Should all Children be

Vaccinated?
Mackenzie Nemecek and Paulina Camaj

Vaccination Rates
All 50 states require certain vaccinations for
children to enter public school
o
o

48 allow religious exceptions

19 allow philosophical exceptions

732,000 saved from death in 322 million

cases due to being vaccinated

U.S. Vaccine Mandates and Objections

State policies mandate certain immunizations, including school entry
requirements
Federal and state efforts to eradicate measles in the 1960s and 1970s
By the 1990s, all 50 states required students to receive certain
immunizations, and most states required coverage for older schoolchildren
and those in daycare centers
o Example

The FDA approved the first HPV vaccine in 2006. After the ACIP recommended
three doses of the vaccine for girls aged 11-12, various state legislatures attempted to
mandate vaccination.
Ethical objections to this mandate have ranged to include religious concerns that a
vaccine to protect against an STD contradicts abstinence-based messages; fears that
the vaccine could potentially force a child to undergo an intervention misaligned
with her familys beliefs; and human rights questions about the fairness of providing
a vaccine to one sex only.

Vaccine Research and Testing

Reviewed by The National Vaccine Program and other key vaccine committees, like the
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices States
To be licensed, vaccines go through many years of research, and must pass rigorous
safety and efficacy standards
Process includes diverse experts many scientific and social disciplines, public health,
epidemiology, immunology, and statistics
Researchers must balance the need to protect childrens safety with the need to
adequately understand how a vaccine will perform and protect children when
administered

Access Issues
Some say that access to vaccinations can be limited
depending on socioeconomic status and race
o Health Insurance
Vaccine shortages
o Nov 2000 - May 2003: Shortage of 8 out of 11
vaccines for childhood diseases

2015 Measles Outbreak

Declared eliminated in
2000
Disneyland
Intensified by lack of
vaccinated workers
and attendees
23 cases in 2014 vs.
159 in 2015 so far

Whooping Cough
All 7 of a Canadian womans children
contracted whooping cough
3 of her children were vaccinated on an
alternative schedule
4 were not vaccinated at all

Possible Solutions
Require that all children have certain necessary vaccines
before attending public schools
Cover all vaccines on all forms of health insurance
Offer an informative meeting regarding vaccinations at
public schools for parents and staff

Ethical Viewpoints
Ethics is the study and philosophy of human
conduct with emphasis on the determination of
right and wrong.
Meta-Ethics
Applied Ethics
Normative Ethics
o

What types of questions should we ask?

Ethical Questions
Should the government regulate and require
children to have vaccinations?
Should there be religious and philosophical
exceptions for vaccinations?
Being in a school, do you think it is
important for us to be vaccinated? Why?

What do you think is the most ethical solution?

Opinions?