Poor sales: School vaccination obligations in the Covid era

The ongoing battle for COVID-19 vaccination in the United States could be even hotter when the Food and Drug Administration permits children aged 5 to 11 years to use the vaccine urgently.

California Announced With full FDA approval after an emergency use authorization, you will need a vaccine to attend primary school, which may follow in other states.COVID-19 vaccination obligations at work and in college are controversial and could extend to smaller children Further controversy..

Children already need to get a host of other vaccines to go to school. School vaccination obligations have existed since the 19th century and became established in all 50 states in the 1970s. Vaccine requirements are The most effective means of controlling infectionsHowever, they are currently being attacked by a small but loud minority of parents who consider it an unacceptable intrusion into their parents’ rights.

As a public health historian studying Evolution of vaccination policyThere is a big difference between the current debate over COVID-19 vaccination and the public response to previous obligations.

Past compulsory vaccination

NS First legal requirements for vaccination It dates back to the early 1800s, when horrific and deadly illnesses routinely terrorized the community. Loose patchwork of local and state legislation was enacted to stop the epidemic of smallpox, the only vaccine-preventable disease at the time.

Vaccine obligations were initially applied to the general public. However, in the 1850s, as universal public education became more common, people realized that school buildings were more likely to be a place of epidemic.Some states and provinces have begun to enact Laws that link school attendance to vaccination.. Smallpox vaccines are crude by today’s standards, and their safety concerns have led to numerous proceedings over their obligations.

The US Supreme Court upheld forced vaccination in two decisions. First, 1905, Mandate asserted that it is a constitution.. Second 1922, Especially support school-based requirements.. Despite these rulings, many states lacked a smallpox vaccination law, and some states that had it failed to enforce it consistently. Few states have updated their legislation when new vaccines are available.

School immunization legislation began in the 1960s, when health authorities were frustrated, and underwent a major overhaul. Measles outbreaks continued to occur in schools Even if a safe and effective vaccine is recently approved.

Many parents mistakenly believed that measles was a troublesome but mild illness and that most children would recover soon.In fact, it often caused Serious complicationsIncludes potentially fatal pneumonia and swelling of the brain.

The first legal requirements for vaccination date back to the early 1800s, when horrific and deadly illnesses routinely terrorized the community.

With encouragement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all states have either updated old legislation or enacted new legislation. It covers all seven pediatric vaccines developed up to that point: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. In 1968, only half of the states There were school vaccination requirements. By 1981, all states..

Expanding requirements, mid-20th century

The most surprising thing about this significant expansion of vaccination obligations is how little controversy it has caused.

The law has elicited scattered court challenges, usually over the issue of exemptions. These proceedings were often filed by chiropractors and other supporters of alternative medicine. In most cases, the court dismissed these issues..

There was little public protest. In contrast to today’s loud and networked vaccination activists, systematic resistance to vaccination remained around in the 1970s, when most of these schools’ vaccination obligations passed. Unlike today Fraudulent theory of vaccine-related harm – The unreliable notion that vaccines cause autism – Endless distribution on social mediaThere was little public debate about the claimed or actual risks of vaccines.

Throughout most of the 20th century Parents were less likely to ask questions Pediatrician recommendations than today. In contrast to today’s empowered “patients / consumers,” the attitude of “doctors know best” prevailed. All of these factors contributed to the overwhelming positive view of vaccination, with more than 90% of parents reporting in a 1978 poll: Even if they vaccinate their children There was no law requiring them to do so.

With widespread public support for vaccination, the law was easily passed, but it required more than enacting the law in books to control the disease.Vaccination rate Continued to lag in the 1970s, Not for opposition, but for self-satisfaction.

Thanks to the success of previous vaccination programs, most parents of infants lacked direct experience of the suffering and death caused by illnesses such as polio and whooping cough in the previous era. However, public health officials recognized that these diseases were far from being eradicated and would continue to threaten children unless higher immunization rates were reached. Vaccines were already becoming victims of their success. The better they worked, the more people thought they were no longer needed.

In response to this lack of urgency CDC launched a national push in 1977 To help the state enforce recently enacted legislation. Health authorities across the country have partnered with school districts to audit student records and provide an on-site vaccination program. When the push rushed in, they excluded unvaccinated children from school until they completed the required shots.

The lesson learned is that successful law requires continuous effort and commitment, and keeps parents reminded of the value of vaccines to keep schools and communities healthy.

Would you like to add Covid-19 to your school’s vaccine list?

Fifty years after school obligations became universal in the United States, Support for them remains strong overall.. However, false information spread on the Internet and social media has weakened public consensus on the value of vaccination that has enabled the enactment of these laws.

COVID-19 vaccination has been politicized in an unprecedented way, with sharp parties COVID-19 is really a threat, And whether The guidance of scientific experts is reliable.. The focus of attention on the COVID-19 vaccine provided a new opportunity for conspiracy theories against vaccination to reach a wide audience.

Fierce opposition to COVID-19 vaccination Anti-government sentiment and false concept of freedomCan undermine support for the requirements of a proven school that has protected the community for decades. Vaccination of school-aged children is important for controlling COVID-19, but lawmakers need to be careful.

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