The Dangers of Mandatory Vaccination

IFor many of us, registration for the winter quarter was confusing and stressful. The right classes to take, the availability of desired courses, and time slots were just some of the issues crowding our minds in the past few weeks.

Before the registration period, my friend Sheri logged onto her Cal Poly account to verify her registration status. To her dismay, the page indicated that she was not cleared to register. She didn't owe any money, nor did she fail to sign the appropriate contracts or papers. The reason she couldn't sign up for classes was because she hadn't yet gotten a Hepatitis B shot.

Mandatory vaccination is something that affects us all, whether we like it or not. Despite the good qualities of vaccines, forced immunization is overall a bad idea. It can prove to be extremely inconvenient, as well as costly in time and money, and even rather unnecessary. Also, it may result ironically in health problems for some individuals. And finally, government requirement of immunization encroaches upon the rights to health and choice. Of course vaccinations can be very beneficial to one's health, but one should not be under the impression that they are completely safe. Vaccines are not for everyone, and I want to explain why and show how important the issue of mandatory vaccination is.

First of all, mandatory vaccination can be a plain old nuisance. It does not just hinder registration for classes, like it did for my friend. It can also prevent us from attending schools or camps, joining the military, or getting hired for a job. To enroll for classes at Cal Poly after the first quarter, students under the age of 18 must have been immunized for measles and rubella, and hepatitis B, and are encouraged to get meningococcal and tetanus/diphtheria vaccines. Children are required to have as many as 22 shots before the first grade. According to the Chiropractic Nutrition and Wellness Center, 42 states have mandatory vaccination policies.

Another reason vaccines should not be required is that they often involve several conflicts of interest. The government is profiting from mandatory vaccination. Though the costs of production are not rising, the price of a DPT shot went from 11 cents in 1982 to $11.40 five years later. Shots are not free. The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department charges $33 for a hepatitis B shot, and being vaccinated for meningitis cost me about $100. $780 million is being spent to develop the smallpox vaccine, and President Bush currently plans on spending $7.1 billion to produce enough bird flu vaccine for 20 million Americans.

Also, when a vaccine is mandated, physicians are relieved of any liability in its administration and results. As the doctor is treating you without necessarily recommending the vaccine, its safety is not completely assured.

After all of these costs, vaccines may prove to be ineffective in many cases. For instance, a study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that over 80% of children under the age of 5 had contracted whooping cough, despite having been fully vaccinated.

While vaccines are intended to protect against illness, they may actually lead to health problems. Serious allergic reactions can occur, and side effects of mandatory vaccinations can range from fever to permanent brain damage, and include apnea, convulsions, deafness, and paralysis. In the U.S., the FDA counted 54,072 serious adverse reactions following vaccination in a 3-year period. It was also mentioned that this number probably represents only 10% of the actual total, as many physicians don't report all reactions. Twenty-five thousand reports of adverse reactions following hepatitis B vaccination alone have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a national vaccine safety surveillance system sponsored by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If, as the Reporting System states, more than 20 million people in the United States have been vaccinated, and only a tenth of serious reactions are reported, then four of every 1,000 cases are seriously adverse. Meanwhile, the CDC states that only 0.4% of the Americans is actually infected with hepatitis B.

It has also been shown that mandatory vaccines can lead to the deaths of people who take drugs for common conditions like asthma and allergies, and those for health conditions like cardiovascular disease and eczema. And the youths who receive mandatory vaccinations are three times more likely to suffer serious effects in their development than those who are old enough make a more informed decision as to whether they want to be immunized or not.

This brings us to the next and final point: the greatest ill of mandatory vaccinations is that against one's right to their own health. People should be able to make their own choices regarding their well-being. Religious beliefs or personal preferences may keep people from wanting to be immunized. No one other than an individual or parents should be able to decide if he or she should be vaccinated.