Leahnette Dovelle G.

Calisang

RS

The last case of Polio virus in the Philippines was in 1993 and the country has been
declared polio free by the World Health Organization (WHO) since the year 2000. But
after almost two (2) decades, a new case emerged. Last September 14, 2019, a three-
year-old girl from Lanao del Sur is the first confirmed case of Type 2 polio. According to
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, a single confirmed polio case of vaccine-derived
poliovirus type 2 or two positive environmental samples that are genetically linked isolated
in two different locations is considered an epidemic in a polio-free country.

With this in mind, the state should make drastic measures in order to ensure the safety
of all its constituents. Although having good hygiene may stop the spread of polio, only
through vaccination can a person be safe from this paralyzing and even deadly disease.

Vaccines have already been proven to be working in fighting different kinds of diseases.
Some of these vaccines are for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, H Influenza B, Chicken Pox,
Measles, Mumps, Typhoid, Cholera, among many others. Most of these vaccines are
given to children at an age wherein they do not have any say if they would want it or not.
It is the parents of the child that decides whether or not the child will be vaccinated.

Today, there are a lot of rumors that vaccines can cause autism. That one out of a
thousand studies related vaccines to autism. With the spread of news like this, parents
are now reconsidering in vaccinating their children.

A question now arises, should the state approve a law for mandatory vaccinations on
children?

Does having a law that mandates mandatory vaccination for children impair the right of
free choice of the children, of the parents that decides for their children? Article 3, Section
4 of the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution states that no law shall be passed
abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

In my opinion, the state should pass a law providing free mandatory vaccination for
children. There are a few reasons I believe it should be so. First, the study that proves
vaccines correlate to autism is just one out of the many that proves vaccines are 100%
safe and prevents deadly diseases. Second, children which will not be vaccinated is a
danger, a harm to the other people around him/her since he/she may cause the spread
of diseases. Last, even if others may argue that passing a law violates the freedom of
choice of parents, it can always be rebutted that the freedom of choice of one, stops when
it puts danger into the freedom held by another.

In order to preserve the health of the nation as a whole, and in order for this to not happen
again, a law giving free mandatory vaccination for children should be passed.