Running Head: Vaccinations

Vaccinations Controversy: A Review of Literature

Nikkita Arras
University of Texas at El Paso

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1
Abstract

Vaccinations have played a major role in our daily lives over the past years and will
continue to do so in our future. Controversy over vaccinations has risen over the past couple of
years since there many people who are wondering if they should become a federal requirement.
This topic has been split up into two different sides, which consist of those who support
vaccinations and those who have chosen to not vaccinate. When vaccinations are considered to
become a requirement by the government, freedom and rights come into play since it is
everyones individual choice. No matter whether the questions about vaccinations have to deal
with becoming mandatory, if they cause harm rather than good, if they go against religious
views, or which piece of information is correct. There will always be two different perspectives
that contradict one another. This will continue to be a main issue that has to be considered since
the decision of one individual will not only affect them but rather also the community around
them.

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Vaccinations Controversy: A Review of Literature

The discussion over vaccinations has recently become one of the most talked about topics
since there are many individuals who are unsure if they should be accepting of vaccines. Many
parents and caregivers believe vaccines are around for the better and think they should become a
federal requirement. According to Association for Professionals in Infection Control and
Epidemiology, vaccinations have helped protect current generations and it protects future
generations by stopping the spread of disease (APIC, 2013). However, there are other parents
and caregivers who believe it should be everyones own choice if they want to vaccinate their
children. The organization Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute supports those individuals who
do not side with those who believe in vaccinations and support the idea parents are entitled to a
full disclosure of all pertinent data and freedom to choose whether or not to vaccinate their
children (ThinkTwice, 1996). These two different points of views over vaccinations has caused
many people to not know which choice is right for their children.
There are people who do not know if vaccinations should be an issue the government
controls or if it should stay the parents responsibility. This will continue to raise concern until
individuals learn if vaccines cause more harm than good and if making them a requirement will
cause the government to go against individuals rights. In order for us to find the best solution to
this topic parents and caregivers must find answers to the questions being asked. Some of the
questions raised include the topics about the discussion of federal requirement, if they cause
harm, if vaccines go against religious views, and if misleading information can change
individuals views about vaccinations. The questions over this controversial topic includes:
1. Should there be federal mandatory vaccinations or should it be the parents choice?

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2. Do vaccinations help prevent life threatening diseases or do they cause more harm?
3. Will making vaccines a requirement prevent parents from following their religious
views?
4. Can parents be influenced by misleading information about vaccines?
These questions will be able to provide a better perspective over both sides about the topic. This
review on literature will give more insight about the recent discussion if vaccines should become
a federal requirement and if they cause individuals to choose between being seen as a good
parent or someone who follows their religious faith.
Should there be federal mandatory vaccinations or should it be the parents choice?
There have been questions raised about if the government should become involved when
it comes to making vaccinations mandatory. In a newspaper article titled Eliminate Vaccine
Exemptions from The New York Times the writer discusses the importance of everyone
receiving vaccines rather than just a few in the community. Kristen Feemster, a pediatric
infectious diseases physician at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, is one who believes if
vaccines are mandatory it will be for the best since when there are not enough people within a
community who are immunized, we are all at risk (Feemster, 2015). If vaccinations were to
become mandatory there would be no concerns about if there would be individuals vulnerable to
getting a life threatening disease.
Making vaccinations a mandatory requirement could cause many individuals to disagree
with the government. Some people believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and
beliefs about whether they want their children to be vaccinated. Lawrence Gostin is the writer of
the article Law, Ethics, and Public Health in the Vaccination Debates, which discusses the
different reasons why making vaccines mandatory would not be the best solution. Gostin brings

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awareness to this side of the discussion by explaining how the measles outbreak reignited a
historic controversy about the enduring values of public health, personal choice, and parental
rights (Gostin, 2015). He goes more into this point of view by talking about how Senator Rand
Paul, U.S. Senator of Kentucky, feels about how the state is not in charge of your children but
rather the parents decide what is best for them. If vaccines were to become a requirement this
would cause there to be many individuals to wonder if the government was trying to take away
rights from those parents who do not agree with vaccinations.
Do vaccinations help prevent life threatening diseases or do they cause more harm?
There are many individuals who do not want their children to receive vaccines because of
the recent controversial discussion that they can cause mental illnesses. Organization Autism
Speaks is one of many organizations that try to bring awareness to people that vaccines are used
to prevent illnesses rather than cause them. Autism Speaks accomplishes their goal by discussing
statistics such as they have an analysis of 10 studies involving more than 1.2 million children
reaffirms that vaccines do not cause autism [and that the] MMR shot may actually decrease [the]
risk of autism] (Autism Speaks, 2014). There are many people who want to prove that vaccines
help children by preventing illnesses and they try to bring awareness to their perspective since
they believe receiving vaccines is the best option.
Even though there is statistics that show vaccines do not cause mental illness there are
personal stories shared about the negative impact people had from receiving vaccines. When
individuals hear these stories it causes them to become unsure if vaccines are really used to help
children. One of these stories is shared on the World Net Daily in an article titled The Dark Side
of Vaccines which speaks out about a family affected by vaccinations. David Kupelian, the
writer of the article, talks about a now-teenage girl, confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak,

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her life decimated by a required vaccine shot (Kupelian, 2007). When people hear about these
stories they begin to question if vaccines are around to help children or if they are the cause of
some mental illnesses and diseases.
Will making vaccines a requirement prevent parents from following their religious views?
If vaccines were to become a requirement there is question if it would cause parents to
not follow their religious beliefs or if it would be seen as helping children. The people that
believe vaccines should be given to every child do not think it is moral for parents to take the
chance of their children getting sick in order to follow their religion. In Discover magazine there
is an article title Should Vaccines Be Compulsory? that discusses the reasons some believe
religious views are stopping parents from giving their children vaccines and how that decision
could impact the child in a negative way. Phil Plait, the writer of the article, explains if you do
not vaccinate your children, you are taking a big gamble where the stakes are disease and death
(Plait, 2009). Individuals who think vaccines should be given to children do not believe it is right
to put children in risk even if it is their religious values.
Many people choose not to vaccinate their child because they do not believe in them and
think they go against their beliefs. Those who do not trust vaccines treat their children with their
own remedies. An article in the Huffington Post Canada talks about one of many families that
decide to treat their child with their own remedies rather than give them vaccinations. Kayla
Greaves writes an article titled Ezekiel Stephan Death: Should The Parents Have Been Held
Liable? about parents who did not give their child vaccinations but rather treated [their 19month old son] with natural remedies such as hot peppers, garlic, onions and horseradish
(Greaves, 2016). There are many families who decide to do exactly what the Stephans did which
was not give their children vaccines because they do not want to go against their religious values.

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Can parents be influenced by misleading information about vaccines?

When parents hear about different statistics it can cause them to change their opinion
about vaccinations. Some parents do not believe in vaccinating their children but are influenced
by the information that is given to them and decide to go against what they first believed was
right. The United Nations Childrens Fund also known as UNICEF has different images like
figure 1 which provides different statistics about how vaccines help prevent diseases from
entering the body. Once parents learn about the different facts about how vaccines are known to
help prevent disease they become influenced and can at times change their opinion about them.

Figure 1. The figure shows different statistics provided by UNICEF. When It Comes To
Immunization from the Medical Disease Base. 2014. Retrieved from
http://mdisbase.com /article/when-it-comes-to-immunization-8-ground-truths-of-globalvaccine-scenario-in-both-children-adults
There are some parents who decide to not follow what pro vaccine organizations or
doctors say about vaccinations since they rather trust those who are close to them. Parents who
are unsure about something usually turn to the people they can trust which at most times includes

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their family and friends. In the Huffington Post an article titled The Top 7 Reasons Parents Tell
Me They Dont Want to Vaccinate discusses the variety of reasons individuals are unsure about
vaccines and talk about how one of the main reasons is because they get their information from
their loved ones. Claire McCarthy, the writer of the article, wrote about how [parents] trust
[their] family, friends, and community more than [their] doctor (McCarthy, 2014). Many parents
decide to get their information from those who surround them everyday rather than the doctors
they only see a few times a year, which can cause them to follow what others say rather than
what they believe is best.
Conclusion
No matter if you decide to get vaccinated or even if you chose not to get vaccinated they
will still play a major role in not only individuals own lives but also the society around them.
The controversy over vaccinations will never be able to come to an end until there are definite
answers about if vaccines help children or harm them. Mandatory vaccinations will be difficult to
approve since there will always be question about if making them a requirement will interfere
with individuals freedom. Despite vaccines being such a controversial topic both sides would be
able to agree that this is an issue that needs to be taken seriously and individuals have to give the
decision about receiving vaccinations a genuine concern.

References

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Associations for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. (2013). Vaccination saves
lives. APIC. Retrieved from http://www.apic.org/For-Consumers/Monthly-alerts-forconsumers/Article?id=vaccination-saves-lives
Autism Speaks. (2014). New Meta-analysis Confirms: No Association between Vaccines and
Autism. Autism Speaks. Retrieved from https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/sciencenews/new-meta-analysis-confirms-no-association-between-vaccines-and-autism
Feemster. K. A. (2015). Eliminate Vaccine Exemptions. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/23/making-vaccination-mandatory-forall-children/eliminate-vaccine-exemptions
Gostin, L. O. (2015). Law, Ethics, and Public Health in the Vaccination Debates. The JAMA
Network. Retrieved from http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2119391
Greaves, K. (2016). Ezekiel Stephan Death: Should The Parents Have Been Held Liable.
Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/
07/18/ezekiel-stephan-death_n_11057836.html
Kupelian, D. (2007). The Dark Side of Vaccines. World Net Daily. Retrieved from
http://www.wnd.com/2007/06/41993/
McCarthy, C. (2014). The Top 7 Reasons Parents Tell Me They Dont Want To Vaccinate. The
Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/claire-mccarthy-md/thetop-7-reasons-parents-tell-me-they-dont-want-to-vaccinate_b_5441537.html
Plait, P. (2009). Should Vaccines Be Compulsory. Discover Magazine. Retrieved from
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/03/should-vaccines-becompulsory/#.V_8SDDK-L-a

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Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute. (1996). ThinkTwice Global Vaccine Institute: Avoid
Vaccine Reactions. Think Twice. Retrieved from http://thinktwice.com
United Nations Childrens Fund. (2014). Think Big [Digital Image]. Medical Diseases Base.
Retrieved from http://mdisbase.com/article/when-it-comes-to-immunization-8-groundtruths-of-global-vaccine-scenario-in-both-children-adults