Moral and Ethical Debates Surrounding Immunization - Essay Example

The decision to vaccinate or not has an impact on the health of the child and society. Parents have a right to decide whether to vaccinate their children or not. However, they should understand the effects of such decisions on the health of the child and society. Religious conviction has been cited as one of the reasons that parents can reject vaccination.

Religion teaches that human life is sacred, and it is wrong to inject toxic substances into the bloodstream of a healthy child. Apart from being toxic, the substance also has side-effect such as seizures, paralysis, or even death. The CDC states that all vaccines have a risk of anaphylaxis in about one per million children (“Vaccines ProCon.org,” 2015). Moreover, vaccines contain harmful ingredients like thimerosal, which is organic mercury linked to autism. It is also important to note that mandatory vaccination infringes on religious freedoms. Some of the ingredients that are included in the vaccines are considered immoral in religious circles. Some MMR, HepA, and chicken pox vaccines are cultivated from two fetuses aborted in the 1960s (“Vaccines ProCon.org,” 2015). Most religions are against abortion and hence vaccination using those vaccines directly or indirectly endorses abortion.

On the other hand, rejecting vaccination based on religion poses a great danger to society. Community immunity depends on a critical portion of the community being vaccinated (Herlihy & Hagood, 2012). Hence, in case of an outbreak, most members of the community will be protected and will not contract the disease. Vaccination also saves parents their time and money. It is less costly in terms of time and money to prevent a disease than to cure it. The side effects of vaccines are mostly rare, and hence, the risk of vaccinating is lower than the risk of rejecting immunization. Lastly, vaccines are capable of saving children's lives. Vaccines are very effective in preventing diseases and rejecting vaccination results in exposing the child to unnecessary danger.

The CDC recommended immunization schedule for children between 0 to six years is as follows (“CDC - Vaccines - Child Immunization Schedule, by Vaccine and Age Group Shell,” 2015). At birth, the child should be vaccinated against hepatitis B. At two to six months of age, the child gets the RV, DTaP, Hib, PCV, and IPV vaccines. Read More