1777, General George Washington made the controversial decision to order the mass inoculation of his soldiers. An effort to combat the spread of Smallpox that, at the time, prevented enlistments, posed the risk of hurting his army and tipping the balance of power against America's first warfighters. 2022, even before the Covid pandemic, and especially after, America has been asking: Should vaccines be required for kids to attend school? Should vaccines even be required?.
In the early nineteenth century, European nation states began making smallpox vaccination mandatory for their armies, for the poor, or for the populace in general. Anti-vaccinationists formed to protest what they saw as unequal treatment and undue infringement of individual liberty.
Why it should be required:
Vaccines can save kids’ lives. The American Academy of Pediatrics said that most childhood vaccines are 90%-99% effective in preventing diseases. They also use ingredients that are safe in the amounts that are used. Basically, they used harmful ingredients, but in a safe dosage. A third reason why it should be required is that vaccines not only protect you, but the community itself. It is harder for an outbreak to occur when everyone is fully vaccinated and has boosters as well. THe last reason is that Major medical organizations say that they are safe. The CDC, FDA ,IOM, AMA, APP, and the USDHHS all say that they are safe for citizens
Why it should not be required
One huge reason people do not want a vaccine is because vaccines can cause serious and sometimes fatal side effects. Long term seizures, coma, and permanent brain damage may be associated with DTaP, a vaccine that handles 3 diseases and infections. A second reason is because vaccines contain harmful ingredients.There is Aluminum in some vaccines, which can cause brain damage, and some vaccines contain chicken egg protein and yeast proteins, which may be harmful to children or adults allergic to it. The last reason why it shouldn’t be required is because people believe that the government should not intervene in personal medical choices. Medical decisions for children should be left for the parents or caregivers. Freedom over one’s physical self is the most basic freedom of all, and people in a free society should be able to to have that, otherwise, the government basically owns our body.
All 50 states require vaccinations for children entering public schools even though no mandatory federal vaccination laws exist. All 50 states issue medical exemptions, 47 states (excluding California, Mississippi, and West Virginia) permit religious exemptions, and 16 states allow an exemption for lifestyle reasons.
I think that it should be the parent/guardian's choice on whether or not their child gets certain vaccinations. I am not just talking about Covid vaccines, but any of them.I think that once the child turns 13-14, they should be able to have a least a part of a say in what they want and believe in, and I don’t think that schools should require vaccines for a child to go there.
Questions
Do you think that we should have required vaccines?
If you were a parent and you had to give your child a certain vaccine (even if you don’t believe in it) how would you feel?
Do you think that political views influence the rates of people who want vaccines to be mandatory and those who don’t?
Sources
Replies
Yes. I agree with everything you just said. I think that, in the end, it should be the person getting it that chooses. Just like with other hot topics like abortion and such, it should be that person choice, not society's
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