Should childhood vaccines be compulsory ?

[Ykcor]

As a grandfather, I'm alarmed at reports of diseases like measles and whooping cough that were not a concern while my children were growing up. My daughter reports that parents get around immunization for their kids by homeschooling or applying as conscientious objectors. The resulting decline in "herd immunity" puts other children at risk.

[Lithium]

Exactly how would you make it compulsory?

[Peds]

Yes. Next question.

[CordMcNally]

It should be but there's a lot of not smart parents out there.

[Zaphod]

Yes.

This is not even a question. Sad it has to be considered.

[ZZZ]

Yes

[Zaphod]

Lithium wrote:

Exactly how would you make it compulsory?

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Like any other compulsory thing. Rule of law and consequences.

[Lithium]

What do you guys think the mechanism of enforcement should be?  Parents get taken to court and involuntary treatment ordered?  Kids not allowed to go to school?  Kids taken out of parents custody?  Welfare/tax credits get denied without vaccines and/or additional tax penalties?  Parents get taken to jail?  And how cost effective would this be?

[wideopenspaces]

Easy, no access to any Disney parks without vaccination. Problem solved without involving the courts.

[Zaphod]

Lithium wrote:

What do you guys think the mechanism of enforcement should be?  Parents get taken to court and involuntary treatment ordered?  Kids not allowed to go to school?  Kids taken out of parents custody?  Welfare/tax credits get denied without vaccines and/or additional tax penalties?  Parents get taken to jail?  And how cost effective would this be?

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Many combinations of that would work but likely unnecessary beyond being made mandatory with social exclusion (ie not allowed in school, public places, air travel, etc...). Making it . They should not be allowed to go to school with anything other than a medical exemption. Theres plenty of other similar things you never think about that are this way. Parents arent allowed to starve children for religious or philosophical reasons and would/could be charged with neglect and/or jail time. Children are not parents property and although mostly hidden from daily life this is true, and they cannot do or make any kind of choice for them either.

It would be exceedingly cost effective as rising outbreaks and subsequent medical treatment is extremely effective let alone the obviously coming emergence of tort suits alleging (and likely correctly) negligence from parents of kids affected by anti-vaxx folks allowed to freely mingle without an actual reason.

 

[VagabondMD]

wideopenspaces wrote:

Easy, no access to any Disney parks without vaccination. Problem solved without involving the courts.

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I love that!

[Lordosis]

Absolutely they should.
I am a firm believer in individual liberty but childhood vaccination is an issue I fall on societies side. This can hurt other people. It should be a no brainier. To me smoking in public venues is a way lesser issue then vaccination but you cannot smoke anywhere in NY now. I agree with this policy as well but I wish the same fervor went towards vaccination.

[Lithium]

Zaphod wrote:

Lithium wrote:

What do you guys think the mechanism of enforcement should be?  Parents get taken to court and involuntary treatment ordered?  Kids not allowed to go to school?  Kids taken out of parents custody?  Welfare/tax credits get denied without vaccines and/or additional tax penalties?  Parents get taken to jail?  And how cost effective would this be?

Click to expand…

Many combinations of that would work but likely unnecessary beyond being made mandatory with social exclusion (ie not allowed in school, public places, air travel, etc…). Making it . They should not be allowed to go to school with anything other than a medical exemption. Theres plenty of other similar things you never think about that are this way. Parents arent allowed to starve children for religious or philosophical reasons and would/could be charged with neglect and/or jail time. Children are not parents property and although mostly hidden from daily life this is true, and they cannot do or make any kind of choice for them either.

It would be exceedingly cost effective as rising outbreaks and subsequent medical treatment is extremely effective let alone the obviously coming emergence of tort suits alleging (and likely correctly) negligence from parents of kids affected by anti-vaxx folks allowed to freely mingle without an actual reason.

 

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I can get behind requiring a medical exemption for kids to go to school unvaccinated (though that falls short of making vaccination truly "compulsory").  I'm not so sure lack of vaccination should be considered tantamount to abuse/neglect.  Feeding kids happy meals three times a week and exposing them to secondhand smoke likely damages their health far more than not vaccinating them, and the millions of parents who do that face zero discipline.  The real issue is the public health risk.

[DoubleMDs]

The fact someone would even ask this as a serious question shows the problem today. Absolutely they should.

[jhwkr542]

What happens if a 1 yo needs a blood transfusion but their parents are Jehovah's witnesses? Court order? To me, it amounts to neglect and the only reason anti-vaxxers don't get charged is because of numbers. I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't advocate against vaccines, so religious exemptions are just stupid. Parents have been charged with not seeking medical care for their sick child. There's no ethical difference between that and unvaccinated kids getting sick. I think insurance shouldn't cover medical expenses in these situations. Have the fear of bankruptcy hanging over their head. If a kid who medically can't get vaccinated gets sick, the parents should be able to sue kids he's around that didn't get vaccinated, putting their child at risk.