Against Mandatory Vaccines In Public Schools

Vaccinations have become an important part of today’s society. They protect people from dangerous diseases and give people a sense of security. Vaccines came about many years ago; they have made their way into schools and have become requirements upon enrollment. Individual schools get to decide which and how many vaccines to require for their students. Recently, there has been a large increase in the number of people that opt out of receiving vaccinations. Schools need to create barriers to lower the nonvaccination rates in public schools. Compulsory vaccination laws have been around for nearly 30 years. These laws are made to ensure that everyone who can be vaccinated is in order to prevent outbreaks of certain diseases. It was not until …show more content…
The anti-vaccination movement began to develop more when schools started imposing compulsory vaccines. People oppose vaccines for various reasons; religious, philosophical and medical are among the major exemption categories. Personal beliefs are a smaller, less accepted area of exemption. In response to religious beliefs as ground for exemption James says, “Although a small percentage of objectors may have valid religious reasons for opting out of vaccinations, no major religion prohibits vaccinations, and indeed some even recommend it” (273). Safety risks due to the possibility of infection rather than immunization have also been the source of much concern for the public. James reasons that, “all vaccines do pose a small risk of side effects or adverse reactions, but the majority of these are very minor and fleeting” (272). Serious reactions have occurred, but are very rare. Extensive research has been done which shows that the imposed risks of vaccines do not outweigh the benefits of such vaccinations. Many of the concerns and worries the public has about vaccines are caused by the misunderstanding of said risks and the creation of myths, such as the link between autism and certain vaccines. One specific misunderstanding about vaccines is that people no longer need to receive vaccinations because they have nearly eliminated particular diseases. This is not true; if all people were to stop …show more content…
Billington and Omer share that “fines may have the opposite effect by relinquishing guilt associated with failing to fulfill a social responsibility” (270). Fees seem to be a better choice for a disincentive as they do not have so many adverse effects. Put simply, a fee is a charge for a good or service. Processing fees are the most desired option for discouraging non-medical exemptions. They allow states to avoid the use of taxpayer funds. Fees can endure scrutiny and are politically palatable. Fees are a better option than taxes because they save tax revenues for different uses and do not interfere with citizens rights to exercise civil liberties. These disincentives can be used to deter students from claiming non-medical exemption against vaccinations.
If someone with a medical condition that should not vaccinate is required to, they could have adverse reactions and cause themselves harm. This is why medical exemptions are necessary. All fifty states have adopted medical exemptions. Religious and philosophical exemptions are not as accepted. Only three states do not allow for religious exemptions and eighteen states permit philosophical exemptions. The complexity of exemption processes directly influence the number of parents and students that claim