The Main Reason for Vaccination - Essay Example

Vaccination

In many regions of the world, vaccination is a mandatory process, which means that nobody is exempted from it regardless of their personal or religious beliefs. More so, the rationale for compulsory vaccination is proved by extensive research done on health care workers; nurses and physicians are the most vulnerable regarding contracting infections due to their nature of work. On the same note, the studies show that when more health care workers are vaccinated against a particular disease, they record a significantly low rate of infection of various diseases such as pertussis, rubella and influenza (Birnbaum 161). On the other hand, when a low number of the aforementioned group is vaccinated, more of them contract diseases from their patients. In that respect, the essay seeks to prove that compulsory immunization is quite beneficial to every individual and the community at large and should therefore be enforced on account of reducing and ultimately eliminating some of the most life-threatening diseases.

Evidently, immunization does not only protect an individual from the disease they are vaccinated against, but also works to protect one from other infections related to the disease. For instance, influenza vaccines reduce the chances of contracting acute otitis, which is a disease that mostly affects children at infancy. Furthermore, vaccination against measles protects one from other equally fatal infections such as dysentery, malnutrition and keratomalacia. HPV vaccines have also been effective in minimizing the chances of getting cervical cancer (Talbot and Schaffner 890). Clearly, cancer is definitely among the most lethal diseases and any chances to curb the menace should be utilized. In light of this, vaccination should be mandatory in order to safeguard the health of the community as a whole.

Notably, measles was a public health scourge in the early and mid-20th century. As a matter of fact, the American health society declared it a national disaster. Moreover, more than 6000 people succumbed to the disease annually in the period between 1912 and 1922. Also, in 1950 more than 50000 people were admitted with symptoms related to measles (Birnbaum 162). Due to its high mortality and morbidity rate, it was necessary to introduce a vaccine to reduce its effects on the population. Subsequently, the number of individuals suffering from measles reduced drastically, and the disease was declared eradicated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2000. The eradication of measles is attributed to the introduction of its vaccine in 1963. Therefore, it is apparent that vaccination is not only effective in reducing the chances of being infected, but can gradually lead to the elimination of a disease, another reason every individual should be subjected to it.

Noteworthy, vaccination has achieved great success vis-à-vis reducing cases of infections of quite a number of diseases. Regarding the same, the Hospital Corporation of America required its employees to be vaccinated against influenza. Initially, only 90 percent of the employees were vaccinated, and this prompted the hospital management to make influenza vaccination mandatory (Birnbaum 161). Consequently, more than 98 percent received the vaccination and there were fewer cases of patient and health workers’ infections. Increasingly, more health institutions are adopting mandatory vaccination on influenza and other diseases that are highly contagious. The primary reason for the initiative is to avert the prevalence of infections among the medical stuff as well as the patients. It is thus justifiable to assume that the medical fraternity is taking up mandatory immunization due to its prior success in reducing the rate of infection of various diseases including influenza.

Vaccination has over time proved very efficient in reducing the likelihood of disease outbreaks. Worth mentioning is that cases of diphtheria and polio have been significantly reduced due to introduction of vaccination programs. Equally important, vaccines should not be scraped on the basis that infections have reduced, but on confirmation that the disease has been wiped out in its entirety. On the same note, an outbreak of pertussis was experienced in Japan in 1976 and this lead to the introduction of a vaccine to counter the virus (Talbot and Schaffner 889). Accordingly, the country reported great success thereof as only less than four hundred cases of infections were reported in the entire country. However, the health society untightened its regulations concerning vaccination of pertussis and the aftermath was quite detrimental; in a span of three years, the country reported more than forty-one fatalities. Moreover, 13000 people suffered from whooping cough, which is caused by the same virus that causes pertussis. It is evident therefore, that alienating vaccination has adverse effects on the community at large.

It is obvious that being immunized from a particular infection protects all individuals that one gets into contact with. Furthermore, it keeps the population immune from contagious diseases such that it cannot develop into an epidemic. The process is referred to as herd protection (Honda, et al. 1196). Besides, more people are inclined to understand that public health is far more important than the health of an individual, contrary to earlier beliefs that mandatory vaccination is an infringement of individual rights. Previous exercises concerning herd protection have been remarkably successful. For instance, the HIB virus was eradicated when a percentage of the Gambian population was vaccinated. In addition, the American schools saw a reduction of contagious diseases among schoolchildren due to constant vaccinations against them. Among other reasons, it is evidently justifiable to make vaccination mandatory.

Many nations including America have made immunization against communicable diseases a requirement for all children attending public as well as private schools. This is prompted by the need to protect each child from contracting any type of infection. Immunization being a prerequisite for joining any institution of learning has not been wholly accepted as some parents do not conform to the idea of vaccination on account of religious and personal beliefs. Nonetheless, the government by use of courts has been at the forefront in sensitizing the public on the need to immunize children (Honda, et al. 1197). Rather than deferring with the parent’s preferences, the governments always introduce compulsory vaccination, apparently to protect the children from contracting contagious diseases. Arguably, the move works to the benefit of the children and the community at large, albeit the move is seemingly inconsiderate on the outlook.

Contagious diseases spread quite easily; the reason immunization cannot be overlooked at all. Since travelers are more prone to contracting infections due to their increased interactions with different people, immunization is quite critical in regard to protecting their health. Concerning the same, the most prevalent infections that tourists have to deal with include but not limited to Hepatitis B, yellow fever, influenza, measles and cholera (Chean, et al. 43). Nonetheless, immunization against the aforementioned diseases has proved quite effective. It is also worth noting that the developing nations are making giant strides towards the elimination of the common contagious diseases. In that respect, parents are urged to take their children through the set processes of immunization to avert the age-old disasters including polio and measles. With assistance from the developed nations, there have been notable improvements in the pursuit of a more healthy African society.

Mandatory vaccination in combination with other multifaceted infection programs produces quite positive results. The multifaceted programs may include use of personal protective equipment, isolation, source control and early identification of the infections. A study conducted on containing the influenza virus shows that the above mentioned methods greatly work in reducing the spread of the virus. In addition, making vaccination mandatory for the health workers and the patients as well, reduces the rate of infection by 90 percent, as studies prove (Pierik 222). This fact when projected to the rest of the population produces similar results. In this respect, being cognizant of one’s health condition is important in determining the most appropriate way to avert the chances of infecting other people who, at the time, are vulnerable to infections. Nevertheless, mandatory vaccination can greatly function in protecting the entire population from being infected with diseases.

Albeit there are myriad of rationales as to why vaccination should be mandatory, some people hold a different stand regarding the same. There are several reasons for disregarding immunization but the most outstanding ones are religious beliefs and personal reasons thereof. The latter is, however not as heavily considered in the constitution as the former. Recently, there have been calls for religious exemption especially from the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage requirement (Chean, et al. 44). Those lobbying for the exemption also insist that the courts should establish laws that prohibit the discrimination of those against vaccination. The fact that the law focuses of protecting the rights of every individual notwithstanding, such exemptions do not only endanger the health of the individuals against vaccination, but also those that conform to it.

Summing up, vaccination should be mandatory, as its effects vis-à-vis protecting the health of individuals is clearly positive. Moreover, vaccinating only a percentage of the population is not quite effective as those who bypass the process compromise the health of those that are vaccinated, not to mention those that are not vaccinated as well. In light of the negative effects of sidestepping vaccination, it is every individual’s call to ensure that they are immunized in order to play a part in the course of eradicating deadly diseases such as polio and measles.