Should vaccines be mandatory?

Spartacus FPV said:

Mandatory? No thanks, I'm not a statist.
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Because a lot of people are idiots.

Absentglare said:

In Colorado, you can opt out with a religious exemption. My friend has 6 children who are not vaccinated, some of whom attend public schools.

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Luckily, in California, they've ended religious and personal exemptions. The only exemption is medical, as in you cannot be vaccinated because it will kill you if you are.

Hawkeye10 said:

In America circa 2017 there is too short supply of smart people.

Ditto people who care about others.

Civilization is crashing.

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People have always worked on a profit motive. Give people something they can profit from and they will follow you, but give them nothing but their own two hands and they will not. Civilization isn't crashing because people believe in that principle, but doing what it always has done.

Gina said:

I think religious exemptions are the case in Oregon as well, but your kid cannot attend school unimmunized, without some kind of official explanation. On February 1st, if a child's vaccinations are not up to date, they are not allowed to attend school. Does your friend have religious objections?

I fought about the February 1st thing whenever booster shots were due with my youngest. Some how, they screwed up the dates of her immunizations in entering her data. I had to provide a print out in multiple instances, when the school sent me a letter.

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Religious exemptions?? What religious beliefs?

Did find this

Nearly all states allow religious exemptions for vaccinations | Pew Research Center

Masterhawk said:

One extra reason to support vaccination is due to the fact that some people cannot get vaccinated whether they are infants, allergic to them, or have compromised immune systems. They rely on herd immunity to keep mostly curable diseases at bay. When the amount of vaccinated individuals is too low, unvaccinated people are at risk of getting infected.

Should it be mandatory?

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No, and here is why. While the benefits greatly out weigh the risks, there are risks involved. Not the ridiculous, celebrity ginned up...my baby got autism and was abducted by aliens because of vaccines...reasons. But actual health concerns that do arise from vaccinations. Not everyone benefits from them. I spent 2 weeks in the ICU after my first MMR shot. The damn thing nearly killed me. I never got another MMR in my life. I never got any of those diseases and if I had, my chances of surviving are almost as high as the common cold. So, while my children get all their vaccinations, we discuss the risks with our doctor and make the choice to vaccinate. This is our decision. Not yours, not the governments. It is our decision to make.

The real problem here is the assumption that the greater good is served by forced obedience to an approved set of choices. While there may be statistics that support this claim, the erosion of freedoms is not one to be taken lightly. The price of freedom is not just paid by soldiers battle. The price of freedom is paid at the soup kitchen, the emergency room, the unemployment line and any where else we go to recover from poor choices. Don't look at the results of bad choices and snarl. Look at the freedom to make bad (and good) choices and smile. Some would say that we must help those that are in need and that preventing people from being in need is the best form of help. I would say, we can be free and help our neighbors. We have a duty to help our neighbors. But that duty should be accepted voluntarily and not as part of a government program to force results it deems acceptable.

ttwtt78640 said:

Can the ER turn away unvaccinated folks that contract a vaccine preventable disease? You have no right to demand that others pay for your choices either.

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Unless you got some psychopath in charge of admitting, no one would be able to sleep at night turning anyone away with a life threatening illness no matter how foolish that person was.

blackjack50 said:

That is the only way it should be. And back in the 60s people were alive who remembered polio.


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That's exactly the problem. Diseases like polio and smallpox have been all but eradicated by the awesome effectiveness of vaccines. Vaccines have been so monumentally successful that these diseases have faded into history, so the problems that they solve have grown more and more distant from us.

And so the skeptical, compassionate parent, who is worried about subjecting their child to a potentially risky procedure, chooses to avoid the imaginary problem right before them and, in doing so, tragically embraces the VERY REAL problems that seem so very far away.

Vaccines should never be forced in a "free" society. While I think it's insane to not have the basic ones, I do not believe the govt should have the right to force us to have chemicals injected into our bodies.

Scrabaholic said:

Vaccines should never be forced in a "free" society. While I think it's insane to not have the basic ones, I do not believe the govt should have the right to force us to have chemicals injected into our bodies.

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Well its not really forcing you. Basically its saying that if you want to reside or work on US soil, for public health reasons you should have the following basic vaccinations. As I pointed out earlier, we have adopted from China twice. On both occasions before we could leave China and fly back to the United States with our adopted child, they had to be vaccinated. If someone does not want to be vaccinated, then they always have the option of living and working a country that shares their "libertarian public health" views like Haiti or Nigeria.

Your right to live your life the way you want and make the decisions you want, no matter how foolish, does not extend so far as to put the life and health of others at risk.

Scrabaholic said:

Vaccines should never be forced in a "free" society. While I think it's insane to not have the basic ones, I do not believe the govt should have the right to force us to have chemicals injected into our bodies.

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Sure, but society should have the right to force people to not be allowed to use its services should they chose not to get vaccinated.

SouthernDemocrat said:

Unless you got some psychopath in charge of admitting, no one would be able to sleep at night turning anyone away with a life threatening illness no matter how foolish that person was.

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Question, would you put an unvaccinated person in the same ward as people who are potentially immunocompromised? Would that not be putting other people at risk due to the persons foolishness?

Nilly said:

Sure, but society should have the right to force people to not be allowed to use its services should they chose not to get vaccinated.

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And that should be all services including underwriting of mortgages, flying, employment (such as unemployment insurance), public education, and so on.

Cephus said:

Luckily, in California, they've ended religious and personal exemptions. The only exemption is medical, as in you cannot be vaccinated because it will kill you if you are.

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Even as a religious person...I find the idea of religious exemption to be silly.


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Scrabaholic said:

Vaccines should never be forced in a "free" society. While I think it's insane to not have the basic ones, I do not believe the govt should have the right to force us to have chemicals injected into our bodies.

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I shouldn't be subjected to polio either.


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Nilly said:

Question, would you put an unvaccinated person in the same ward as people who are potentially immunocompromised? Would that not be putting other people at risk due to the persons foolishness?

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No I would not, and I think anyone unvaccinated should be liable for any damages resulting from their choice not to vaccinate. For example, if you don't vaccinate and another child with say cancer that is immune comprised gets a vaccine preventable disease and can show any contact with your child, then you should be held liable for damages. Thus the choice not to vaccinate could end up with you owing hundreds of thousands if not millions.

Masterhawk said:

One extra reason to support vaccination is due to the fact that some people cannot get vaccinated whether they are infants, allergic to them, or have compromised immune systems. They rely on herd immunity to keep mostly curable diseases at bay. When the amount of vaccinated individuals is too low, unvaccinated people are at risk of getting infected.

Should it be mandatory?

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I'm hesitant for "mandatory". I think you can have rules like they cannot be in public schools without vaccination without proper medical excuse. And it's entirely stupid to not do vaccinations outside those medical reasons. If your kid can be vaccinated, they should be.

Only the dumbest of the dumb do not vaccinate when they otherwise could.

American said:

If you don't comply?

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You should have to wear a scarlet V on all your clothing.

American said:

Have you seen the regiment of shots they give out these days. Even my doctor agreed it's too much too soon.

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I think there can be an argument for spacing out the shots a bit more, but ultimately vaccination is just the smart choice. So spaced out a bit more? OK, I can see that. Completely avoided? That's a bridge too far.

Ikari said:

Only the dumbest of the dumb do not vaccinate when they otherwise could.

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Unfortunately, there's a lot of really dumb people out there and society needs to be protected from their stupidity.

Should vaccines be mandatory?

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vaccination should be mandatory to enroll in a public or private school, and unvaccinated adults should be excluded from careers in health care. you have the right to be a CTer if you choose, but you don't have the right to put the health of others at risk because you believe CT bloggers over trained immunologists and peer reviewed science.

I was vaccinated to the gills because of the USAF. Too bad they didn't have the measles vacc yet.

So, I voted NO. I think that vaccinations are miracle shots that don't get the positive newscast. Should they be mandatory? NO.

Absentglare said:

That's exactly the problem. Diseases like polio and smallpox have been all but eradicated by the awesome effectiveness of vaccines. Vaccines have been so monumentally successful that these diseases have faded into history, so the problems that they solve have grown more and more distant from us.

And so the skeptical, compassionate parent, who is worried about subjecting their child to a potentially risky procedure, chooses to avoid the imaginary problem right before them and, in doing so, tragically embraces the VERY REAL problems that seem so very far away.

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Well and compassionately stated, in your second paragrah.

I think you're right. With time, people forget or never experience/witnessed just how awful these diseases were. I had a horrible case of chicken pox. Like way more than normal. I was covered head to between my toes and even had them around my ears and in my mouth. I will always remember the delusion inducing fever and itching. I was terrified to scratch because it would "make scars", so I came away with only a couple on my face and few others around my body. I had a "normal" case of the mumps, but it was still very painful and my father had to stay away because he never had mumps.

Owing to that and having a friend who caught polio, I gave my kids everything. Polio greatly affected my friend's childhood. She was in and out of hospitals and had to forego a lot of normal activities because she walked with a crutch. My sons missed getting the chicken pox vaccine because it wasn't available at that time. They had it every bit as bad as I did, so I eagerly pursued it when my daughter was born.

The risks are not real for a generation or so now.

Masterhawk said:

One extra reason to support vaccination is due to the fact that some people cannot get vaccinated whether they are infants, allergic to them, or have compromised immune systems. They rely on herd immunity to keep mostly curable diseases at bay. When the amount of vaccinated individuals is too low, unvaccinated people are at risk of getting infected.

Should it be mandatory?

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Absolutely not. It is unconstitutional to force people to vaccinate against their will.

Beaudreaux said:

Yes, mandatory, but only for children that will attend a school with other children, or attend functions with other children. If you're going to home school your kid and not allow them to attend public events, then not vaccinating them should be the right of the parent. I think it would be a very dangerous and ignorant choice, but still, it's their choice. But again, if you don't vaccinate your kid, the kid should not be allowed to be around other children. Here's just a few reasons why:

Study relates vaccine refusal to rise in measles, pertussis

Reemergence of 5 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

4 Diseases Making a Comeback Thanks to Anti-Vaxxers

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Any site that says "anti-vaxxers" is one to not be taken seriously...

Hawkeye10 said:

The collective has the right to take such basic steps as this to preserve the health of the collective. There should be no right to avoid getting vaccinated.

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OK Big Brother...

Yes, unless the person has a medical reason to avoid them.

Not being vaccinated threatens not only your own health, but that of people who can't be vaccinated for health reasons.