THW make vaccines mandatory

All around the world, human lives are being lost due to preventable diseases whose spread could be slowed through immunization. As such, I am proud to, as Pro, support legislation that would make immunization mandatory. Model For this debate, “this house” refers to first world nations such as the United States or Canada, where the infrastructure necessary for creating and distributing vaccines is already present and well-maintained; this means that issues such as the economical burden vaccination places on health care systems will not be discussed in much detail. I believe that all people should be legally obligated to be vaccinated, except for those who can have severe allergic reactions to vaccines. The possible consequences of refusing vaccination include fines and forced vaccination. Signpost For this round, I will be making three points: firstly, that vaccines are safe and effective, and secondly, that the government has a responsibility to protect its citizens—even if it may result in less opportunities for people to choose personally, and finally, that vaccination should not be a choice since herd immunity means that one’s decision not to vaccinate can affect others as well. Safety and effectiveness of vaccines Scientific research has shown vaccines to be safe and effective. As this debate has limited space, I will not list all of the vaccines that exist, and talk about the effectiveness of each one; instead, I will provide examples of safe and effective vaccines. Flu vaccines are an example of an effective vaccine. In a 1998 study involving children published by the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the intranasal flu vaccine increased antibodies in the bodies of its recipients, and decreased the likelihood of flu. Results showed that the vaccine was more effective than placebo. (1) A 2012 study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases showed that flu vaccines “was associated with a three-quarters reduction in the risk of life-threatening influenza illness in children.” (2)For older adults, however, flu vaccines may have a lower efficacy—but they still prevent 61.2% of flu hospitalizations. (3) At the same time, the flu vaccine is safe. Side effects are usually mild and short-lasting; they are generally limited to mild, flu-like symptoms, and may involve mild pain around the injection site. Severe reactions may, however, rarely occur. (4) MMR vaccines are also safe and effective. It has an efficacy of around 85-95% with one dose and 100% with two. In addition, the risk of getting hurt by the vaccine is low: there is a 0.65 to 1.8/1000000 chance of getting anaphylaxis from a shot.(6)(7)(8) Compare this to the dangers of the actual diseases: measles has a 2000/1000000 chance of causing death, and the rubella virus—but not the vaccine—has a chance of causing autism. (8) As you can see from above, scientific evidence has shown vaccines to be safe and effective in preventing diseases; as such, they provide a net benefit to society as a whole. Governmental responsibility One way someone can object to mandatory vaccinations is freedom of choice: people have the right to choose what they’d like to do with their bodies, don’t they? However, this objection falls apart as soon as one considers the issue of governmental responsibility. The government has the responsibility to keep us safe; this is why they us the law to require seat belts to be worn, and why we aren’t allowed to drink and drive. Since vaccines keep us safe, the government ought to make them mandatory, just like how seat belts are mandatory. Why Vaccination should not be a choice When you drive without a seatbelt on, you are only compromising your own safety. However, when you refuse to be vaccinated, you are also harming those around you. Vaccines help protect us from disease, but that can only be the case if enough people get vaccinated; this is called herd immunity. With the MMR vaccine, for instance, 95% of a population needs to be vaccinated for it to have any effect. (5) Since one should not legally get the right to choose when one’s choices can harm others, and choosing not to be vaccinated harms others, vaccination ought to be legally obligated. ConclusionIn this debate, I have shown that firstly, vaccines are safe and effective, that secondly, the government has the right to protect people from themselves, and vaccines do just that; and finally, that the government has the right to protect people from eachother, and vaccines do that also. As such, I have shown that we ought to make vaccination mandatory. Thank you. References http://www.nejm.org... http://jid.oxfordjournals.org... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... http://www.livescience.com... http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... http://rationalwiki.org...