Patient Ofri Scenarios

Implementing childhood vaccination policy in the United States has sparked controversy among parents and public health officials in determining the ethical implications of immunization mandates. The arguments of parents who refuse vaccinations for their children are multidimensional and tend to include a lack of clear understanding of safety measures and how their decisions affect society. In order to effectively communicate with parents with opposing perspectives while respecting their personal autonomy, it is important to intensify informational sessions that include the dangers of viruses that are preventable.

Parents should have the exclusive authority to make medical decisions on behalf of their minor children. Informed parents have the responsibility to refuse or discontinue treatments, even those that may be life-sustaining. This right extends to opting-out of vaccinations when in the best interests of the child. Although, these rights are being challenged. In addition, those parents choosing to opt-out of the vaccination program for their children are facing sanctions, ridicule as well as ostracized. A published article in, Pediatrics, confirm what other studies have suggested: “Anti-vaccine sentiment in the United States appears strongest among educated, wealthier white families. All 50 states have legislation requiring specified vaccines for students. Although exemptions vary from state to state, all school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons.”

“Why should I get vaccinated? It is just a waste of time and money. I never got vaccinated before and never will.” That’s what one of my colleagues said when he was asked to get vaccinated during the outbreak of SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, few years ago in Mongolia. Then, I had reasoned him that disease comes all of a sudden and it is more serious than he thinks. As reported on CDC, Centers for Disease Control, 40 percent of all American parents were refusing one or more vaccines for their children (Willrich 3). So it is clearly one of the most significant public health issues today. There are lots of people who hold the belief against vaccination because of several reasons. Even though there is a public notion that vaccine

In healthcare, we are seeing an influx of children with diseases that were once eradicated by vaccinations. It does not help that in recent years many public figures, be it actors or politicians, have begun speaking out about the effects vaccinations potentially have on children. Whether they have done the proper research or not, their fame and notoriety brings about attention that most would not. So, what does the increase in non-vaccinated children mean to the rest of those that accepted the vaccinations. A closer look at immunizations for adults and children, the herd immunity that is in jeopardy, and the culture and reasoning of the anti-vaccination group may shed some light on the culture of anti-vaccination.

Ethical concerns regarding pediatric vaccinations span several viewpoints including clinicians, policymakers and parents. A parent’s concern is to protect their children. Parents want to know more about how vaccines work - the risks and side effects, vaccine ingredients, and vaccine safety - before deciding to vaccinate a child. The responsibility of the medical professional is to protect the public while preserving the rights of the patient. The ethical issues concerning childhood immunization in the United States affect policy development and clinical practice. The question of whether to vaccinate or not is a hotly debated question. The proponents of vaccinations hold that without them horrible diseases would once again plague society and are required for the public good while opponents say vaccinations are personal and should therefore be decided individually. The ethical considerations of vaccinations provide complicated views.

Everyone in the United States who is not apart of a religious group--in which vaccination will infringe upon their beliefs--should receive vaccinations to ensure the safety of American citizens. For instance, when one schedules an annual physical, he/she may immediately think of vaccines. Young children may whine and teenagers may gripe. “Do I really need a shot mom?” One grumpy teenager or child might ask. The mother, in a typical setting, will say yes. The parent will not reply yes because they wish to hear his/her child complain about a sore arm for the next three days; no, the parent allows the nurse to administer the shot because the vaccine is recommended. In fact, vaccines have been a proven and effective way to protect the human race against diseases. With the intention of preventing diseases, listening to recommendation by qualified physicians and nurses could mean the difference between life and death for other children.

For years, universal childhood vaccinations have been a deliberated and debated topic among much of the population. Those who are in support of vaccination, including healthcare providers, believe that vaccinations are not only in the best interest of each child’s health, but also in the best interest of the public’s health as a whole. Many vaccine supporters also believe that the benefit of vaccinations outweigh the risks associated with them (Song, 2014, p. 542). Those who are not in support of vaccinations, or display hesitancy regarding them, may not perceive the continuing need for them or may decline them for various other reasons. Anti-vaccinators are also typically concerned with the safety of vaccinations and believe that the risks associated with them may be greater than their benefit (Song, 2014, p. 542). This paper will focus on discussing some of the ethical issues arising from childhood vaccinations, it will apply ethical principles such as autonomy and beneficence to the issue, and it will explore the role of the nursing profession and ethical standards by which they abide.

Vaccinations are safe and they work. There are many parents who choose for their own reasons to ignore Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to vaccinate and exercise their right to not do so. They run the risk of having their child suffer or even possibly die when they opt-out to having their child vaccinated. Today in the United States, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease are often traced to susceptible children whose parents have claimed an exemption from school or child care immunization regulations (CDC, 2014).

“As healthy as my lifestyle seemed, I contracted measles, mumps, rubella, a type of viral meningitis, scarlatina, whooping cough, yearly tonsillitis, and chickenpox, some of which are vaccine preventable” (Parker 1). This quote by vaccine advocate Amy Parker, a woman who was not vaccinated as a child, shows just a glimpse into the life of an unvaccinated individual. Parents who do not vaccinate their children claim many different reasons for their decision. Three of the most popular reasons are: religious grounds, health problems as a result from vaccines, and the belief that the illnesses are rare. Each of these reasons can be proven as nonessential in the anti-vaccine argument.

The controversy concerning vaccination for children has been a debate for many parents. A vaccine is defined by the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention as, “a biological agent used to prevent very serious illnesses and diseases, such as smallpox, measles, influenza, tuberculosis, and hepatitis by injecting a weakened infectious organism into the human body” (CDC). Once the dead organism is injected our bodies create antibodies from them which can begin protecting us. Some parents are skeptical of how injecting kids with weakened diseases could ultimately protect them which manifest some distrust in doctors. Also, a big fear of parents are the side

“Opting out of vaccinations puts public health at risk and could lead to a resurgence of dangerous diseases” (USA Today 1). If parents decide to not vaccinate their children it may pose a risk to the public as well as their child. It is still debated that a parent should or should not have the right to decide whether their child is vaccinated. Parents should not have the decision to vaccinate their child or not because by not being vaccinated death is likely, the disease is easily transmitted to a child who is not of age to be vaccinated, and it is necessary to keep the public healthy.

Lyren, A., & Leonard, E. (2006). Vaccine refusal: issues for the primary care physician. Clinical Pediatrics, 45(5), 399-404. Retrieved from

Modern advances in vaccines used for immunization have helped to eliminate and even eradicate diseases that once proved to be debilitating or even fatal. History has shown that since the creation of the first vaccination, that the number of those that become affected with infectious diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, polio and smallpox has been significantly reduced. Yet, some parents choose to put their child’s health in immediate danger by forgoing these lifesaving vaccines. Most of these parents have not had to see their children lying helplessly, in pain, fighting for their lives because of a deadly disease. Special Advisor for Health Policy, Ezekiel Emmanuel, M.D., Ph.D., states, “parents

Recently, however, a contrary trend has arisen. Reports of risks associated with vaccines have led a growing number of people to decline inoculations, both for themselves and on behalf of their children. These changing attitudes may have

Vaccination was first introduced globally for small pox and later on extended to other communicable diseases which are now known as vaccine preventable disease. Vaccination is beneficial both for individuals and community. This bring us to the ethical dilemma - Vaccination of a healthy child with the intention of protecting both the individual child and the community at the same time exposing the child to the theoretical risk of exposure to disease products whether live, attenuated or killed. There was a time when people never questioned the government or their physicians. Now because of more public awareness and accessibility to medical information, they are questioning the safety aspects of vaccines.