Religious Exemption for Immunizations

Religious Exemption for Immunizations

  • Submitted By: dbthole
  • Date Submitted: 07/13/2008 12:37 PM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 1393
  • Page: 6
  • Views: 1

Laws requiring immunizations for school aged children to attend public schools have contributed to the great success of the United States immunization program. Several contagious, and sometimes lethal, diseases have been controlled and even eliminated from society as a result of this requirement (Salmon, p. 470). This trend may soon come to a halt if medical exemptions are not kept to a minimum. An increased number of parents not having their school aged children immunized are allowing multiple illnesses, viruses, and additional communicable or contagious conditions to become more prevalent in school settings. By allowing parents to claim religious or philosophical immunization exemption, society is permitting some parents to endanger school aged children by neglecting to do their part in helping to provide a safe, healthy environment for children to receive an education.
The process to have school aged children immunized was created to be preventative for health and safety issues within a highly populated, semi-confined area. As exemptions doubled from 2001 to 2006, incidents of outbreaks and epidemics have risen alarmingly (Thompson, p.196). Allowing excuses to not get school aged children immunized and putting the remainder of our school aged children’s health and well being at risk.
Immunizations have become a foundation for fending off outbreaks and epidemics. Vaccine preventable diseases (VPD’s) such as smallpox, with polio closely behind, have been controlled and finally eradicated (Salmon, p.470). Children whose parents claim exemptions to immunizations are at a 22% higher risk for contraction and transmission of VPD’s, with the most contagious and communicable being hepatitis, measles, and pertussis (Salmon, p. 470). Immunization exemption has risen greatly over the last eight years with the inclusion of philosophical exemption (Thompson, p.195). 48 states allow for religious exemption, 19 states allow for non-medical or philosophical exemption...

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