There has perhaps been no advance made in modern medicine so revolutionary, invaluable and integral to the continued public health than the vaccine.
According to the CDC, in the 1950s, the poliovirus caused up to 15,000 cases of paralysis yearly, but in the modern era, this debilitating disease is virtually unknown in the United States.
Its re-emergence in the far-flung corners of the globe owes itself entirely to the absence thereof the reliable vaccine that we have had access to for decades.
And yet, there are those among the American populace who choose, with full volition, to deny potentially life-saving medicine to their children and loved ones.
For reasons of religious or perceived religious objection, a desire to live “naturally,” or a distrust of the medical establishment, an incredibly vocal minority have risen against vaccines and actively campaign against them.
The concern of this discussion is not the merits of vaccination, but rather if the state has an interest in mandating vaccination, and I believe it does.
Firstly, it is a power prescribed to the central government to promote the general welfare. Widespread vaccination protects the public from outbreaks of infectious disease, and thus it is desirable that every person be vaccinated.
Secondly, given that children cannot give meaningful consent to any medical treatment, we must make such decisions for them, acting in their best interest. It is in the best interest for every child to have the vaccine unless there is a compelling medical reason otherwise, and therefore all children should be vaccinated.
Thirdly, a protracted campaign of vaccination will remove certain infectious diseases from the general population. Thus, if vaccines are mandatory it will speed up the rate at which a disease is rendered extinct and allow future generations to forego that vaccine, just as efforts against smallpox were ended in 1972 after the disease was virtually eradicated in humans.
To achieve these ends, health services require the power to mandate compliance with vaccination registries. Religious exemptions for public institutions need to be handed out sparingly and only to those who can demonstrate membership in a faith community that has been documented as anti-vaccination.
Penalties for foregoing required immunizations should be severe enough to encourage compliance. I would recommend a fine of $500 per missed immunization.
While such measures may sound draconian, they may be necessary to protect the public from the return of once-dormant diseases like measles which, contrary to popular belief, can be quite serious especially for young children.
Children do not deserve to suffer for the ignorance of their parents.
Of course these are only proposals, but ones that this writer feels the public should address frankly and immediately.
Clearly this was written by a child with no clue. It shows.