lest there are religious or cultural reasons that prevent one from doing so. Vaccinations are indubiously important, especially since the US largely participates in a herd immunity lifestyle. However, because of freedom of religion, the United States should force people who have religious reasons to get vaccinations. This suggests that parents who choose to avoid vaccinations due to non-reasonable reasons should not be allowed to avoid vaccinations as it can be detrimental to the health of the community as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am a firm believer for the people to decide exactly what they want with their kids, it is just plain irresponsible to avoid vaccinations. I don't believe the government should step in, but the parents need to learn that it is exposing their children to unhealthy diseases. The government should make every new parent be introduced to a class about vaccinations and the need to be safe about their children. It should still be optional as the government needs to protect the freedoms of the people, while keeping people safe. Although anti-vaxxers are a danger to society, it should still be a choice and those with unreasonable reasons to do so need to have some consequences (but not forced). Such as fines or community service for those who don't vaccinate their children.
ReplyDeleteI do believe those without a religious or legitimate reason to not vaccinate should be prosecuted. As the majority of people have stated above, it is a safety risk and completely unfair to those around you to put others at risk without their consent. Refusing to vaccinate simply because you don't want to or are afraid your child will acquire some rare condition from vaccinations is unfair and unreasonable. In reverse, if one is prosecuted and forced to vaccinate, and then acquires some insane reaction that negatively affects and changes their life (as stated in Anna's comment), I do believe they should be able to sue the government and be compensated for the negative impacts they experience.
ReplyDeleteI think that if this movement is going to start spreading across the nation, then yes, the government does need to step in. It's alright to not be sure on whether or not the vaccinations will protect us from diseases, but when one who can take it doesn't, it hurts the ones without the opportunity. The people who work in the clinical places to create these vaccinations work hard so that we don't have to worry. By not taking it, their work is pointless for us. The government needs to step in so that there are no deaths from the choices people are making with vaccinations.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that vaccinations should be enforced by the government. The biggest reason is just the huge risks involved in not vaccinating your kids, which can affect their health and the health of other children as well. We are very close to ending many of these preventable diseases, but the spread of misinformation is causing this progress to be halted. I think that encouraging vaccinations is the best way to get all children vaccinated (instead of punishing kids by not allowing them to go to school because of their parent's decisions), and adding proper incentives should be a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteVaccinations should be enforced by the government. The polio outbreak in the 1950s resulted in not only deaths, but also those who are forced to live inside "iron lungs". These devices help people breathe. Vaccinations could prevent people from having children infected and to also prevent outbreaks that could harm other people. A government enforced vaccination system will make sure children are vaccinated from the disease.
ReplyDeleteOne on hand, I believe that vaccinations should absolutely be mandated by the government. It is the only way to ensure the safety of our population. However, on the other hand, I agree with some of the above comments that for some people, getting vaccinated is simply not realistic, and it is not fair to punish those who fall into that category. For example, someone who gets seizures when given a shot should not be penalized for not receiving vaccinations. Another point to consider is for the most part, only those who aren't vaccinated are getting measles. The vaccinated children are safe. So if someone is afraid for the health of their children, they just need to be sure to get them vaccinated. Vaccinations aren't perfect, however, and it is reasonable to be upset that unvaccinated children are spreading the disease and putting vaccinated children at risk.
ReplyDeleteEmma Madgic ^
DeleteWhile I do believe that it is important for everyone to get vaccinated to help contain the spread of deadly and highly contagious diseases, I do not think that the government should force people to be vaccinated. Even though it is irresponsible for parents to not vaccinate their children, I think it is unfair for the government to force people into vaccinations as it should ultimately be up to their own personal choices for themselves and their kids. I think that there are other measures that can be taken to increase the amount of vaccinations without direct government regulation such as becoming stricter on regulations that require all employees to have certain vaccines before being able to work at a certain workplace. Also, it would be difficult for the government to be able to monitor everyone in the country to make sure they got vaccinated, and it would put those with religious beliefs against vaccinations in a difficult position.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your second question, everyone has their own right to do what they want. If they want the vaccination they can have it but if they don't we cannot force them to take it. We can promote all the right reasons to do it but at the end of the day the person themselves must determine if they want it or not and hopefully they make the right choice.
ReplyDeleteUnless a child has a negative reaction to vaccines or the family proves that they refuse to vaccinate their children for religious purposes, then I think parent should be prosecuted for not vaccinating children. Not vaccinated children, who have the potential to be vaccinated, put other kids, who may not be able to get vaccinated for various medical reasons, at danger. An outbreak is just proving the point that vaccines are essential for the health of children. I think allowing families to avoid vaccination for religious reasons is fair, for this is protected by the Constitution. However, putting children at risk for non-religious reasons is absurd and parents should be held responsible. Not only is not vaccinating their children putting their own kids at danger, but it puts other kids, who can't help it, at danger as well. I think the government should step in when parents are unable to properly care for their own child and the safety of other children. It isn't difficult for the government to monitor whether or not children get vaccinated because vaccines are required to attend public school in some states, therefore the government is already involved on a certain level. The anti-vaccine movement is led by misinformation and parents who had personal medical issues with vaccines. It is understandable if a child has an adverse reaction to a vaccine that they shouldn't be vaccinated. But it is not acceptable to try to convince other families, with kids who can get vaccines, to not get vaccinated because one child out of a million had an adverse reaction. Vaccines are statistically proven to be effective and should be enforced.
ReplyDeleteLike many of my peers, I believe that the government should require vaccinations for many diseases that people do not get vaccinated for. With the rise of global warming causing ice containing previously frozen bacteria and viruses that causes diseases in which humans used to get vaccinated for but has since ceased to get vaccinated due to the scarcity of the disease in recent years to melt, more unvaccinated childrens' lives are jeopardized. While I believe that parents should have freedom over their child's choices, when it comes to affect other people's safety such becomes a right that should be put off. In my opinion, it's okay if people practice their religion, but if it comes to the extent that such religious practices takes away other's inalienable right to life or other rights, the government should step in to limit these practices in order to promote a more equal and just society.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the government should be able to step and regulate vaccines since this disease could endanger the well-being of very many people. Although I do think that vaccines can be seen as a private matter for parents, the serious outbreak of measles can quickly get out of hand and lead to widespread chaos. Those who are not vaccinated are not only at risk of getting the disease, yet it is also possible for them to transmit it to others. However, it may be hard to actually enforce this since people still have a right to make decisions on part of their children and religion can discourage vaccines. While I think it would be safer for the government to step in, I do believe that religion poses a legitimate concern in opposition to vaccines. Overall, when it comes to the point where other people are put in danger by one's resistance towards vaccines, I think that the government has a acceptable reason to step in.
ReplyDeleteI believe allowing people to avoid vaccinations due to religious reasons is fair, as not allowing them to do so would be forcing them against their religion. This would go against the "free expression of religion." However, for people who don't have reasonable excuses to avoid vaccinations but rather avoid vaccinations based on things such as bias and opinion, I think it's fair to mandate vaccinations. This isn't always necessary, but in times of urgency, especially, as Stan describes in his article, during a measles outbreak, I would say having people vaccinated is a priority for public health and safety.
ReplyDeleteWhile I personally think everyone should be vaccinated it is unfair and quite frankly unconstitutional to force people to go against their religion. The unfortunate reality is that some people refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated and it will affect others. I understand that this is a public safety concern and I would prefer if everyone was vaccinated but there is not much the government can legally do.
ReplyDeleteA dilemma the American government often faces is how to balance individual freedoms with public freedoms and safety. In this case, I do believe that the government should enforce mandatory vaccinations despite potential religious conflicts. Vaccinating children is essential to public health and safety, and not doing so places more than children at risk, but also people with compromised immune systems. Religious freedom of a few individuals is not nearly as important as the lives of others. Such legislation can be justified by the fact that historically, religious practices that go against societal rules and safety can not be legally facilitated.
ReplyDeleteDespite the many concerns with vaccines, one can not deny the fact that they have done more good than harm. But the government can not directly force people to get vaccines without violating personal freedoms, but the states can make vaccination mandatory. Just like other government projects, people should be incentivized to vaccinate their children such as through a tax or an "individual mandate" enforced by ObamaCare. However, I also recognize that getting vaccinations are against some people's religions and it would be unfair to force someone to go against their beliefs. So, it is important that we focus on vaccinating people that do not share these beliefs. It is important to keep in mind that it is difficult to fully eradicate these diseases due to extenuating circumstances, but we can take as many prevention measures as possible.
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