Mandatory Vaccinations

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Rachel Raasch
Professor Meredith
ENGL 1302: Sec. 2230
1 May 2016

Mandatory Vaccinations
Mandatory vaccinations have been a topic for debates this year. Some feel that is should
be the parent’s choice. Others feel it’s something that is completely necessary to protect the
“herd”. There have even been studies stating that vaccines are connected to children developing
autism. I feel that mandatory vaccinations should be a topic in an American’s cultural literacy 10
years from now. I believe this topic will bring in more research and knowledge of vaccines and
the ingredients that are put into them.
Mandatory vaccinations should be in cultural literacy 10 years from now, because the
lack of vaccines could be life threatening. Currently there isn’t a US federal law mandating
vaccinations. If the law is passed everyone needs to know that it is requires to be vaccinated.
Right now, the law requiring certain vaccines to attend public school. The current law is “Each
student shall be fully immunized against diphtheria, rubeola, rubella, mumps, tetanus, and
poliomyelitis…” But there are also exemptions such as religious exemption, medical exemption,
and proof of immunity. Another reason why this topic needs to be a part of cultural literacy is
there have been connections between vaccines and autism. Yet studies have proven that the
MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination has no association with ASD (Autism). However is
a subject that needs to be looked into further. Most of the vaccines a person receives is during
their first year of life. If these studies are true, then infants are the ones developing ADS. Every
American should know about mandatory vaccinations a decade from now. It is such an important

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topic, it effects everyone! One thing everyone has in common is that our immune system needs
help to keep us healthy; and vaccines do just that.

A debatable subject about vaccinations is if they are safe or not. There is no doubt that
vaccines save lives, they are 90%-99% effective. Vaccinations have saved 2.5 million children
and have prevented diseases every year; which is about 285 children every hour.(ProCon) The
ingredients in vaccines are safe in the amounts that are used in. Yes, some ingredients such as
thimerosal, formaldehyde, and aluminum are harmful in large doses but the quantity that are in
vaccines are not. Children that drink formula and breast milk are more exposed to aluminum than
they are exposed to in vaccinations. “Paul Offit, MD, notes that children are exposed to more
bacteria, viruses, toxins, and other harmful substances in one day of normal activity than are in
vaccines.” (ProCon) One requirement by the FDA is that all vaccines must be tested up to 10
years before they are licensed. They are also monitored by the FDA and the CDC to make sure
that all the ingredients that are in vaccinations are safe. On the opposite side vaccinations can
caused critical and sometimes deathly side effects. All vaccinations possess the risk of
anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction to vaccines that can be life-threatening. The
vaccination for Rotavirus can cause a type of bowl blockage called intussusception. “Long-term
seizures, coma, lowered consciousness, and permanent brain damage may be associated with the
DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) and MMR vaccines, though the CDC notes the rarity of
the reaction makes it difficult to determine causation.” (ProCon) Reports by the CDC that the
Chickpox vaccine can cause pneumonia, and a rare possibility Guillian-Barré Syndrome is
connected to the flu vaccination.

My reasoning for picking this topic is because vaccinations can make a difference
between life and death. There are side effects but these side effects are rare (less than 1 and 1

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Million doses.) There are more common reactions that aren’t life threatening such as a low grade
fever or a sore arm or leg. But those reactions normally go away after a couple of days. Also if
American’s are illiterate about vaccines, some serious damage can come with it. “Although
vaccines have dramatically reduced the number of people who get infectious diseases and the
complications these diseases produce, the viruses and bacteria that cause vaccine-preventable
diseases and death still exist. Without vaccines, epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases would
return.” (PKIDs)

The image I selected is the Like Button the originated from Facebook. The inventor of
the Like Button on Facebook is former CTO Bret Taylor. The official date when the Like Button
was launched by Facebook was February 9, 2009. The reason for creating the button is there
were a lot of times where people wanted to acknowledge something their friend did, but they had
nothing to say. Most of the comments were just one word like ‘wow’ or ‘cool’. The Like Button
allows people to do that with just one click. But the Like Button wasn’t always call such. It was
first a prototype called the “Awesome Button”. (Vincent) After negative feedback the name was
ultimately named the Like Button. People immediately stated to say that Facebook had ripped off
the idea from a social media website called FriendFeed. But the theory was never looked into.

In conclusion vaccinations save more lives than it damages. There are side effects some
that are common and others that are rare. Normally the common side effects are not life
endangering but the rare side effects can be. Also there have been claims made that the MMR
vaccine can cause autism, but there is not any empirical information that makes the connection
true, but scientist are still looking into the theory. In the State of Texas there are laws that require
children to have certain vaccination before entering daycare, public, and private schools.
However there are exemptions, a few are religious and medical differences.

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Work Cited
Facebook Inc. Facebook. Like Button 2009: Digital Art. Web.
“Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?” ProCon. ProCon, 4 March 2016. Web. 1 May
2016.
“Texas State Vaccine Requirements.” Texas States Vaccine Requirements. National Vaccine
Information Center, 9 May 2016. Web. 9 May 2016.
“Vaccine Safety.” What Happens When We Don’t Vaccinate. PKIDs Online, 9 May 2016. Web.
9 May 2016.