ROUTINE CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATON

Routine childhood immunization

Routine childhood immunization

Should the state make vaccination compulsory?

Routine childhood immunization is one of the most crucial and cost-effective community health methods in the world. Thus, communicable diseases have been significantly reduced after vaccines introduced in school. There is no doubt, this decrease has a positive impact on both public health and health's cost. For these reasons, some countries have established a compulsory immunization program. In spite of this, there has been an ongoing debate whether vaccination should be made obligatory or not. Some parents have concern about the potential injuries of vaccinating their children. However, the most common childhood vaccines can be lifesaving. Despite the fact that vaccination involves ethical, financial, and health related issues; mandatory immunization is an effective health protective policy.

Some historical evidence on compulsory immunization is needed to be better understood which depicts that how its perception by the communities has changed over the centuries. USA has a long history of compulsory vaccination. In 1809, the State of Massachusetts enacted a mandatory smallpox immunization law. Similarly, in UK, in both England and Wales, a compulsory vaccination for smallpox was enforced in 1853. Although, this legislation has raised the opposition not only against these laws but also, counter to increased government interference as well (Salmon et al., 2006). Moreover, the parents who offended these laws were charged and imprisoned. These penalties contributed to anti-vaccination protests and reduction in immunization rates. As a result of that, in 1898, children of "conscientious objectors" were exempted from vaccination in Britain. On the other hand, in 1922, the Supreme Court in Massachusetts State enforced the law that vaccination is one of the requirements for entering the school; by then this law circulated to all parts of the State. During 1970s, when measles outbreaks attacked the USA, unimmunized students were accepted as a forcing way to get vaccines. The crisis happened in Los Angeles; where 50,000 students immunized and 1.4 million were unimmunized, led to excluded them from school. This action forced parents to vaccinate their children, then most of them allowed to comeback school. After this law, the rate of measles infection decreased radically. In recent times, the school requirements in the State differ but all has obliged diphtheria, measles, polio, and rubella immunization. "Non-compliance" may expose to legal punishments such as "child care proceedings" may be taken by the government. Most of the States excluded the students whose parents have strong religion beliefs against immunization, while only 15 States permit students to be released from immunization whose parents have adopted philosophic thoughts (Isaacs et al., 2004, p.392).

In spite of the several anti-vaccination movements over the last two centuries, vaccine has been confirmed as a powerful preventing method for many communicable illnesses. Controlling poliomyelitis, measles, and tetanus has saved around 5 million lives annually; also, "wild-type poliovirus" is nearly to be eliminated. In developed countries, the morbidity rate of infectious diseases has declined by 98% to 99% (Salmon et al., 2006, ...