Reasons Why Vaccinations Should Be Mandatory

“From January 1 to September 19, 2019, 1,241 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 31 states”(cdc.gov). These outbreaks occurred from travelers who have gone to other countries and brought back this disease (cdc.gov). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is responsible for protecting America's health and help fight diseases. There would not be this many outbreaks within 9 months if others were vaccinated. It is ethical for CDC to force people to get vaccinated because it prevents disease such as whooping cough, influenza, mumps, smallpox etc.

According to Issues and Controversies “Vaccines work by introducing diluted versions of viruses or bacteria into a person's body via injection.” For example, if a child were to get an influenza vaccine their body will work to fight off the infection. If the body fights off the infection the child's immune system will strengthen and will not get the flu. Influenza is an infection that affects your throat, nose, and lungs: also known as the flu (Mayo Clinic). “Vaccines are the most effective tool we have to prevent infectious diseases.” Everyone does not agree with this statement for various reasons.

One of the reasons may be is they do not know enough about vaccinations and their benefits. Some of the benefits that come with getting vaccinated are, it can save a child’s life by protecting them from deadly diseases. If parents were educated on immunizations, they would feel more comfortable with their child getting them. Do to lack of information about vaccines, “it has fueled a series of measles outbreaks across the country. There have been more than 159 cases in 10 states since January” (Johnson).

Measles is the most common disease from not being vaccinated. Measles is also known as Rubeola, which is an infection caused by a virus (mayoclinic). Mayo Clinic also states that this disease “still kills more than 100,000 people a year, usually under the age of 5”. Another disease that is also caused from being unvaccinated, is smallpox. Smallpox is a very serious infectious disease caused by the variola virus (cdc.gov). “Smallpox causes pus-filled blisters to appear across an infected person's entire body, along with severe fatigue and back pain”(Issues and Controveries). You may not know you have been infected with smallpox until almost 7 or more days after being exposed to it. Chris Cirone stated in his case study ‘Bio-Terrorism’, “approximately 30-50% of unvaccinated people exposed to smallpox will contract the disease.”

On the other hand, it is ethical for someone to refuse the vaccine because they have AIDS. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is “caused by a virus called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). If you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection. It will make 'antibodies,' special immune molecules the body makes to fight HIV” (aidsinfonet). People who have AIDS can not have the smallpox vaccine because it will kill them.

Their immune systems are very weak and they will not be able to fight off the infection. To force someone to get a vaccine that will kill them is violating their rights. Although not being vaccinated is putting others at risk of catching a disease, it is still not fair to force it upon someone whom can die from it. Even if you do not have AIDS, you can still suffer from the effects of the vaccines as stated in Issues and Controversies. Some may have an “immediate allergic reaction that can be treated with common medications to ease itching or swelling”(Issues and Controversies). There have also been cases where people have received a vaccine that they should not have.

To briefly summarize, it is ethical for CDC to force people to get vaccinated to protect them from getting infected by deadly diseases. The CDC’s main goal is to help inform others on vaccines and their benefits for their safety. If vaccines were mandatory it would reduce the amount of outbreaks we have yearly. It is also ethical to for someone to refuse a vaccine because of their health conditions.