Harrell1

Amanda Harrell
English 1201 Online
Adrienne Cassel
29 April 2016
Non-Medical Vaccinations are Fueling Americas Outbreaks
Imagine youve just come home from vacation with your family from Disneyland
and your child doesnt feel very well. Your child has broken out in a red rash with a high
fever. You take your child to the doctor, but you cant believe your ears when the doctor
says your child has the measles. How could it be that your child has this disease that was
once eradicated? This was the fate for many people in December 2014 when there was a
measles outbreak at Disneyland in California. Nearly all the people that got the measles,
were not vaccinated against it.4 Non-medical exemptions account for a large percentage
of vaccine refusals and have led to disease outbreaks across the United States.
Vaccinations should be required for every person in the United States, unless a person has
a documented allergy to an ingredient or is immune-compromised.
Vaccinations are injections, sprays or oral medications that are given to help the
body build immunity and protect against certain diseases. When given a vaccination, your
body will build an immunity to the disease and protect you if you're exposed to the
disease in the future. Vaccinations are given on a schedule that is recommended by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccinations are given during different times
throughout life and you must receive boosters, or updated shots to keep yourself
protected. The most common side effects of a vaccination are redness, swelling at
injection site as well as fever.1. These types of symptoms, along with parental fears have

Harrell2

led to vaccine refusals for non-medical reasons such as fear of allergies, and even the fear
of their child getting autism.
According to Dayton Childrens Hospital, in an article published by the Dayton
Daily News, vaccines and autism are unrelated. The article reports how the autism myth
came about, propagated by a doctor in England who has now been discredited and lost his
license. It talks about how 20 years of research and millions of case studies disprove the
myth that vaccines cause autism. It states the reason the myth still exists today, is because
the age parents notice signs they perceive as autism correlates with the age children
receive vaccines.2
Alison Knopf wrote the article MMR Vs. Autism: A False Choice about how
MMR (protects against Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccines don't cause Autism. She
wrote about a decrease in MMR vaccinations because of Physician Andrew Wakefield
has claimed a link between autism and the MMR vaccine over a decade ago. She declared
that measles is preventable, while autism currently has no cure. She has encouraged
readers to vaccinate their children. She also wrote about how the group Autism Speaks, in
recent times, have encouraged their members to vaccinate with the MMR. She
proclaimed people shouldn't have to be afraid of taking their children places for fear of
catching the measles, which is a preventable disease.5
Whether vaccinations can cause autism has been a debatable topic for many years
and recently has grown to fame through social media. Vaccine refusals go beyond this
thinking though, and they are many other reasons for non-medical vaccine refusal. There
are many people that no longer see the disease around and have lost fear of them. Some

Harrell3

families believe their child doesnt need to be vaccinated anymore because everyone else
has been vaccinated.
Herd immunity, or community immunity is when a community of people are protected against a
disease because a large part of the population is vaccinated against it. This makes the chance of
an outbreak less common and protects those who are unable to be vaccinated. There are families
that are able to vaccinate but refuse because they believe they are protected by others, but are
decreasing the herd immunity.1

Harrell4

In this picture, The National

Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Disease illustrates
how herd immunity can help
prevent the spreading of
disease. 7

Harrell5

Dr. Kristin Hendrix, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University

School of Medicine, wrote the scholarly article "Ethics and Childhood Vaccination Policy
in the United States". The article discussed how herd immunity is being affected by a
decrease in vaccinations. She stated that many people dont realize the impact of
unvaccinated children on the outbreaks. She reports that it doesnt take many
unvaccinated people to cause a problem in the herd immunity.4
We've seen a decrease in herd immunity because vaccinations have done such of
good job of eradicating many diseases. This shows that vaccines are doing their job. It
does create a problem for people who think that these diseases are no longer around, so
they don't need to protect against them. Diseases like measles, require a high herd
immunity (greater than 96% of the population) to prevent the disease from causing an

Harrell6

outbreak. In recent years, we've had measles outbreaks because our herd immunity has
dropped below this point.
Herd immunity is important for a community, as well as everyone staying up-to
date and following an approved vaccine schedule. Some families vaccinate their children
but want to change when they receive the vaccines. One of the most common reasons for
delaying a vaccine schedule, is because parents feel that a child is receiving too many
chemicals at the same time.1
A vaccine schedule is listed on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
website and doctors follow this schedule for vaccinating all patients. Some families feel
that the schedule is not appropriate for their child and this leads to an unusual or delayed
vaccine schedule. Using the approved vaccine schedule is the best way to prevent getting
preventable diseases.
Dayton Children's Hospital stated vaccine delay is dangerous because many
vaccine-preventable diseases occur before the child turns two. If a parent is delaying a
child's vaccine schedule until they are older than two, they are putting them at a great risk
of catching a preventable disease.2
The documentary program Vaccines Calling the Shots featured on Nova
interviewed families that changed their childrens vaccine schedule because they didnt
know what to believe about vaccines. One family attributed vaccines to their child's
seizure but later found that their child had a seizure disorder. Newborns are at an
increased risk for getting diseases and the approved vaccine schedule closes this window
of vulnerability until the child is old enough to receive vaccinations.7

Harrell7

Non-medical exemptions are becoming a more common reason for vaccine

refusal. Refusing vaccines harm not only the person who isn't receiving the vaccine, but
potentially everyone that person comes in contact with. In many US cities, we're seeing
outbreaks of diseases that were once nearly eradicated. Diseases like measles, pertussis
and chicken pox are spreading through communities. This is a problem that needs to be
addressed, so that we can see an end to these diseases once again. The accountability for
preventable diseases is a growing concern for many.
Should someone be held responsible for the hospitalizations and deaths of people
caused by the outbreaks? Some bioethicists think that families that don't vaccinate and
are responsible for an outbreak of disease, should be held responsible.4 This could prove
to be very hard to pin-point one person and prove that they were purposely trying to get
others sick. We can fix the problem of non-medical vaccinations in the United States.
Communication is the key to resolving our vaccination refusal problem.
Physicians could be encouraged to ask families about any questions they have about
vaccines or try to ease fears they are experiencing. Two ideas mentioned in the article
"Ethics and Childhood Vaccination Policy in the United States" the first is that parents
could watch a video about vaccinations before refusing the vaccine. The second idea is
that a parent could be given a real-life scenario on how their child not receiving a vaccine
could affect their life.4
This article also mentions three approaches for families that are not sure about
vaccinating their children, or that refuse vaccines outright. The first way, the presumptive
approach, is the approach in which the doctor just assumes that the family will get the

Harrell8

regular vaccine schedule. This approach has shown greater results than the second
approach, the participatory approach. This approach is done by asking the family on
whether or not they would like to vaccinate their child. The last approach is the guiding
approach and this is when the doctor answers questions and addresses concerns that the
family may have about vaccination.4
One thing that needs to be addressed is the ease at which people can submit nonmedical vaccine exemptions. Many states are too lenient on exemptions, and statistics
show that in states with more lenient policies, there are more exemptions than states with
stricter policies. The government should enforce stricter rules on the state to enforce that
as many people as possible get vaccines.6 Children entering daycares or public schools
are required to have vaccines to enter but with the exemptions, there are many children
unvaccinated and at risk for catching preventable diseases.
Vaccines have helped eradicate many diseases around the world. Diseases that
once killed or disabled millions of people have been greatly diminished. Due to
vaccinations, polio and diphtheria are rarely seen in the United States.1
Vaccines get a bad reputation on social media websites but people should take the
time to research before making decisions about vaccines. There are many credible
resources available with any question a parent might have about the vaccine. It's
important for people to research about a topic before they make a decision on word-ofmouth from a friend or false information they may have read.
In the article Vaccination aversion has fueled measles and whooping cough
outbreaks, study finds, it discusses that the Tdap vaccines may not be protecting those

Harrell9

that have been vaccinated.3 Dtap(<7years of age) or Tdap(>7 years of age) vaccine
protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis. Many people may use these
findings as a basis to refuse vaccinations. While there is truth that the effectiveness of the
Dtap/Tdap has diminished, the benefits provided by the vaccination outweigh the risk of
being unprotected. There are researchers that are currently working on fixing the vaccine,
so that the effects aren't diminished over time.3 While this could take time to research,
and make available to the public, it will be worth waiting around for, so that we can stay
protected.
Religious beliefs, or a moral refusal is one reason many people choose not to
vaccinate. In many states, religious exemptions are easily obtained and not closely
monitored. In many cases, religious exemptions can't be denied by the state if properly
applied for.6 Religious reasons for not vaccinating a person is one argument that I feel is
worth leaving an exception for, but if it was left as an exception for a law, people could
lie to try to use this in place of a personal belief exemption.
Non-medical exemptions for vaccines have shown an increase in recent years. We
must find a way to make sure more people are vaccinated to prevent further outbreaks. It
is our job to protect our children and families by educating ourselves and others around
us to vaccinate. New legislation should be passed so that as many people as possible are
protected. Everyone has to be part of the movement to protect our nation from these
harmful diseases.

Harrell10

Work Cited
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30
Mar. 2016. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
2. Dayton Children's Hospital. "Vaccine Safety: No Debate Needed." Vaccine Safety: No Debate
Needed. Dayton Daily News, 28 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
3. Healy, Melissa. "Vaccination aversion has fueled measles and whooping cough outbreaks,
study finds." Los Angeles Times (CA) 16 Mar. 2016: Points of View Reference Center.
Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
4. Hendrix, Kristin S., et al. "Ethics and Childhood Vaccination Policy in the United States."
American Journal of Public Health 106.2 (2016): 273. Publisher Provided Full Text
Searching File. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

Harrell11

5. Knopf, Alison. "MMR vs. Autism: A False Choice." Brown University Child & Adolescent
Behavior Letter 31. (2015): 1. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 7 Apr.
2016
6. Lee, Emily, Lindsay Rosenthal, and Gabriel Scheffler. "The Effect of Childhood Vaccine
Exemptions on Disease Outbreaks." The Effect of Childhood Vaccine Exemptions on
Disease Outbreaks. Center for American Progress, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.
7. NIAID. Community Immunity. 21 Oct. 2010. Community Immunity (Herd Immunity).
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
8. "Vaccines-Calling the Shots." VaccinesCalling the Shots. PBS. 10 Sept. 2014. PBS. Web. 03
Apr. 2016.