Pros and Cons of Immunization. Do you agree with mandatory immunization? Why or why not?

Immunization is a tricky issue, especially today. In the
last twenty years or so, vaccination has become a hot-button topic, with scientists and
pseudo-scientists on both sides arguing.

Vaccination has
helped cure and eliminate many diseases, some of which are among the most deadly natural
diseases in the world. The polio vaccination program started in 1955 had, by 1965,
reduced the number of paralytic polio cases to 61 nationwide. The last case of polio in
the United States was reported in 1993. The best case for vaccination is in the numbers
of fatal infant diseases that have been eradicated or significantly
reduced.

On the con side, many anecdotal claims are made
each year that mandatory vaccination has adverse side effects on young immune systems.
The largest such claim is that vaccines cause autism, a condition that usually manifests
around the same age as vaccinations are first given. At this time, there is no
legitimately accepted study that proves any sort of correlation. The British medical
journal Lancet retracted the 1998 study that first suggested the
link. On the other hand, many children have other reactions, including reduced immune
function and brain inflammation. The majority of claims against vaccination come from
influential figures in the media, who have a large audience, but who might not be
knowledgeable in the field.

I, myself, believe that
vaccines are a useful and necessary part of medicine. Without them, thousands of
children worldwide would still die each year from whooping cough, smallpox, measles, and
mumps. However, I believe that, as with every science, there needs to be improvement;
the substance Thimerosal, which is a mercury preservative, has been blamed for health
problems and subsequently was removed from vaccines. Longer case studies and testing may
be a good idea.

Mandatory immunization is even trickier.
The forcing of a medical procedure on any person is, in my view, unethical at best;
however, parents must be allowed the right to decide what is best for their children
until the children are of a certain age. To require immunization as part of a government
program seems wrong to me, but I cannot fault the reasoning behind it, just the
methodology. It seems to me that if we want everybody to be healthy, we should inform
and educate, instead of forcing.

Regardless of a person's
personal feelings about vaccination, the statistics and facts must always be applied and
weighed. Correlation does not always indicate causation.