Mandatory Vaccinations

Kalea Takemoto

November 18, 2016

Mandatory Vaccinations

Humans have dealt with diseases since prehistoric times. Usually, the diseases start out as an endemic, by only having an effect on certain people in the community. However, if the disease is strong enough, it will become epidemic, rapidly spreading until it finally becomes pandemic. Once a disease becomes pandemic, the world starts to realize that it could potentially become disastrous. In history, pandemics have wiped out whole communities, leaving the whole world in extreme panic, and this has happened more than once.

Smallpox is one of the oldest infectious disease to have existed in history. The disease was so horrible, it would wipe out whole populations of people. The Native Americans blamed the Europeans for bringing in new diseases to America, like smallpox. Native Americans faced the loss of 75 percent of their population in New England by the middle of the 16th century, and almost faced total extinction by the end of the century (Riedel, 2005). The slave trade was another contributor in bringing smallpox to America because many slaves came from areas in Africa where smallpox was endemic (Riedel, 2005). The smallpox pandemic was catastrophic for many decades until Edward Jenner created a vaccination in 1796. Jenner noticed that dairymaids did not develop smallpox if they suffered from cowpox. Therefore, he took a young, dairymaid named Sarah Nelms and took the matter from a fresh cowpox lesion from her hand. He injected this matter into an eight-year-old boy, James Phipp. James developed little side effects that included: a mild fever, cold, and a loss of appetite. However, after ten days James felt better. Jenner then injected James with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion, but James never got the smallpox, making it the first successful vaccination (Riedel, 2005). Jenner forever changed the future of science and vaccinations.

Vaccinations have been around since the 19th century and are now a very controversial issue. In 1809, the first law was passed for this mandatory vaccination to help prevent and control the smallpox disease in Massachusetts because the vaccination proved to be an efficient method for the prevention of smallpox (Omer, Salmon, Orenstein, Dehart, and Halsey, 2009). In fact, between 1802 and 1840, smallpox incidents seemed to have declined. However, vaccination requirements became less strict and in 1870 due to immoral practice beliefs, another smallpox outbreak happened. This re-appearance caused states to enforce new vaccination laws (Omer et al., 2009). As the measles epidemic flared up in the 1960s and 1970s, efforts were made to pass and strengthen the enforcement of immunization laws (Omer et al., 2009).

         Vaccinations are still required today to begin school in America. All of the fifty states had passed laws to require immunization for attending schools (Ciolli, 2008). However, some states provide exemptions to children for medical, religious, or philosophical reasons (Swendiman, 2011). Some people legitimately cannot get vaccinations because they are either allergic to the immunization or haves a weak immune system. Diseases that children can and are required to get vaccinated for include: diphtheria, measles, rubella, and polio; for incoming college students’ vaccination against hepatitis B and meningococcal disease is also required (Swendiman, 2011). However, there has been a huge controversial debate on giving your children vaccinations today. In 2014, Rebecca Prohaska took her daughter to the doctor for a sore throat. Her daughter received her first dose of the Human Papillomavirus, or HPV vaccine, during this appointment. After the appointment, Rebecca found her daughter face down on the floor later that afternoon. She had vomited, her lips were purple, and she was not breathing; her daughter was later pronounced dead. Rebecca and her husband believed the HPV vaccine caused her death because it was the only thing different that happened that day compared to any other day. However, it was concluded by a medical examiner that the vaccine did not contribute to the death. In fact, her death was caused by consuming a toxic level of an antihistamine used in several common over-the-counter cold and allergy products (Whelan, 2016). This story and others like it try to blame the vaccination for the deadly or unfavorable outcomes. Many parents fear that vaccinations can lead to autism, promiscuous behavior, or even death (Whelan, 2016). However, none of the listed fears have actually been scientifically proven and still remain a myth.

        Like with anything, there is always a risk factor with getting vaccinations; however, most of the risk are very minor or very rare. Some very common but insignificant risk include: Pain, swelling, and redness at the injection site following immunization. Fever and irritability are common, but they can be weakened by giving acetaminophen to the person at the time of immunization or immediately afterward (Kimmel & Wolfe, 2005).  Even though it is very uncommon, allergic reactions after immunizations can occur. Even though it is very uncommon to have an allergic reaction to immunizations, it can still be deadly (Kimmel & Wolfe, 2005).

        Slight risks may occur when getting vaccinations, but the benefits are worth the slight pain. Old, infectious diseases may seem to be eradicated but the reappearance can happen.  A 7-year-old boy returned to San Diego after a vacation in Switzerland, he was unvaccinated and came back with a runny nose in 2008. As his symptoms seemed to worsen, his mother brought him to the doctor’s and he sat in the waiting room with other children. Tests confirmed the boy had measles, but the measles was not suspected and isolation precautions were not taken. Unfortunately, the boy had given three infants in the waiting room the measles because they were not old enough to have received the measles vaccine. The measles seemed to spread to different states and by the time the outbreak was over, 140 children, almost all unvaccinated, were infected and twenty had been hospitalized (Whelan, 2016). Herd immunity, a form of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a major portion of a community provides some protection for individuals who have not developed immunity, helps with the risk of resurgence of diseases. But in order for herd immunity to work, most of the community will have to be vaccinated, or else the immunity is at a serious risk (Ciolli, 2008). Parents whose children can be vaccinated but refuse to vaccinate their children not only risk their own children’s health, but also the health and lives of children whose parents do not have a choice.