Emily Hare

Vaccination
An increasing amount of Americans are not getting vaccinated. This is dangerous. When
people don't vaccinate their kids it risks the lives of not only those unvaccinated children but also the
children around them. If a disease can take root in one child near immune children, then it can and
will mutate into something that cannot be blocked by the vaccine, causing sickness and in some cases
death.
Recently there was a measles outbreak in Disneyland. All of that area in California really but
Disneyland is the picture I want to paint. The happiest place on Earth, succumbing to a disease that
can be staved off with a simple MMR vaccine. MMR vaccinates for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.
It is recommended for children from the age of 12 months to 12 years and it was first invented in
1963. The vaccine didn't become widely distributed until 1971 and 1973 following outbreaks of the
measles. Many people in California, and across the US are refusing this vaccine for their children.
Low MMR vaccine rates are directly linked to the measles outbreak in Disneyland. All preventable
by a single shot that can be given to a toddler.
A solution that has been proposed is to make certain vaccines mandatory by the government.
This wouldn't work due to a small percentage of the population not being able to receive vaccines as
well as the only legal precedent to it being the H1N1 vaccine during the first swine flu outbreak in
the 1980's. Another solution is to not allow children to go to school until they have had some school
mandated vaccinations. This also wouldn't work due to that same small percentage of the population
not being able to get vaccinated. I propose instead an education program that parents have to go
through before setting their child loose into our schools. This education program would inform
parents about vaccines and dispel any pre-conceived notions that are not only incorrect but are also
dangerous for the children in their care.

Emily Hare

The education program would include the years recommended for children to start getting
vaccinated, what real safety concerns are attached to these vaccines (such as the MMR having a
small chance of causing febrile seizures in infants from 12-24 months, heightening at 14-18 months),
dispel any concerns that are based on false information, and to inform the dangers of not vaccinating.
It could be implemented as part of the orientation process in elementary and pre-schools or as a
segment in their open house. These of course would be shorter sessions due to time constraints, so a
special date will be offered to those that cannot attend the open house and for those that are currently
not vaccinating their children. It would be funded by the schools and while school boards would be
in charge of implementing and enforcing the program, the individual school is in charge of the actual
event. It would cost next to nothing to tack it onto the already lengthy orientation process and to have
an extra day with more in depth information. The funds would go towards the initial information
gathering to be implemented into the education process, and possibly towards the extra day, though
that could be volunteer based if needed.
Better education of parents will work because it has worked before. In 1954 the first vaccine
was implemented. The polio vaccine stopped an epidemic of polio in the United States and around
the world after having to deal with it since the early 1940's. Yet, due to parental concerns, not
everyone was vaccinated against polio and another outbreak occurred in 1958. After seeing these
concerns public health officials launched an education program about vaccines, causing the number
of vaccinations to go up again. Due to their efforts, polio has been declared wiped out in America.
Preventable diseases are at an all time low in the US today but that can easily change if more
people decide not to vaccinate. With a better vaccine education program in place, more parents will
decide to vaccinate their kids and disease rates will soar even lower. Imagine a world where deadly
preventable diseases were essentially eradicated. That's a world I want to live in.