Vaccinations for Children

Dear Governor Paul LePage,

Recent studies from the Maine Center of Disease Control have shown that more people are opting out of getting their children vaccinated in Maine. All schools require children to be vaccinated for certain diseases like measles, rubella, and pertussis, but there are ways around it. Some of the ways parents are avoiding getting their vaccinated is by religious or personal beliefs. Studies have shown this could be detrimental to the population at large because increased risk of an outbreak. My hope is that it is mandatory for children to be vaccinated and all children are safe from preventable diseases. Even though some consider vaccinations unsafe, children should be vaccinated because it is effective and can save lives.

As of this year, children entering “elementary schools across Maine have vaccination opt-out rates of 10 percent or higher”(Lawlor). The question is why are so many parents opting-out? Some parents think vaccinations have unsafe ingredients in them. The ingredients are safe in the dosage required and “the FDA requires up to 10 or more years of testing for all vaccines before they are licensed, and then they are monitored by the CDC and the FDA to make sure the vaccines and the ingredients used in the vaccines are safe”(“Should Any Vaccines Be Required For Children?”). It is possible to have a reaction to a vaccine but this is implausible and “extremely rare- one in 500,000 or less”(Lawlor). A vaccination works by “introducing diluted versions of viruses or bacteria into a person’s body via injection”(“Mandatory Vaccinations”). Vaccinations are safe and can save children’s lives by eradicating preventable diseases.

Some parents believe vaccines are unsafe or go against their religious practices but the parents who opt their children out of vaccinations increase the chance of an outbreak. “The rate of nonmedical exemptions has increased in recent years with corresponding higher rates of disease”(Kleifgen). Herd immunity is “when a large percentage of a population is vaccinated against a pathogen, the entire community-both those vaccinated and unvaccinated-receive additional protection”(Kleifgen). Although this works in small numbers, if too many people are unvaccinated then herd immunity will fail because there are not enough vaccinated people to protect the unvaccinated. If herd immunity fails it only takes one person to contract a disease and spread it to the entire community. This can easily result in an outbreak on a larger scale because it puts the vaccinated at risk too. Some people cannot be vaccinated because “about 10 million people are immuno-compromised through no fault of their own”(Welch) or are too young. In this case the people around must protect them and get vaccinated to create a barrier for deadly diseases.  Getting children vaccinated will reduce the risk of an outbreak and eradicate diseases.

While some of the parents believe that vaccinations are unsafe, they can protect future generations from preventable diseases. Deadly diseases like “chickenpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough, and others”(“Mandatory Vaccination”), are under control because of vaccinations. This protects future generations from contracting diseases. Although this protects a new generation, it is still important for children to receive vaccinations in case of diseases appearing again. Vaccinating children is very important because “children exempt from vaccination requirements were more than 35 times more likely to contract measles and nearly 6 times more likely to contract pertussis”(Kleifgen). All children in the United States should be safe from preventable diseases and vaccinations will accomplish that.

It should be mandatory for parents to have their children vaccinated. Vaccines have helped in many ways and “since 1924 have prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis”(Welch). This is very important to me and the community that as governor you take this into consideration. The laws must change in order for everyone to live safe and healthy lives. Vaccinations have saved the lives of millions and I hope people continue to use them. Please help prevent future outbreaks by making it mandatory for parents to vaccinate their children. The only reason someone should not be vaccinated is for medical reasons and any other reason is absurd. Everyone deserves to be safe in school and the threat of deadly diseases to be eradicated. I hope you will take this into consideration.

Sincerely,

CTibbetts17

Works Cited

Kleifgen, Ben, and Justin Silpe. “State Vaccination Requirements Usually Allow Exemptions.” Vaccines.

Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. At Issue. Rpt. from “Vaccination Requirements and Exemptions.” VaccineEthics.org. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

Lawlor, Joe. “Maine Data Show Dangerous Rates of Unvaccinated Students; See Data by School.”

Portland Press Herald. Portland Press Herald, 18 May 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.

“Mandatory Vaccination. ” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 7 Apr. 2015. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

“Should Any Vaccines Be Required For Children?” ProCon. ProCon, 10 June 2015. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

Welch, Matt, et al. “Should Vaccines Be Mandatory?.” Reason. Apr. 2014: 18-26. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Sep. 2015.