Vaccine Requirements for Children
Recently there has been much attention focused on the topic of vaccines and what should be required for children. State governments have been making their own laws for some time based on the recommendations of the CDC and the physicians associated with that organization and that system has worked to lower both the incidence and prevalence of pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis, Haemophilus influenzae pneumonia and Neisseria species meningitis. Of course, prior to that the health care community saw the eradication of smallpox and near eradication of polio worldwide, so it has been clearly demonstrated that vaccines are effective in preventing disease, but that only holds true if people get vaccinated. More importantly, it holds true if parents get their kids vaccinated.
Vaccines work by exposing the body to a minuscule amount of a specific pathogen and is occasionally linked to a protein to stimulate the body to produce antibodies. This then creates a humoral memory in a way and the body will have ammunition to fight the foreign invader the next time it sees it. The principle of mass vaccination is based on ‘herd immunity’ and assumes that while not everyone will receive a dose, enough of the population will develop immunities so as to prevent the spread of disease from one end of the population to the other. If pockets of unvaccinated people exist though, there will not be enough population immunity to prevent outbreaks as was demonstrated with recent pertussis and mumps cases in California and the Northeast respectively.
Texas has a list of what is required for a child to enter school or daycare, and that follows the annual CDC guidelines for the most part. Other states differ a little in what vaccines are required for school entry, or when the vaccines have to be given by. But what is inconsistent is the ability to opt out of vaccine administration for various reasons. There is a portion of the population that is unable to be vaccinated for health reasons, and some that are opposed religiously. I don’t disagree with these groups. The philosophical objections on the other hand concern me greatly. If you have a reason you don’t want your child vaccinated, that’s fine. But I don’t want my children exposed to a preventable disease at school because of a statement made by an anti-vaccine group or something that Dr. Phil said last week. Medical science proved conclusively many years ago that safe and effective vaccine administration can prevent disease and save lives and in addition provide huge health care cost savings.
As a conservative I believe that personal freedom is the greatest thing about being an American. But with that freedom comes responsibility and putting others at risk of preventable disease by one individual’s decision is where that freedom must yield to the benefits of the nation. I am not advocating for a new government agency to be created, or a Congressional task force to be created. I just think that the state governments should limit the ability of uninformed parents to put others at risk. Strengthen the vaccination requirements nationally and help to educate everyone to the benefits that can be garnered by majority participation.
Omer SB et al. Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. N Engl J Med 2009; 360:1981-1988
National Network for Immunization Information. http://www.immunizationinfo.org/vaccines/state-requirements/texas. Accessed 4/17/12
CDC guidelines for Vaccinations for Children Birth through Age 6.http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf. Accessed 4/18/12
Kellner J. Update on the success of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Paedeatric Child Health 2011; Apr;16(4):233-40.
Davis MM et al. Associations of daycare and school entry vaccination requirements with varicella immunization rates. Vaccine 2005; 23:3053–3060
My comments are for an article written by Collin Verheyden on vaccine requirements. While I agree with his conclusion that we should hold to or strengthen our policies on vaccination upon entering a social environment such as school or day care, I oppose specified guidelines that put infants and children on a time table prior to those social encounters.
ReplyDeleteYou know what I'm talking about? At these many weeks old they need this, at this many months old they need that. I understand that there are certain age groups that are more susceptible to certain ailments than others, but find it interesting that the government has found a way to heard people in like cattle with their babies.
In order to not come across like chemically induced weirdo, let me clarify. First of all, I'm a dad of 3. My first child had all his "shots" by the numbers and not a day late. Immediately after immunization time up until the time he was 3, he would get sick. To this day he is prone to catch something a few times a year. Nothing as horrible as polio mind you, but ill. With our next 2, we decided to hold off a bit and hope that there would be a difference. Ultimately, they were vaccinated, but we wanted to give them that first 18 months hoping for better results. The outcome was night and day. They are to this day much more healthy. The funny thing was that it was a doctor who suggested this to us. We were told that the government and pharmaceutical companies had specialized agreements in order to move product, and that that many people choose to hold off on vaccinations, letting their children's bodies initiate the immune system by building it up naturally.
Remember the swine flu scare of 2009? Remember how the media blew that thing way out of proportion? Could there be a connection? If we think that vaccines aren't a major money makers, we need to think again. I do understand and respect the fact that we as a community need to help the community be healthy. I do not want others infecting my child, nor mine theirs. However, I believe that we as a society do not question things as we should. Is it crucial, or just what they want?