Should vaccines be mandatory?

Alexa (No)

It is unethical to remove an individual’s right to choose what is injected into their bodies and the bodies of their children [1]. Two highly contested aspects in this topic revolve around the efficacy of vaccine immunity [2] and safety [3].

Tetyana Obukhanych, PhD in Immunology, states in her book [4], lectures [5], and in her open letter to legislators [6], “Vaccine immunity does not equal life-long immunity acquired after natural exposure.” The theory of “herd immunity” works naturally, but is unachievable through vaccinated artificially induced communities, as the immunity does not last – vaccines wane in their effectiveness 2-10 years after administration [7]. Outbreaks still occur in fully vaccinated communities [8]. If a country reached a 100% vaccination rate, there would still be some percentage of the population that is non-responsive [9]. Vaccinated individuals are not shielded from becoming carriers of the infection/disease, as vaccines cannot stop contraction of the disease, but only suppress symptoms [10]. 

Vaccines are not safe for everyone at all times [11] – medicine is not a one-size-fits-all situation [12]. There are neurological, autoimmune, and occasionally fatal risks involved with vaccination [13], as every person possesses a unique genetic predisposition that can incur negative side effects (injuries) [14]. Moreover, the entire vaccine schedule as it is today has not been tested for safety regarding the combined administration of the doses [15]. Even the Institute of Medicine acknowledges science does not know if there’s a relationship between short-term adverse events following vaccination and long-term health issues [16].

Vaccine-hesitant populations have existed for as long as there have been vaccination mandates [17], and it’s demonizing to blame them for the presence of recurring diseases without proof.  

Mary (Yes)

If vaccines were not mandatory in the United States, there would be an unprecedented number of illnesses and deaths from diseases that have been eradicated in the past. Vaccines are not a magic protection against disease, but they do provide your body with important antibodies (“fighter” cells) that are able to identify and kill virus cells that carry these diseases. Vaccinated people may still become sick from these diseases, but the effects of the disease will be lessened to a great extent.

Let’s take measles, for example. In 2019, the United States saw the largest measles outbreak since 1992. The outbreak was concentrated in a county in New York, where there were large numbers of unvaccinated children. International travelers who returned from countries where measles is rampant brought the virus with them, and those children were not able to fight off the virus. Those children then exposed other children, who exposed adults that may not have been vaccinated. Infected persons experienced fever, rash, pneumonia, encephalitis, and 70 children died from complications.

Vaccines exist to keep us alive, there’s no question about it. The inventors of vaccines were not conspiring with drug companies, they were looking to keep people safe. Countless numbers of deaths from measles, influenza, polio, and other diseases have been prevented.

If you have the flu, would you rather sleep it off at home? Or, would you rather sleep it off in a hospital bed, possibly on a ventilator? That’s the risk you take when you choose to be unvaccinated.