Possibly the most effective method of disease prevention, vaccination, is also one of the most controversial in the United States. Anti-vaccine propaganda became mainstream in 1999 when a study was published claiming that autism could be related to mercury exposure from vaccines. This study was widely discredited, but it nevertheless gained momentum in certain circles, in large part due to the efforts of celebrities like Jenny McCarthy who widely advocated the alleged link. While the American Academy of Pediatrics has consistently found vaccines to be a safe and effective method of disease prevention and has dismissed claims that vaccines weaken the immune system or cause autism, as of 2009 approximately one in four American citizens believed there was a link between autism and vaccines. While people have the right to believe whatever they want about vaccines, their choice not to get vaccinated puts others in danger. Therefore, certain vaccines should become mandatory throughout the U.S.
One obvious issue with vaccine paranoia is that refusing vaccinations harms young children who are unable to make a decision for themselves. In that case, parents’ ignorance put children’s lives at risk. But the problem is much more serious than that — by allowing certain children to not be vaccinated, certain diseases that should be wiped out of existence are allowed to survive or reappear .
Measles was supposed to have been eliminated in the U.S. more than 10 years ago. But in a Texas community where vaccination is discouraged for religious reasons, there has been a recent outbreak among 21 people who for the most part were not immunized. This is not an uncommon problem. People who avoid vaccines tend to live near each other in the same communities, usually because their anti-vaccine views come from the same religious or cultural sources. As infectious disease expert Jason Terk explained in a recent NPR interview, “if you have individuals who are vaccine-hesitant or vaccine-hostile, they congregate together, and that creates its own unique situation where a population of individuals is susceptible to getting the very disease that they decided they don’t want to protect themselves from.”
Why is this a problem for everyone? Why should the stupidity of a few isolated groups make vaccines mandatory? Because their stupidity does not put only them at risk. Many people cannot get vaccines without risking major health complications because of specific conditions, medical treatments or age. The prevalence of vaccines in the general population is the best defense these people have against many diseases to which they would otherwise be susceptible. This population is mostly comprised of newborns and those with chronic diseases, meaning these people are spread throughout the country and need the protection of collective immunity. The same principle is used to encourage people to get a flu vaccine each year — you’re not just protecting yourself, you’re decreasing the chance you pass the flu to someone else.
But unlike the flu, many diseases can be effectively wiped out through vaccination, as measles was thought to be before the recent outbreak. By achieving a similar “herd immunity” effect, major pandemics can be prevented before they even start. Often this is by far the best way to treat a disease, especially with viral diseases, which are almost impossible to cure with medication. And the overuse of antibiotics worldwide has created many new diseases that are resistant to medication, a problem that could be reduced through people vaccinating themselves rather than treating their illness post-infection. Bacterial meningitis, for example, can be prevented in the vast majority of cases with a vaccine, but once contracted it can be deadly and requires heavy doses of antibiotics. But achieving a significant enough vaccinated percentage of the population to truly eliminate these diseases is impossible while sizable portions of the population are still caught up in the pseudo-science surrounding vaccines and while people like Jenny McCarthy are still given a platform from which to preach their dangerous ideas.
If only those who were avoiding vaccines themselves were affected by their decisions, then it would be a much smaller issue. Yet because their choices endanger others who are medically vulnerable, allow diseases to survive when their eradication was possible and contribute to the growing issue of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, we cannot allow the practice of avoiding vaccines to continue. People will claim their religious and personal freedom is being violated, but these rights end when they begin to harm the ability of the community as a whole to live safely. Treating preventable dangerous diseases is costly, difficult and in many cases not effective, but is made necessary by the continued existence of their pathogens. By making vaccines mandatory, the government can prevent people from needing treatment in the first place.
_Forrest Brown is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. His columns run Thursdays. _
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