I am passionate about this issues. I have worked as an immunization nurse for several years in the state of Maryland. In Maryland there are strict requirements for vaccinating children for school entry. I worked for Prince George’s County and Baltimore County Health Department. In the state of Maryland many children each year are out compliance and therefore are not allowed to attend school until the requirements are satisfied.
The challenges with this policy issues is that many parents disagree with the mandated vaccination laws for children. Parent’s want to make their own decisions about whether to vaccinate their children. Many parents have concerns about the safety of the vaccines or religious reasons for choosing not to vaccinate.
Mandatory vaccination is an extremely controversial topic because it violates constitutionally protected right to practice religion and personal beliefs in the absence of the true health emergency (First Amendment of the Constitution). The new law destroys the individual rights of parents to make voluntary decisions in the best interest of their children in the health care decisions and diminishes the role of parents in upbringing and educating their children (Skov).
One of the things that not all parents agree on is whether or not there should be a law making vaccinations mandatory. The public school system requires all students to be immunized. There have been so many published reports, articles, television programs, public service announcements, and other public attention being paid to all sides of this issue.
In the United States, the law states that vaccinations are required for children entering school unless they have a valid reason that prevents them from receiving the vaccinations. Starting when children are born, they begin the regimen of vaccinations that continue throughout their adolescent years and adulthood. Each year children receive a variation of shots to protect them from the illnesses they will encounter in the world, especially once they attend school. The most common reasons parents forego getting their children vaccinated are religious beliefs, medical exemptions, and personal beliefs. Due to the rising number of parents declining to get their children vaccinated, the number of outbreaks of preventable diseases has increased. The question is now should parents/guardians be forced to vaccinate their children?
In the 1850s the first school vaccination requirement were enacted to prevent smallpox. Federal and state efforts to eradicate measles in the 1960s and 1970s motivated many to mandate policies. By the 1990s, all 50 states requirement for children to be enrolled in school must receive certain immunizations and if these requirements were not met than children were not allowed to be enrolled in school (Center for Disease Control Prevention, 2010). For example, in the state of California, private public school or daycare cannot admit children unless vaccinations were received for all ten of the diseases. If the California Department of Public Health implements a requirement for vaccination parent can be allowed to obtain personal belief exemptions that would allow parents to opt out of vaccination for their children if form is filled out by healthcare professional that states vaccinations were countered to personal beliefs. This law has not been implemented as of yet but should be in 2016. The healthcare of policy decision in laws can have an influence on individuals based on the decision that are made. Health care policy and issues can affect providers and patients in many different ways. Stakeholders’ in the policymakers for vaccination main concern is the safety and health of children so the implement exemptions of laws from concern about vaccine
The attention coming from the Disneyland measles outbreak has brought up a controversial issue, something as preventable as measles spreading throughout the country because parents are uneasy about vaccinating their children from childhood diseases. The issue has many parents debating each other on what is right and wrong when it comes to vaccines and children. This hot topic has been all over the news in the last few months and has many parents standing their ground. Some parents feel doctors and the government pressure them to vaccinate, they believe vaccines are unnatural and can cause harm to a child later on. Others put faith in their child’s doctor and in vaccines without question, they were vaccinated so why
When it comes to getting, your kids vaccinated many parents must get it due to the school’s policies. Many schools will not let the student back to school until vaccinated or will kick out a student if they do not get the vaccine. On the other hand, some parents do not believe in getting their kids vaccinated so they do what it takes to not get their kids shots. There’s two sides to this issue that people have opinions on. There is many pros and cons When it comes to getting your kid vaccinated. This topic is very important because it’s a subject that all parents need to know about before doing so. Being a parent is hard and there is no way to go around it. Being that person who will decide their medical
Every parent faces a psychological tornado of circling debates ultimately spiraling out to, "I will do what I believe is best for my child". A bill has been proposed in the California senate that has parents standing firm on either side of it: strongly supporting and fiercely opposing. Senate bill 277 aims to remove philosophical, or personal, beliefs as an acceptable exemption from vaccinations. It proposes that parents only have the option to opt out of immunization if their child has a physical or medical condition that would, in combination with the vaccine, cause damage. The most common acceptable conditions include autoimmune disease or immune deficiency, a serious allergy to an ingredient in the vaccine, or a previously reported adverse reaction to the vaccine
A child is too young and inexperienced to be able to make decisions about critical things like vaccinations. It therefore makes sense that the parents of that child should be allowed to solely make decisions for them. This goes for anything that may directly affect the child and includes receiving immunizations. Making vaccinations of children mandatory goes against the parents right to make decisions for their family as well as going against the right to self-determination. Whether or not to vaccinate is a personal choice and can stem from ones religious views, morality, and or personal experience. If someone does not want their child to be vaccinated, they should not be subject to having to do so. It is a personal choice and not something
My beliefs regarding vaccinations is simple; they prevent diseases and save lives. With that said, the decision whether to vaccinate my child or not was easy to make. Many parents however struggle with this decision. I would like to understand why parents decide against vaccinations, knowing that their child could potentially be exposed to diseased countless times throughout their lives. I hope to gain a clear understanding regarding the risks and benefits associated with vaccinations during my research and learn how parents apply that information in their decision making process. This knowledge and understanding is extremely important to millions of individuals because as more and more children go unvaccinated, it can potentially cause outbreaks
Every student should be required to be vaccinated in order to attend public school because vaccines have been proven to reduce illnesses. In 2009, Matthew F. Daley and Jason M. Glanz conducted research in Colorado analyzing hundreds of thousands of children. They compared the children that received vaccines to the children that didn’t get vaccines. Matthew F. Daley is a medical doctor (MD) in the pediatric health field and a services researcher. Also, Dr. Daley graduated from Stanford University. Jason Glanz, PhD, is an epidemiologist and senior research investigator at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, an Institute for Health Research. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health. Throughout
Parents all across the United States have an issue with vaccinations for their children. Parents as of today do not have the option whether or not to immunize their children. These vaccinations are potentially harmful for children, but they also help and prevent life threatening illnesses. Parents should be allowed to choose to vaccinate their children because at times, the vaccine might harm the child, and because the parents simply just have right.
The leading reason children go unvaccinated is due to the number of parents that simply refuse to let their child get the immunizations. Some parents won’t vaccinate their child due to their own obtaining legally binding self-belief against the vaccinations. Although, some children do not get vaccinated because of allergies or a compromised
Immunizations have made large advancements over the last century. Long gone are the days where people within the United States remember or have seen the devastating effects polio, measles, or epiglottitis can have on children. Complications from these diseases are far worse then the complications from vaccines. Vaccines have helped eliminate many diseases, and perhaps this is a reason that parents who are against vaccines are less worried about the devastating diseases and more concerned of how the vaccine can affect their child. Parents who are refusing to vaccinate their children are putting other children and the community at risk. So why are they refusing to vaccinate?
The requirement of vaccinations has been a hot topic for multiple years. The ultimate decision requiring children to get vaccinations in order to enter school has caused quite a stir within the United States public school system. Many parents have argued that certain vaccinations can harm the child, so they choose to opt out of them. While the government should not convene with personal medical choices, vaccinations should be required for all infants and toddlers for the reason that it builds up their immune system, prevents further spread of disease within the school system, and creates a better foundation for future generations.
Parents should have the exclusive authority to make medical decisions on behalf of their minor children. Informed parents have the responsibility to refuse or discontinue treatments, even those that may be life-sustaining. This right extends to opting-out of vaccinations when in the best interests of the child. Although, these rights are being challenged. In addition, those parents choosing to opt-out of the vaccination program for their children are facing sanctions, ridicule as well as ostracized. A published article in, Pediatrics, confirm what other studies have suggested: “Anti-vaccine sentiment in the United States appears strongest among educated, wealthier white families. All 50 states have legislation requiring specified vaccines for students. Although exemptions vary from state to state, all school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons.”