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John Michael Dark

Mr. Rogers
Government 1
26 October 2016
Mandatory Vaccinations
In the 2011-2012 school year, about 80% of vaccine exemptions granted were for nonmedical reasons, according to a study by New York University Langone Medical Center.
Vaccines are available for dozens of different illnesses, and before children are even able to talk
there are several they are expected to have to prevent sicknesses, including chicken pox and
measles. So, why would anyone risk infecting their child or themselves by voluntarily refusing
vaccination? Legal exemptions can be granted for legitimate medical reasons, such as an allergy
to a component of the vaccine, or the possibility of a reaction when taken alongside other
medication. However, there is a school of thought that believes vaccines cause mental disorders,
or in general harm their recipients. Certain religions also prohibit use of modern medicine, and
these two reasons are currently federally legitimate for vaccine exemptions. However, by not
being vaccinated, these individuals are putting themselves and others, vaccinated or not, at risk
for contracting a vaccine-preventable disease (VPD). Non-medical vaccine exemptions need to
be federally prohibited because of the risk they pose to herd immunity, the recent instances of
increased infection of VPDs, and the myriad of scientific misconceptions that encourage them.
Herd immunity is the idea that if a group of people are vaccinated, and therefore mostly
immune to a disease, any given unvaccinated individual in the group is less likely to contract a
VPD. Should non-medical vaccine exemptions become federally prohibited, far more individuals
would be vaccinated, and therefore able to protect those not immune from contracting a VPD.

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According to the book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vaccinations, A small percentage of
people who are vaccinated against a disease do not develop immunity to it [] they rely on herd
immunity to protect them from becoming ill from vaccine-preventable diseases (Bouck and
Smith 191). Even if an individual is vaccinated, they may not be immune to the disease, just the
same as those who are medically unable to receive the vaccine. This means that even if everyone
is legally required to be vaccinated, for the small portions that are unable to be immune to the
disease there will be stronger protections for them. Unsurprisingly, according to a 2014 study
conducted by the British Medical Journal, in areas where non-medical exemption rates are high
enough to negate herd immunity, there is a drastic increase in the chances of an outbreak of a
VPD (Zuckerman). Since there are fewer individuals vaccinated, the group of people cant
experience herd immunity. Should an outbreak occur among those not made immune by the
vaccine, or unvaccinated, there is more of a chance the virus could survive long enough to
mutate into a strain not affected by the vaccine, or could spread to different groups. According to
the same study cited above, conducted by New York University Langone Medical Center, 80%
of all exemptions in the 2011-2012 school year were non-medical (Blank). This means that 80%
of students who were unvaccinated could have potentially contracted or carried VPDs, and they
had no legitimate medical reason to whatsoever. Putting a law against this into effect would
drastically increase the health and safety of students all across America. The rates of VPDs must
be reduced as much as possible.
Vaccine-preventable diseases have always had some prevalence despite vaccines
becoming more advanced, so in order to be most effective, the vaccines must reach as many
people as possible. The availability of non-medical exemptions makes it even more difficult for
vaccines to do their job, and by avoiding vaccines to common diseases those who choose to do

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so are defeating the purpose of vaccinations. Outbreaks have occurred multiple times in recent
years. For example, in 2015 the Center for Disease Control (CDC), reported an outbreak of
measles at Disneyland, which infected about 110 patients. Since 49 of them were unvaccinated,
they were enough to infect the other 61 patients who were vaccinated (Measles Outbreak
California, December). Herd immunity was compromised, and by measles, a disease that is
completely vaccine-preventable and should never have been anywhere near Disneyland to begin
with. There were 49 people who were vaccinated but not immune, and they were relying on the
immunity of others to stay healthy, yet they still became sick thanks to 61 unvaccinated people
out of the thousands that visit Disneyland every day. Additionally, the US Council on Foreign
Relations reports there were 10,831 cases of vaccine-preventable whooping cough, in the entire
state of California in 2014 (Map: Vaccine-Preventable Outbreaks). Whooping cough is a VPD,
and had as many citizens as possible been vaccinated, fewer would have been harmed or
sickened in any way. Americans need a reasonable expectation of safety from contracting a
serious disease in public, and especially something like whooping cough that is easily vaccinated
against shouldnt be a concern whatsoever. To make matters worse, the CDC writes, Studies
have shown that vaccine exemptions tend to cluster geographically, making some communities at
greater risk for outbreaks (State Vaccination Requirements | CDC). Not only are there a few
people scattered about putting everyone at risk, but there are clusters of them, which make it
dangerous for anyone who isnt immune or outright unvaccinated to go near the area. Not only
that, it is also dangerous to be one of them, as not being immune without herd immunity offers
absolutely no protection against VPDs. These are the risks Americans are willing to take in order
to avoid what they incorrectly perceive to be dangerous.

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A popular movement exists worldwide that believes vaccines are dangerous, and that the
consequences of not being vaccinated outweigh the perceived dangers of being vaccinated. There
are also religions that prohibit medicine of any kind, instead turning to prayer for a cure, which
rarely works. However, those who believe the science itself behind vaccinations is wrong are
putting themselves and others at risk for no reason other than themselves, and have currently
have total freedom to choose exemption. The National Vaccine Information Center reports that of
the 50 states, 47 and D.C. allow religious exemptions and 16 allow philosophical exemptions
(State Vaccine Requirements National Vaccine Information Center), both types of which put
the general wellbeing of Americans at risk. In all but three states, California, Mississippi, and
West Virginia, religious exemptions are allowed based off incorrect use of the First Amendment,
and this means that virtually any state besides the three listed above has people who are putting
themselves and those in their environment at risk based off an incorrect understanding of the
science behind vaccines. For example, the CDC reports that thimerosal, a mercury-containing
preservative in certain vaccines, is harmful (Thimerosal in Vaccines | CDC). This is technically
true in large doses. The amount administered in a vaccine has not been shown to cause any
harm to humans. Others believe that intramuscular injections are dangerous, or that the risk of a
strong negative reaction to the vaccine administered intramuscularly is high. In actuality, its the
opposite. Vaccines are administered in this way on purpose to both increase effectiveness and
also because according to the British Medical Journal, the chances of an adverse reaction are
actually lessened if administered intramuscularly (Zuckerman). There is a good amount of
misconception about vaccines among the general public, and misinformation is sometimes
communicated in order to further an anti-vaccine agenda, but it is simply not correct.

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Vaccinations have been in use for decades, and much effort has been expended in order to make
sure they are administered as safely as possible.
Some may believe that a federal prohibition on non-medical vaccine exemptions is a
violation of the First Amendment, specifically freedom of religion; and that the components of
vaccines are made of undesirable materials to have in ones body. In fact, laws have been in
effect in California since June 2015 under law SB 277 that prohibits citizens without certain
vaccinations from attending public schools (Legislature.CA.gov), and neither of these two
falsehoods has proven true in anyone yet. There have been rumors spread that certain vaccines
contain stem cells from aborted fetuses, or that the weakened or killed germs in certain vaccines
can be too much for a humans immune system to handle. As it turns out, prohibiting nonmedical vaccination is not against the First Amendment. According to VaccineSafety.edu, It is
well established as a matter of constitutional law that police powers authorize states to compel
vaccination in the interest of public health (Salmon). In other words, public health takes
precedence over freedom of religion, and for this reason it is perfectly reasonable and logical to
prohibit non-medical exemptions. As for the rumors about undesirable ingredients, the Catholic
Church has come out in support of vaccination, approving vaccines that were falsely accused of
containing aborted fetus cells (Bouck and Smith), according to The Complete Idiots Guide to
Vaccinations. Not only that, but Harvard has published an article stating that the killed or
weakened germs arent enough to overwhelm an immune system, and that it is nothing compared
to the constant bombardment of germs faced on a daily basis (Harvard Health). This
misconception in particular is a blatant lie. For years, anecdotal evidence in pop culture has
suggested that several decades ago, parents would expose their children to diseases like chicken
pox or measles because once their immune system was exposed to it once, it would be able to

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combat the disease for the rest of the childs life. Vaccinations work the same way, but are able to
train the immune system without sickening the human its in. This is how the immune system
works, and the misconception shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the human body
operates. Individuals who believe these things in particular are severely misinformed, and it
shows how far the opposing side is willing to go in order to push their unjustified vendetta
against vaccination.
For the sake of herd immunity, to prevent more outbreaks of disease than we have had
recently, and to combat the misinformation spread about vaccination, the federal government
must prohibit all non-medical vaccine exemptions. This is a matter of public safety in general,
and can affect anyone worldwide, should an unvaccinated individual travel. Once again, in order
to ensure the safety of ours and future generations, we must enact a federal law limiting vaccine
exemptions for medical reasons only.

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Works Cited:
SB-277 Public Health: Vaccinations. Bill Text - SB-277 Public Health: Vaccinations,
California Legislative Information, 30 June 2015,
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billnavclient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160sb277.
Measles Outbreak California, December 2014February 2015. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Feb. 2015,
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6406a5.htm?s_cid=mm6406a5_w.
Thimerosal in Vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 27 Oct. 2015,
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/.
"State Vaccination Requirements | CDC". Cdc.gov., 2016. 9 Sept. 2016.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/laws/state-reqs.html
Map: Vaccine-Preventable Outbreaks. Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign
Relations, http://www.cfr.org/interactives/gh_vaccine_map/#map.
Publications, Harvard Health. "Vaccinations: Myth vs. Reality - Harvard Health." Harvard
Health. N.p., Aug. 2013. 18 Sept. 2016.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/vaccinations/vaccinations-myth-vs-reality.
"State Vaccine Requirements National Vaccine Information Center." National Vaccine
Information Center (NVIC). N.p., n.d. 18 Oct. 2016. http://www.nvic.org/VaccineLaws/state-vaccine-requirements.aspx
Blank, N. R. et al. Exempting Schoolchildren from Immunizations: States With Few Barriers
Had Highest Rates Of Nonmedical Exemptions. Health Affairs, vol. 32, no. 7, Jan. 2013,
pp. 12821290. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0239
Salmon, Daniel A. VaccineSafety.edu. 2002, VaccineSafety.edu.
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/exemptreview101503.pdf.
Smith, Michael Joseph., and Laurie Bouck. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vaccinations. New
York, Alpha Books, 2009.
Wang, Eileen et al. Nonmedical Exemptions from School Immunization Requirements: A
Systematic Review. Nonmedical Exemptions from School Immunization Requirements:
A Systematic Review, Nov. 2014,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4202987/.
Zuckerman, Jane N. The Importance of Injecting Vaccines into Muscle: Different Patients Need
Different Needle Sizes. BMJ : British Medical Journal, BMJ, 18 Nov. 2000,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc1118997/.

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