Mandatory Immunization Requirements For Children Essay

In the United States, all fifty states have some form of immunization requirements in order for children to attend school. All fifty states allow for medical exemptions and require evidence for such. However, there are currently forty-seven states that allow exemptions for religious views and eighteen states that allow exemptions for philosophical reasons or â€Å"personal beliefs.† This lack of consistency from state to state is a contemporary issue facing public education and this discrepancy needs to be addressed. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in non-medical exemptions. Whatever the reasoning may be, parents have been choosing not to vaccinate their children and as a result, the well-being of the general public has been put at risk. In order to insure public health across the nation, the Center for Disease Control needs to enforce that all fifty states in the U.S. implement strict and synonymous immunization requirements, making all vaccines mandato ry (unless proven to be medically or religiously exempt). The routine U.S. childhood immunization schedule (from birth through age six) consists of vaccines for hepatitis B, diphtheria/ tetanus/pertussis (DTap), rotavirus (RV), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcus (PCV), polio virus (IPV), measles/ mumps/rubella (MMR), varicella (also known as chickenpox), and hepatitis A. Since the introduction of these vaccines, mortality rates caused from these diseases have drastically decreased and whatShow MoreRelatedMandatory Vaccination, and the High Risk of Vaccine-preventable Disease (VPD) to the Vaccine Refusal.1361 Words   |  6 Pagesreasons behind the mandatory vaccination. 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