Vaccines Should Be Mandatory Essay

Vaccines are a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease. When vaccines are given, it is an injection of a muted down version of a particular disease that allows the body to naturally become immune. Vaccinations against a variety of diseases such as polio, measles, pertussis, rubella and hepatitis B have been successful in preventing negative health effects and death. Opponents of making vaccinations mandatory argue vaccines are not safe and cause autism; while supporters argue vaccines are safe, they provide a way to protect children and the society, and vaccinations help avoid widespread diseases. Vaccines are not completely 100 percent safe, but they are safer than the infectious disease that they are preventing. Most vaccines do not cause any more harm than a little tenderness or redness at the site of the injection (“Benefits of Vaccinations” 1). Only in rare cases are side effects more severe; however, none of them will result in permanent damage (1). Before vaccinations, the only way for one to acquire immunity for a …show more content…
“According to the government-operated website Vaccines.gov, “Vaccines are the most effective tool we have to prevent infectious diseases.” (“Mandatory Vaccinations” 1).” The US has reported that since the measles vaccine there has been a 99 percent decrease of measles; if vaccinations were to stop there would be around 2.7 million measles-related deaths each year (“Vaccination Programs” 2). Before the Hib vaccine, bacterial meningitis was common among US infants and children; since the vaccine bacterial meningitis has dropped 98 percent (2). The measles and Hib vaccine are not the only vaccines that have had these results. In particular, Polio, Rubella, Hepatitis B, and Diphtheria vaccines have all had similar outcomes. Vaccines will continue to keep diseases from spreading as long as people continue getting