Immunizing Across The Board

The Immunization of children entering the public school system has recently become a hot topic amongst those in the public sector such as teachers, administrators, and politicians and especially amongst parents whose children are the ones being immunized. This does not include those involved in the private sector such as insurance agencies and healthcare providers who have a marked interest in the vaccination of these children. One major question these people are asking is whether or not parents should be able to opt-out of state-wide immunization programs for religious, medical or philosophical reasons. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures study on Childhood Immunizations “all states now grant exemptions based on medical reasons, all but Mississippi and West Virginia do so for religious reasons. In addition, 18 states exempt for philosophical reasons.” (Goodwin Par.6). More and more parents are now finding it acceptable to use these opt-out programs to get their children out of having to get the shot. This is in effect putting the risks of these diseases squarely on the kids whose parents choose not to vaccinate their children. In some states opting out of vaccinations is as easy as checking a box with no explanation next to it .

The idea of vaccinations is actually very simple. A weakened or dead form of the Disease is intentionally put into the human body by either shot or for some virusвЂ?s like MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) in pill form. The body then reacts to the virus killing it and knowing how to kill it if it ever comes back. The diseases these vaccines prevent are now all but dinosaur’s to modern day parents, most of whom have no idea the risks associated with, Diphtheria, Polio, Measles and Rubella and others. What people don’t understand about these diseases is their destructive capability. Before the Polio vaccine 13,000-20,000 people a year were stricken with the disease. Before the Whooping Cough vaccine 260,000 cases were reported every year leading to over 9,000 deaths. (Adams Par. 2). Even Barbara Loe Fisher a major advocate of opt-out programs and head of the National Vaccine Information Center says that “no question that mass vaccination in the last quarter-century has suppressed infectious disease in childhood”(Fisher). The need for these vaccines is clear what is not clear is what information these parents are getting that is making them think that opting out is the right choice for them.

So what exactly is pushing these parents away from Vaccinations? There are actually a number of reasons. Some religions such as Christian Scientists object to medical help all together and vaccinations are no different. People with such strong religious code to follow are not required to submit to vaccination. There are also those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons whether it is an allergic reaction or an already low immune system such as in the case of AIDS or cancer patients whose treatment would be effected by some vaccines.

By the time the average child in Illinois turns 2 years old the state recommends they have 17 shots to protect against 10 different diseases.(IDPH). With all these children getting all of these shots most parents agree the most important thing is that parents be informed of what these vaccines do, as well as the risks they pose to the child whether they have them or not . Currently on of the biggest factors controlling this is poverty. Illinois and other states currently provide free vaccines to those who cannot afford it at local health departments and the Illinois department of public health says that it “will not deny childhood vaccinations for those who cannot pay”. (IDPH). Even with the promise of free vaccinations, according to the Center for Disease Control there are still urban pockets of under immunized kids in many big cities and according to the report “poverty and race have something to do with whether a child is adequately immunized”.(Goodwin). So if it is free why are these kids not being immunized? The major reason is not because they are trying to get out of it for medical or religious reasons but because they are not being informed of all the options they have and the consequences that may face them if they are not properly immunized.

While cost is of major concern to parents it is also of major concern to the government and insurance agencies that are paying for the vacancies also. Vaccinating children across the board is becoming more costly all the time. In 1987 it cost $34 to fully immunize a child in the public sector ten years later that cost had skyrocketed to $176 per child.(Goodwin) One way states are trying to lower these costs is to employ fully operational registries to try and predict the vaccinations they need and make children aware of their vaccination schedule’s.(Goodwin). The operations of these registries are two-fold, while it is saving money by being able to better asses the needs of the state it has also been shown to lessen the immunization gap between those in poverty and those who are not. The Center for Disease Control recently reported that “30 percent of South Carolina kids live below the poverty level and yet it has become a leader in immunization rates, second in