Recently in the United
States the measles virus has reemerged. In California, this has specifically
become an issue on three college campuses where students have contracted the
measles. This has lead students and community members to blame those who are
unvaccinated for the reemergence of the virus. Due to this recent outbreak,
college campuses and schools throughout the United States are considering the
requirement of certain vaccinations before attending their schools.
According to the
article Vulnerable to Measles by Jake
New, over twenty two states do not require college students to be vaccinated
against measles. However, the University of California is moving to change this
policy, in which, future students will be required to be vaccinated. Similarly
the article states, implementing this policy should be easier than in previous
years because the Affordable Health Care Act has now made vaccinations more
affordable. Despite the increased availability to health care across the
country, access to healthcare does not seem to be the issue. Rather, the
thought that the vaccination will cause more harm than it does good, affects a citizen
decision on receiving the vaccination.
In the
article Mississippi, a Vaccination leader,
Stands by its Strict Rules shared by the New York Times, many people argue
these requirements imposed by schools infringe upon the individual rights of
humans. Often people who do not feel comfortable with getting vaccinations use exemptions
policies to maneuver the system. As these viruses constantly reemerge maneuvering
the system will become increasingly difficult. This will affect those who in the past viewed
themselves invisible to the system as being primary targets for receiving vaccinations
on college campuses. As of now University of California is the only university
actively pursuing policy change,however, other states are beginning to talk about
following suit.
So the underlying
question remains, do utilitarian views in the United States infringe upon the
individual rights of those who do not want to be vaccinated in college? How
many individuals across college campuses will need to be vaccinated, if this
new policy is implemented? With a 3% percent failure rate, will vaccinations indefinitely
prevent the spread of the measles?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/03/22-states-dont-require-measles-immunizations-college-students
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/us/mississippi-a-leader-on-vaccination-rates-stands-by-strict-rules.html?ref=health
Last semester, I had a Microbes in the Human Body Seminar in which we learned about vaccinations for different diseases and pathogens. We ran several simulations on Influenza and how if majority of the population goes unvaccinated, the disease will spread rapidly over the population. From this simulation, we learned about Heard Immunity. Heard Immunity is when the population is protected against a certain disease as long as a very high amount of people in the population have the vaccine. For example, if every 19 out of 20 people have the measles vaccine in a population, then that population has Herd immunity against Measles. I am very pro-vaccine, especially living on a college campus, because there are so many people from different cities, states, countries, and continents. People can unknowingly bring diseases to campus and then spread them quickly, whether it's through a dormitory or through a massive lecture hall. I think for people to say vaccines infringe against Human Rights is absolutely crazy. It is an infringement of Human Rights if a girl gets Measles from her roommate because her roommate is unvaccinated.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/herd-immunity
This is an extremely relevant topic choice, based on the recent outbreak and our position as college students. It combines politics, ethics, and health. The Measles outbreak is the first event that has show the negative impacts of the anti-vaccine culture on a large scale. The falsified study about the connection between vaccines and autism has lead many parents to refuse vaccines for young children, but college students are different. Most students entering college are 18 and are able to make an independent decision about whether they want the vaccine or not. Since implementing a college wide policy would impact college students without the influence of parents, it would be easier to implement than forcing vaccines in schools. From a personal standpoint, I am very pro-vaccine and believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be protected. A vaccine is not 100% effective unless the entire (medically able) population receives it. Vaccines in everyone help protect those who cannot be vaccinated, such as kids receiving chemotherapy. As a member of society, it is the individual's responsibility to protect themselves and others. Measles is completely preventable and being protected from preventable diseases should be a human right.
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