A Call for Mandating Vaccinations

Sanjana Adavi
ENGL 138T: Rhetoric and Civic Life II
Section 008
April 14, 2019
 Abstract

Since they were first invented, controversy has surrounded vaccines and the individual’s
choice of whether or not to vaccinate their children. Although there are widely different
viewpoints on the two sides of this debate, one aspect remains constant through both—ensuring
the safety of children is everyone’s top priority. However, while striving to protect their children
from health conditions that they claim are caused by vaccines, Anti-Vaxxers have ignored the
life-threatening dangers of opting out of inoculations. This is a risk that can harm not only their
children who are not immunized by parental choice, but also any peers who have legitimate
medical exemptions that prevent them from being able to receive vaccines. While all 50 states in
the U.S. require children attending public school to vaccinate against a select list of deadly
illnesses, 47 of them allow for religious exemptions, and 17 allow for philosophical, or personal
belief, exemptions.1 The idea of allowing “philosophical” exemptions to a requirement proves
that it is not entirely mandatory, and is therefore not a requirement. Enacting mandates that truly
require the immunization of children against deadly illnesses, as currently done by only three
states, throughout the U.S. would significantly reduce the rates of preventable diseases.
Furthermore, as unvaccinated children gain awareness of the issue later in their lives, many
disapprove of their parents risky decision to not immunize them against preventable life
threatening diseases. Although they could still be vaccinated later in life, younger children face a
greater risk of contracting diseases such as whooping cough and tetanus, with already weakened
immune systems and not recognizing the seriousness of their susceptibility to these. Mandatory
regulations for receiving vaccinations will ensure that children are safe to be around peers in
school, and do not have to face the unnecessary fears and take extreme precautions that
accompany avoiding vaccinations.

1
​“Vaccine Exemptions FAQs - NVIC.” ​National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)​,
www.nvic.org/faqs/vaccine-exemptions.aspx.
 Introduction

In 1796, Edward Jenner performed the world’s first inoculation of smallpox.2 Since then,
we have slowly seen the eradication of many deadly diseases that have claimed the lives of
millions of people. Never seeing the horrible effects of life threatening diseases has shielded
society from knowing how tragic the consequences could be. Although most Anti-Vaxxers have
chosen their platform with the hopes of raising a healthier child and avoiding risk of health
conditions, choosing not to vaccinate is the riskier choice, and mandating vaccinations can
eliminate the resurfacing of many diseases whose seriousness, as well as preventability, are
being ignored.

A History of Anti-Vaxx Campaigns

For various different reasons over the years, vaccines have posed controversy among the
public. When they were first invented, there was a general distrust in medicine due to the time
period, along with concerns about the sanitation of early methods. Clergypeople also claimed
that smallpox was God’s punishment and should be untreated.3 Since then, more research has
been published in favor of vaccines, and an increase in public education has led to a larger
portion of the public trusting vaccines. However, the progress made in building a reputation for
immunizations was tarnished with a more recent controversy caused when a British doctor
named Andrew Wakefield released a research paper in 1998 that drew a correlation between the
MMR vaccine and autism.4 Many years later, in 2011, this paper was found to be fraudulent, as
he picked and chose data that would suit the falsified information presented as factual
statements. Although he was guilty of deliberate fraud and lost his medical license, the reputation

2
​“The History Of Vaccines And Immunization: Familiar Patterns, New Challenges.” ​Health Affairs,​
www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.24.3.611.
3
​“The Anti-Vaccination Movement.” ​Measles & Rubella Initiative​, 13 Sept. 2018,
measlesrubellainitiativ​e.org/anti-vaccination-movement/.
4
​Writers, Staff. “Vaccine Myths Debunked.” ​PublicHealth.org​, PublicHealth.org,
www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked/.
of vaccines in society had been damaged, and movements against vaccines began to rise once
again.

The Effects of Refusing Vaccinations

Following the release of this research paper, many parents began to delay the
administration of many vaccines, and even refuse them entirely. Many of the arguments
currently made against vaccines are rooted in personal belief, backed up by very little data or
science. It is argued that a few unvaccinated children will not cause any harm to the rest of their
peers, due to “herd immunity,” which is the idea that so long as a large majority of people are
immunized in any population, the unimmunized minority will be protected as well. This occurs
because the larger majority of protected individuals will prevent a disease from entering the
population, or prevent an existing one from spreading. However, if too many people buy into the
myths surrounding vaccines, and refuse to vaccinate themselves or their children, they begin to
contribute to a collective danger, as herd immunity only allows for protection when a large
majority is protected. Although it seems impossible that Anti-Vaxxers could contract life
threatening diseases, since the majority of the population is immunized, recent years have shown
a reemergence of preventable diseases. Just two years ago, a 6 year old boy cut himself while
playing on his family’s farm. His parents cleaned the wound, stitched it up, and he seemed fine
for the time being. Six days later, he began to have muscle spasms and started arching his back
and clenching his jaw. It was the first case of tetanus to occur in Oregon in over 30 years, as
tetanus is widely prevented by its vaccine, which his parents chose to decline. He was then
airlifted to a hospital, placed in a medical coma, put on a ventilator, and was pumped full of IV
drugs to keep his vital signs under control. After 57 days in the hospital and 17 days in rehab, he
was allowed to go home with his family. Even seeing their child go through all the dangerous
effects of tetanus, and racking up medical bills of about $800,000, his parents still refused to give
him the second dose of the tetanus vaccine.5 Furthermore, we currently have an ongoing measles

5
Maryn. “The True Dollar Cost of the Anti-Vaccine Movement.” ​Wired​, Conde Nast,
​McKenna,
25 Mar. 2019, www.wired.com/story/anti-vaccine-movement-true-cost/.
outbreak in Washington. In January, it had up to 26 cases, and the state governor declared a
public health emergency. Since this emergency was declared, the count has almost tripled to 74.
By not vaccinating their children, parents around the world are putting them at risk for
contracting deadly diseases that could have been prevented. It opens up immune systems of
unvaccinated citizens to viruses and bacteria, and this can begin to spread to the people around
them.

Furthermore, avoiding vaccinations can not only cause harm to the individual themselves,
but also those with medical exemptions to vaccination. When physically able individuals refuse
inoculation, it puts the portion of the population– infants, pregnant women, elderly, and those
with weakened immune systems– at risk since they are unable to be immunized. The more
people that take away from herd immunity, the more danger it poses to people with legitimate
excuses for avoiding vaccinations. Many parents also claim that their children displayed signs of
autism after receiving a specific vaccine, which in many cases, they equate to a causation.
However, an increase in the rate of autism alongside an increase in the number of vaccinations
should not allow one to claim that vaccines cause autism without any further complex data that
supports the hypothesis. Despite these concerns, there has never been a single credible study
linking vaccines to long term health conditions. As for an immediate danger in the form of a
serious allergic reaction, the
overall rate is estimated to be
one case for every one or two
million vaccines. This type of
reaction, however, can even be
seen in food allergies, meaning
that it is not attributed to a lack
of safety on the part of
vaccines. Along with equating
correlation to causation,
another reason that has been
claimed for not vaccinating
children is that they are
unnecessary chemicals being
injected into the body, as these
diseases are not commonly seen anymore in the U.S. However, the reason rates of these diseases
have decreased is due to vaccines, and the recent boycotting of them has led
to a regrowth of preventable
diseases, and cases of tetanus,
measles, and whooping cough have resurfaced. These life threatening illnesses are absolutely
preventable, but parents are risking their children’s lives in order to protect them from a fictional
threat of autism.

Eliminating Exemptions to Mandatory Vaccination

Despite the abundance of research proving the safety of vaccines, and the complete lack
of evidence suggesting a link with long term health conditions, a continued opposition is seen
towards immunization. A solution to this issue would be to truly mandate vaccinations for all
students attending public school, while only providing medical exceptions. This would ensure
that any students who are physically able to receive vaccinations would be immunized, thereby
protecting themselves, as well as the students are are medically unable to do this. Although a
mandate is in place requiring all students attending public school to be vaccinated against certain
diseases, exemptions are also in place, meaning that the mandate is not truly mandatory. Medical
exemptions are allowed in every state to account for students who are physically unable to
receive vaccines, but religious exemptions are allowed in 47 states, and philosophical
exemptions are allowed in 17. These religious and philosophical exemptions allow unvaccinated
students to attend public school,
thereby threatening the safety of
themselves, as well as their peers.
Philosophical exemptions give
parents the power to choose which
medical assistance their children
need, while avoiding the expertise ad
science that accompanies a medical
degree. These parents are exposing
their children to deadly diseases, and
philosophical exemptions allow them
to make this choice to, albeit
unknowingly, endanger their
children. Furthermore, many
Anti-Vaxxers claim that their
religions do not condone vaccination. However, among their religions are some of the most
commonly practiced in the world, namely Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, and the
larger portion of people practicing these religions do not believe that their religion stops them
from vaccination. A journal studying religious excuses for avoiding vaccines found that “it is
only individual ​parents or religious leaders and their questionable interpretation of religious
practices that are opposed to vaccination, no religion as such”6.​ This means that many religions
do not explicitly condemn vaccines, rather it is the individual’s interpretation of the text that says
vaccines are religiously prohibited. Many societies and cultures throughout human civilization
have used religion as an excuse for wars, discrimination, and terrorism, but this is not protected
by freedom of religion because they involve the endangerment of civilians. Although avoiding
vaccines is not the same kind of endangerment, they still pose a threat to public safety, and
therefore, religious exemptions to vaccination must not be protected by the first amendment of
the US constitution.

Celebrity Anti-Vaxxers

Just as the public trusted the falsified “facts” published by Wakefield in 1998, many
celebrities are widely idolized by many Americans, and as a consequence, tend to blindly follow
their words. The growing number of celebrity Anti-Vaxxers leads to a larger population of the
public placing their trust in them, and thereby causing a greater distrust in vaccines. One
celebrity who has expressed her distrust of vaccines is actress and model Jenny McCarthy.
Saying that her child starting displaying signs of autism shortly after receiving the MMR
vaccine, she has publicly stated her distrust of vaccines. “I don’t think it was just the MMR shot
that caused any kind of trigger with autism,” McCarthy said in an interview. “I think it was a
compilation of so many shots to a kid that obviously had some autoimmune disorders. So I
would say maybe a couple of months, a month or so after the MMR, I started to notice some
physical ailments such as constipation, rashes, eczema. That was like the first little sign. And
then the train just kind of descended from there.”7 Another celebrity who has announced her
plans to raise her child without vaccines is Kat Von D, a tattoo artist and makeup entrepreneur.

6
​Pelčić, Gordana, et al. “Religious Exception for Vaccination or Religious Excuses for Avoiding
Vaccination.” ​Croatian Medical Journal​, Croatian Medical Schools, Oct. 2016,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5141457/.
7
​“Jenny McCarthy: ‘We're Not An Anti-Vaccine Movement ... We're Pro-Safe Vaccine.’” ​PBS,​ Public
Broadcasting Service,
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/jenny-mccarthy-were-not-an-anti-vaccine-movement-were-pro-safe-
vaccine/.
On her instagram, she announced that she intended to raise a “natural” and “vegan child, free of
vaccinations.” This led to many outraged customers saying they would stop supporting her
makeup company. She then released another statement saying she was and her husband are
“NOT anti-vaxxers” but also continues on to say that “[they] also can’t dismiss the fact that some
may not be good for everyone.”8 She further stated that she would no longer discuss her child’s
medical records online.9 While keeping medical information private is most likely the better
decision, her choice to reveal that she would not vaccinate her child seems to contradict her
statement that she and her husband are “[not] anti anything.” While these prominent celebrities
with large numbers of followers should be able to back up the science behind their claims before
releasing them to the public, they have nowhere near the influence of the most prominent figure
in the US—the president. On more than 20 occasions, President Donald Trump has tweeted
about there being a link between autism and vaccines. This is something the experts at the
government’s leading public health institute say is false.10 He also repeated this statement during
a Republican primary debate, and the comment was immediately dismissed as false by the
Autistic Self Advocacy Network. His beliefs likely shape those of a large portion of the US,
since as the president of the country, he is one of the most idolized celebrities in the nation. To
add salt to the wound, President Trump’s words represent America as a whole, as he was elected
by the people. Being a country of Anti-Vaxxers is an unfortunate impression to portray to the
rest of the world. A large number of famous individuals announcing their distrust of vaccines
encourages an increasing percentage of the public to boycott them, leading to an increasing
population avoiding inoculation.

8
​Strapagiel, Lauren. “People Say They'll Boycott Kat Von D Makeup Over Her Anti-Vaccination
Stance.” ​BuzzFeed News,​ BuzzFeed News, 16 June 2018,
www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/kat-von-d-doesnt-plan-to-vaccinate-child.
9
​Haller, Sonja. “Kat Von D, Tired of 'Getting a Ton of Hate,' Says in Video She's Not a Neo-Nazi nor
Anti-Vax.” ​USA Today​, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 17 Mar. 2019,
www.usatoday.com/story/life/allthemoms/2019/03/17/kat-von-d-says-shes-not-neo-nazi-and-not-anti-vax
xer/3194747002/.
10
​Andrew Buncombe New York @AndrewBuncombe. “Trump Claims Vaccines and Autism Are Linked
- but His Own Experts Vehemently Disagree.” ​The Independent,​ Independent Digital News and Media, 5
May 2018,
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-vaccines-autism-links-anti-vaxxer-us-president-false
-vaccine-a8331836.html.
 Ensuring Safety and Eliminating Side Effects

In order to ensure that they do not cause the side effects that Anti-Vaxxers claim,
vaccines undergo rigorous testing prior to being administered to the public. Currently, the US has
the safest vaccine supply in its history. Beginning with testing by the Food and Drug
Administration, or the FDA, vaccines are monitored to ensure safety, effectiveness, and
availability for different regions across the US. Before being approved for public use, scientists
and doctors in the FDA also evaluate the results of studies on the safety of the vaccines. They
also inspect the manufacturing sites of vaccines to ensure that they follow guidelines, as a small
error in these sites could cause major consequences.11 To prevent this from occurring, vaccines
undergo thorough testing before ever being administered to the public, and are continuously
monitored thereafter as well.
Although an abundance of studies are conducted on vaccines before being administered,
as with any other product, every single side effect may not be identified. Regardless of how
many times a product is tested, it is impossible to predict every long term effect of vaccines,
since human error is a drawback to every study conducted. The most common side effects are
identified before the vaccine is licensed, but they may not detect the more rare effects. To be able
to detect any adverse effects, the US vaccine safety system continuously monitors for potential
side effects after the licensing of a vaccine. After being administered to millions of people, it is
possible that less common side effects may surface that had not occurred previously. If the CDC
and the FDA find a link between a possible side effect and a vaccine, public health officials will
weigh the benefits and the risks of the vaccine to determine whether the recommendations for
using the vaccine should change or remain the same. Although some minor side effects have
been discovered in this process with certain vaccines, a correlation with autism, which is the
most commonly claimed side effect, has been studied thoroughly and disproven. While there is a

11
​“Parents | Making the Vaccine Decis​ion | C​DC.” ​Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,​ Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, ​www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/vaccine-decision/index.html​.
risk of certain rare side effects, vaccines have not been found to cause major long term side
effects such as autism.12

Conclusion

While most Anti-Vaxxers have adopted their platform to hopefully raise a child free of
health conditions, avoiding vaccinations can be more harmful to the child, and eliminating
philosophical and religious exemptions can eliminate life threatening diseases that are
resurfacing due to the refusal of inoculation. As the diseases that vaccinations have been safely
preventing for years are not seen as commonly today, the seriousness of their effects has not
been seen by modern society. The fictional side effects of vaccines are being feared more than
the life threatening diseases that they prevent, and this is causing many of them to reemerge
among children today. In just one year, vaccines save about 2 to 3 million lives worldwide, and
are far more cost effective than treating a contracted disease, some of which still do not have
cures. In order to eradicate this resurfacing of preventable diseases, vaccination must be truly
mandatory for all students attending public school, as the unfortunate decisions made by
misinformed parents could cause irreversible harm to the future of their children.

12
​Creighton, Jolene. “Get Free Collection of Ebola News and Research Released by Scientific Journals.”
Futurism,​ Futurism, 17 Aug. 2014,
futurism.com/get-free-collection-of-ebola-news-and-research-released-by-scientific-journals.