Essay On Mandatory Vaccine
A vaccine is a man-made, biological preparation that provides active immunity to a certain disease. Ever since the inception of vaccines their use has been surrounded by controversy. A lot of issues arise from whether or not building up a natural immunity to a disease is better than a vaccination. Many people were afraid, and some still are, that by getting the vaccination, the recipient will actually get the disease they are trying to prevent because of what is in the vaccine. However, the most debate comes from whether or not the government should have vaccines be mandatory.
The government has required vaccines in public schools for almost 170 years now, starting with the smallpox vaccine being mandatory in the 1850’s. This has caused …show more content…
Although the risk of diseases can be diminished or even eradicated by vaccines, some diseases have been shown to come back. Japan has shown this with their whooping cough epidemic in 1979. Back in 1974, about 80% of Japanese kids were vaccinated for whooping cough and only 363 cases were recorded that year. When only 10% of kids were vaccinated in 1979, the disease spread like wildfire: 13,000 cases were recorded with 41 deaths (“What Would Happen If”). The whooping cough epidemic shows that diseases do not just go away, and they can come back with a surprising amount of force. A more recent example would be the United States measles outbreak of 2015. There was an outbreak of measles in Disneyland after America previously declared measles “vanquished” in 2000. Within a week, it had already spread to 14 states ranging from California to New York and had 1,000 cases in Arizona alone (“Vaccine Critics Turn Defensive”). Although measles is a disease that is required to have a vaccination in all public schools, it still spread across the country in only seven days. Often the disease is brought in from unvaccinated travelers from foreign countries, and can be spread here among the unvaccinated. (“Frequently Asked Questions About”) A more recent measles outbreak involved homeschooled children. The number of homeschooled children has nearly doubled since 1999, and while 48 states require up-to-date vaccination records for incoming kindergartners, many states have no requirements for homeschooled kids. These at risk kids contribute are obviously susceptible to getting diseases like measles when an outbreak occurs. ( “These States Don’t Require”) It is clear that in states where vaccinations are mandatory for school attendance, thousands, if not millions of people are
The government has required vaccines in public schools for almost 170 years now, starting with the smallpox vaccine being mandatory in the 1850’s. This has caused …show more content…
Although the risk of diseases can be diminished or even eradicated by vaccines, some diseases have been shown to come back. Japan has shown this with their whooping cough epidemic in 1979. Back in 1974, about 80% of Japanese kids were vaccinated for whooping cough and only 363 cases were recorded that year. When only 10% of kids were vaccinated in 1979, the disease spread like wildfire: 13,000 cases were recorded with 41 deaths (“What Would Happen If”). The whooping cough epidemic shows that diseases do not just go away, and they can come back with a surprising amount of force. A more recent example would be the United States measles outbreak of 2015. There was an outbreak of measles in Disneyland after America previously declared measles “vanquished” in 2000. Within a week, it had already spread to 14 states ranging from California to New York and had 1,000 cases in Arizona alone (“Vaccine Critics Turn Defensive”). Although measles is a disease that is required to have a vaccination in all public schools, it still spread across the country in only seven days. Often the disease is brought in from unvaccinated travelers from foreign countries, and can be spread here among the unvaccinated. (“Frequently Asked Questions About”) A more recent measles outbreak involved homeschooled children. The number of homeschooled children has nearly doubled since 1999, and while 48 states require up-to-date vaccination records for incoming kindergartners, many states have no requirements for homeschooled kids. These at risk kids contribute are obviously susceptible to getting diseases like measles when an outbreak occurs. ( “These States Don’t Require”) It is clear that in states where vaccinations are mandatory for school attendance, thousands, if not millions of people are