Should There Be Mandatory Vaccinations

It is also a concern that the number of vaccines being administered to children at a tender age keeps increasing with time. Those who support vaccinations believe states should make vaccinations compulsory for everyone, while anti-vaccines believe that everyone has the right to choose what to do and what to do with their children's health. Are individual decisions, however, worth risking the lives of other citizens? Do vaccination negative effects outweigh the benefits or vice versa? This paper will address these two questions and concerns from both sides and finally take a stand as to whether vaccinations should be mandatory for everyone. Background By 2016, the number of doses recommended by the Centers of Disease Control was 29 doses of 9 vaccines and an additional yearly flu short after six months for all kids between 0 to 6 years (PROCON,2016).

There are fears that the more doses of vaccines are administered, the higher the chances of serious side effects. In the year 1798, the first smallpox vaccine was developed (IMAC,2017). In 1897, experiments by Louis Pasteur spearheaded the development of a vaccine for live attenuated cholera and also the inactivation of anthrax vaccine in 1904. In the late 19th century, plague vaccine was also invented. Alexander Glenny found away to inactivate tetanus with formaldehyde in 1923 and the same method was used in 1926 for the vaccine against diphtheria. Between 1950-1985 inactivated polio vaccine and the Sabin polio vaccine were invented through the viral tissue culture methods. Currently, the reports from World Health Organization (WHO) show that vaccinations have greatly reduced disease prevalence and continue to be of great importance in the global health.

Their estimations are that vaccinations have reduced deaths by up to 2 to 3 million yearly. However, there can be a 1. 5 million additional deaths that could be reduced if the coverage of vaccination is improved (Venderslott & Roser, 2014). Vaccination coverage and decline of the disease burden globally Vaccine-preventable diseases have been known to cause large numbers of unnecessary deaths over time. Benefits of disease control through vaccination The main benefit of vaccination is the prevention of diseases. Studies indicate that vaccines in one year may prevent “more than 8,500 child hospitalizations in Colorado, in the U. S, 33,000 deaths are prevented and between 2 and 3 million deaths in the whole world” (Immunize for goo,2013). The following table shows the decline of diseases in U. S as a result of vaccination: Vaccination has dramatically decreased the rate of disease in the United States.

For eradication to occur, high numbers of the populations must be vaccinated across the world. The next disease that the responsible organizations hope to eradicate is polio which has proven to be a challenge globally. Transmission of measles does not happen indigenously anymore and importation does not result in the spreading of the virus. It is also possible to have Haemophilus influenza type b eliminated with the appropriate national programs if the experience in the West is anything to go by. Vaccination protects everyone that you care about including friends, family members, neighbours and grandparents. However such cases are very rare and can only occur once in a million cases and these are reversible if healthcare staff detect them in time and act promptly.

Despite the many benefits that have come along with vaccinations, it is not right to impose anything on anyone especially regarding their own or children’s health. Making vaccinations a mandatory would mean violating people’s right of freedom to choose what to and what not to do in regard to their health and also their religious beliefs. After all, if vaccines were as efficient as the government and the manufacturers wanted us to believe they were, there would not be cause any alarm for those who are already vaccinated, right? So the issue of endangering those already vaccinated should not be used in any way to bully those that do not want to undergo vaccinations. It is for them to deal with the consequences of not undergoing vaccinations if any arise as long as they are made aware of the pros and cons of not undergoing the procedure.