State-mandated administration of childhood vaccines is justified.

Vaccines, granted, do have side effects, but what doesn’t? For example: annually, 350 people die from bath/shower related incidents, 200 are killed when they choke on food, and 100 are killed by lightning [1]. On average, data from 1988-2008, a 20 year span, annualy 335.1 people are compensated for injuries because of vaccines by the government [2]. Furthermore, they don't all neccessarily die because of vaccines - compensation is also given based on factors such as medical costs, lost of productivity, etc. Childhood vaccines are 90-99% effective in preventing diseases through immunity [3]. Most of the time, children with vaccinations have less complications then children without vaccinations. Vaccinations are successful in reducing human suffering and death. Past examples show that vaccines are efficient. Cuba have literally eradicated measles and polio due to compulsory immunization. Vaccinations have saved an estimated 250000 lives every year there [4]. "Vaccines are among the 20th Century's most successful and cost-effective public health tools for preventing disease and death. Not long ago, diseases such as polio, measles, pertussis, diphtheria, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (known as Hib) were commonplace. Today, cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases are at or near all-time lows, and childhood immunization rates have never been higher. In less than a decade, the use of Hib conjugate vaccines nearly eliminated Hib invasive disease among children. During the course of the century, we have eradicated smallpox worldwide and, as of 1991, have eliminated wild polio virus from the Western Hemisphere. School laws requiring immunizations are effective in ensuring that high numbers of children are immunized" [7]. Quite recently, vaccines have saved countless lives and advanced living conditions. Therefore, vaccines help individuals and prevent diseases C2: Community Mandatory vaccinations protects societies, because our community would be ravaged by dangerous diseases if we don’t develop enough immunity. Herd immunity is a form of immunity where a certain percentage of the population is innoculated agaisnt a disease, hence stopping the spread of it and saving the community. In order to protect public health, up to 95% of our population needs to be vaccinated [5]. "The CDC has determined that "nonmedical exemptions to vaccinations are a factor in the development of. .. diseases outbreaks" -[6]Measles outbreaks in New York City, San Diego, and other communities around the US, involved children whose parents refused vaccination, and another CDC report released in 2008 found that rates of undervaccination are even greater than previous studies showed and have a horrible impact on herd immunity [6]. In Colorado, vaccination rates started to lower, and when they did, the whooping cough worsened and spread. At the end of 2004, there were 1,200 cases of disease - higher than any year since 1964 [4]. The return of whooping cough shows the importance of constantly maintaining herd immunity. Mandatory vaccination has also protected societies from polio and small pox. Childhood vaccinations stop around 10.5 million cases of infectious illness every single year and save 33,000 lives annually [3]. Since the introduction of routine childhood vaccination, Diphtheria has dropped from a peak of 206,939 cases in 1921 to only four cases in 1990 [11]. In conclusion, mandatory vaccination protects the community and improves public health. C3: Money With the prevention of 6.4 million childhood deaths, 2 studies report a $231 billion dollar gain over the next 10 years due to routine vaccinations. Childhood vaccinations also reach out to poor families and women, with some vaccines such as the HPV vaccine. HPV leads to cervical cancer, and poor families as a group usually don't see doctors as often and get scanned for cervical cancer, and were also unlikely to give up $50-75 for the vaccine [4]. However, vaccine mandates were able to protect these women at the most cost-efficient way. The CDC also estimated that every $1 spent on the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine saves the heatlh care system $21, and every $1 spent on oral polio vaccinations save $6; and for every $1 spent on the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine saves $30 [9]. C4: The State has the AuthorityIn the past, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of vaccine mandates. One historical case would be Jacobson vs. Massachusetts, where the Supreme Court stated that states have the right to enforce compulsory immunization, and that these were reasonable measures to protect public health and safety [10]. The restraints put in place are for the common good of the people. Furthermore, the police power of the state must protect the public. In the 1922 case of Zucht vs. King, the Supreme Court once again adressed the constitutionality of childhood vaccination mandates, stating that "these ordinances confer not arbitrary power, but only that broad discretion required for the protection of the public health" [10]. The Arizona Court of Appeals denied the argument that the right to education would defeat the state’s need to protect against the spread of infectious diseases [10]. Individual rights do not include liberty to expose the community or the child to transferable diseases and sabatoge the well-being of others. Individuals themselves have the moral obligation to vaccinate their children. Generally, individuals are free to make decisions that impact their own lives, but in the case of vaccinations, your actions affect other individuals, removing this freedom [12]. The failure to vaccinate your children results in unintentionally passing on contagious diseases. On the grounds of potentional harm to outside parties, parents must vaccinate their offspring. Conclusion:The government has the right to enforce mandatory childhood vaccinations, along with a compelling state reasons. Vaccines, also, generally saves more lives than it harms, and provides monetary benefits to the people who use vaccines. The ultimate conclusion is that the government should force vaccinations, in order to maximize public health and do what is best for the common good. Sources:(Please forgive me, because I don't have the links to some of the sources. )[1] Dr. Paul, Univ. of PA Medical & Dr. Louis, Pediatrics Chief, Children’s Hospital of Physicians. Last accessed April 11, 2012. [2] . http://www.immunizationinfo.org...[3]American Academy of Pediatrics, "Why Does My Child Need to be Immunized? ," www. healthychildren. org (accessed Dec. 17, 2009) . http://vaccines.procon.org...[4] Arthur Allen, Author, Vaccine: The Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver (2007)[5] . http://www.nytimes.com...[6] Nancy Berlinger & Alison Jost, Hastings Center & Researcher in Bioethics at Yale, 2010, Three Shots at Prevention: The HPV vaccine and the politics of medicine’s simple solutions, eds. K Wailoo, J. Livingston, S. Epstein & R. Aronowitz[7] Alan R. Hinman, et al. , Professor of Global Health, Emory University, 2002, “Tools to Prevent Infectious Disease: Child Vaccination: Laws that Work,” 30 Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics[8] . http://www.medscape.com...[9] . http://www.willamette.edu...[10] Kevin M. Malone & Alan R Hinman, 2003, Vaccination Mandates: The Public Health Imperative and Individual Rights” in Law in Public Health Practice[11] Thomas May & Ross D. Silverman, BioethicsProfessor – Medical College of Wisconsin and Southern Illinois University, 2005, “Free Riding, Fairness and the Rights of Minority Groups in Exemption from Mandatory Childhood Vaccination,” Human VaccinesREMAINING SOURCES IN COMMENTS