Vaccination is the process by which the immunity of an individual is stimulated to develop protection against pathogens by the use of antigens called vaccines. Vaccination has been in use for a long period and has seen prevention and reduction of communicable and infectious diseases. The use of vaccines to prevent diseases was commonly used in children aged between 0 and 6 years; however, after scientific developments and discoveries it gained traction among adults (Habakus & Holland 2011). To protect the weak, elderly and the immune compromised individuals versus an individual’s right to say no to a vaccine is the difficult situation that most health practitioners face. This paper discusses the dilemma that arises on the need to use a vaccine and an individual’s right to say no to the vaccine.
Currently, there are diseases easily spread from an infected person to another person who is not infected. In order to minimize such cases, the uninfected individual needs to be protected from possible contraction by either quarantine or the vaccination. It is, therefore, advisable that individuals be vaccinated to increase their resistance to the pathogens. For example, if there is an outbreak of measles in children, the measles vaccination can be administered to boost their immunity against the disease. The measles vaccination is known to be above 90% effective and thus will reduce the chances of contraction among the children (Bandman & Bandman, 2008). Parents should therefore not resist children vaccination against measles for preventive purposes. On the contrary, quarantine denies people their right to movement and association and therefore if the disease can be prevented through vaccination the better. Nevertheless, if quarantine reduces infection rates for diseases such as Ebola, Zika virus or bird flu among others individual rights can be limited for greater public health outcomes. (Habakus & Holland, 2011).
Immune compromised individuals need to be protected against possible infections all the times. These individuals may be reactive to some vaccines, and thus, the people they interact with also need to be cautious about the vaccines they receive. The immune compromised individuals are entitled not to receive some vaccines that may be harmful to them; also, individuals who live with them patients have a right not to receive some vaccinations that may affect the former (Shah, 2008). However, in some cases when the vaccination process is necessary for the health and wellbeing of the individual, it should not be resisted. Safe vaccines should be used in proper timing so that the individuals are not affected or cause effects to others (Bandman & Bandman, 2008).
The elderly people aged above 65 years also need vaccinations to boost their immunity. As age increases, the human immune system undergoes fluctuations and becomes vulnerable, which may reduce immunity to infectious diseases. In order to overcome these cases of reduced immunity among the elderly, improved vaccination strategies need to be put in place so that the vulnerable elderly individuals in a population are protected against the infections (Shah, 2008). The individuals should therefore not resist the vaccines because, at old age, the chances of contracting bacterial infections such as tuberculosis are high and thus need for vaccinations (James, 2015). The elderly have a right to resist immunization; however, they must consider the need to boost their immunity versus protecting their individual rights at the expense of a quality life.
In conclusion, individuals have a right to say no to vaccinations. However, public health matters most for greater good. Vaccinations aid in the boosting of the immune system of an individual and the trickle effect flows to reflect better public health outcomes. Most myths that surround the vaccines have not been proven scientifically; therefore, members of public must ignore them. For better public health outcomes, there is need for the healthcare practitioners to prevent the spread of the infections by vaccination rather than waiting to treat the infection (Shah, 2008). Members of public also need to be informed about the need to trade of some of their individual rights and uphold vaccinations or quarantines for disease prevention and quality of life.
REFERENCES
Shah, S. I. (2008). Importance of vaccinations for close contacts and caregivers. American family physician, 77(12), 1664-1674.
Bandman, B., & Bandman, E. L. (2008). Bioethics and human rights. Boston: Little [and]
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Habakus, L. K., & Holland, M. (2011). Vaccine epidemic: How corporate greed, biased
science, and coercive government threaten our human rights, our health, and our
children. New York: Skyhorse Pub.
James, W. (2015). Immunization: The reality behind the myth. Westport, Conn: Bergin &
Garvey.
