Hello! This is a debate topic I think holds many mixed views and doesn't really get spoken about, so let's kick it off.
Should vaccinations be compulsory for children.
First what are vaccinations?
Vaccinations are inactive or dead viruses/bacteria. The inactive virus activates your bodies immune system allowing it to destroy the virus easily due to antibodies. This then allows your body to understand and remember the antigen and prevent you from being harmed again from the same virus or bacteria. - This is a very basic understanding of the immune systems function and its involvement with vaccines.
This all seems good right? You don't get harmed and your body adapts to stop you from being harmed. So why are children not getting the vaccinations they need?
This is most likely due to the connection "found" between autism and vaccinations. This "connection" was born in the late 1990s, through an article in a newspaper. It claimed autism was caused by mumps and rubella vaccinations. This worried a great amount of people in communities and prevented them from letting their children get vaccinated. Later that year the paper was withdrawn due to no credible evidence, however the view still stands with many parents.
Why should this be debated?
Vaccinations must be given to a large majority of people to eliminate the spread of a preventable disease. Children are such a target for vaccinations as they all play/work in such close proximity with people from friends to parents. This topic should be debated as it carries so many different views and opinions, if these views end up giving a child an illness that could be prevented isn't it important to address myths and understand everyone's view?
What are your views? Should children be made to get vaccinated against diseases? Is it ethical to go against a parent's views? Do the benefits outweigh the ethic issues of going against a parent's view?