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Stephanie Price
English 112
Professor Connie Douglas
29 October 2014
Round Table Assignment
The population of people who are vaccinated is higher than it has ever been, no longer do
parents fear that their child will contract diseases like polio and diphtheria. When you receive a
vaccine, you are actually receiving a weakened or dead form of the virus that will cause your
body to react by making antibodies that are protective and fight off the germs that have entered
your body. So in other words you are exposed to the disease, but dont actually get sick, so that
your body can learn how to defend itself in case it is ever confronted with the real thing.
There are many controversies surrounding the topic of immunizations, including how many
vaccines are being given, which vaccines are being given, what are the side effects, and possibly
the most controversial, who is has the right to be exempt from vaccines. Many people are saying
it should be harder for someone to claim exemption for him or herself or for his or her child.
These people are saying it should not be possible to be claimed exempt due to personal beliefs
and that the only people who should be aloud to be exempt are people with medical conditions,
in order to maintain a high vaccinated population rate. The opposition says that it violates our
freedoms to be forced to be injected with something if we do not want to be. There are three
main voices that are talking about this issue and those are: the parents of children who are getting
vaccinated, the government, and the pharmaceutical companies.
The first voice is the most obvious: the person who is getting the vaccine or the parents
that represents him or her, he or she is the one that should have the most input when it comes to

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what goes in his or her bodies. With so many stories of vaccinations gone wrong parents are
getting mixed information about vaccines, this could cause parents to afraid of the side effects of
vaccines and want to file for exemption from vaccines. Another reason parents might file for
exemption under the claim of personal belief is because they get behind on their Childs
scheduled vaccines and decide it is easier to claim exemption than to get their child caught up.
There are some people who just think it should be completely up to his or herself as to whether
or not they choose to get vaccinated or not. As Joseph Mercola said in his article supporting the
right to be exempt from vaccines All Americans need to know their options for legally optingout of vaccinations, and you also need to know why its so important to protect this legal option,
whether you choose to use every federally recommended vaccine for yourself youre your
children or not.(Mercola). Overall, the parents or the person being vaccinated have the most
influence when it comes to whats being injected into them.
The second voice that is talking about this topic of vaccines is the government. It is
important to the government that the population of vaccinated is high because they need to
protect those who can not be vaccinated. The government is the one that regulates who can and
cannot claim exemption from vaccinations. The government uses their power to make and
regulate laws relating to immunizations. There is a government website where people have
access to information about vaccinations. The government also created the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), The (CDC) is a federal agency that conducts and supports health
promotion, prevention and preparedness activities in the United States with the goal of
improving overall public health. The (CDC) strongly believes it is important that everyone
possible get vaccinated who can be, as they said in an article they posted supporting protecting
making vaccines mandatory with few exemptions; Even a small number of unimmunized

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individuals in a community can facilitate the spread of disease. (Pediatric infectious Diseases
Society) . The government is extremely influential in deciding who can be exempt from
vaccines.
The third voice involved in the discussion about vaccines is the drug makers. The major
pharmaceutical companies are the ones that make the vaccines. They, of course, want people to
get vaccinated because that means they will make more money. Also the drug companies and the
government sometimes make agreements that some people find to be unfair to those who are
fighting to protect vaccine exemptions. Joseph Mercola, an advocate for the protection of
exemptions argued that Unfortunately, the partnership between government health agencies and
vaccine manufacturers is getting closer and closer. There is some serious discrimination against
Americans, who want to be free to exercise their right to conformed consent to medical risktaking when it comes to making voluntary decisions about what vaccines they and their children
use. We cannot allow this to happen! (Mercola). The pharmaceutical companies are already
swimming in money which means they already have the power to sway decisions one way or the
other when it comes to laws about vaccinations because for the most part money equals power.
One way that big pharmaceutical companies use their money and power is through lobbying,
between 1994 and 2005 pharmaceutical companies spent $900 million on lobbying which is
more than any other industry. The Pharmaceutical companies also donated money to the political
parties during this time, donating three times more to republicans than democrats. Some people
say that the power these companies have gives them an unfair advantage in order to promote
legislation at the expensive of the patients. These companies need to put aside their greed for
money and make sure they are coming out with a product that is safe for the public.

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All three of the voices that are involved in the topic of vaccines, and who has to get them,
are strong voices that can definitely be highly opinionated. It is important that parents and others
who are getting vaccinated get all the information about vaccines instead of just listening to the
stories that are being spread around social media. The drug companies need to put aside their
love of money and make sure they are putting out the best possible vaccines to the public that are
safe. The government needs to be the responsible leader in this circumstance, and make sure that
the information is being properly provided to the public about the pros of getting vaccinated and
even make sure they are clear about the possible side effects. The government has the most
power to make sure that the public is getting their proper immunizations, and that people are not
claiming exemptions just because they can.

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Works cited
Koch, Kathy. "Vaccine Controversies." CQ Researcher 25 Aug. 2000: 641-72. Web. 6 Oct. 2014
Mercola, Joseph. "Vaccine Exemptions Must Be Protected." Should Vaccinations be
Mandatory? Ed. Roman Espejo. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. At
Issue. Rpt. from "The Latest Sneak Attacks in a Coordinated Effort to Eliminate Vaccine
Exemptions." mercola.com. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2014
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. "Mandatory Vaccinations with Few Exceptions Are
Necessary for Public Health." Vaccines.

Ed. Nol Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press,

2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "A Statement Regarding Personal Belief
Exemption from Immunization Mandates." 2011. 1-5. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web. 6 Oct. 2014.