Should Schools Require That Children Be Vaccinated?

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When students contract disease, vaccine proponents are quick to blame the outbreaks on unvaccinated children. Yet, the official data tells a different story: a majority of cases occur in fully vaccinated populations. Dr. William Atkinson, senior epidemiologist with the CDC, admitted that “measles transmission has been clearly documented among vaccinated persons. In some large outbreaks…over 95% of cases have a history of vaccination.” Similar problems with vaccine efficacy plague other vaccines as well. For example, in a 2003 outbreak of pertussis, 4 of every 5 people who contracted the disease were vaccinated against it. In 2006, there was a large outbreak of mumps in the United States; 92% of the cases were in people who were vaccinated against mumps. Such data provides evidence that herd immunity—the idea that when a proportion of people within a targeted population are immune to a disease, transmission rates are reduced—may not apply to vaccinated populations. Vaccination and immunity are not synonymous.

Authorities claim that vaccines won't work for society unless a very high number of people in the targeted population—school children—take them. Apparently, unvaccinated children are a threat to the group. But this does not make sense. By this reasoning, the unvaccinated—who are being coerced into taking the shots—are somehow responsible for protecting the vaccinated. How ironic! If some students are vaccinated, that's their family’s choice. If other students are unvaccinated, that's their family’s informed decision as well. Vaccinated students take their chances hoping to avoid serious adverse reactions, while unvaccinated students risk contracting the disease. However, if vaccinated students contract the disease, the shot was ineffective, NOT the fault of unvaccinated students. Officials ignore their own ineffective vaccine, choosing instead to smear the unvaccinated. Outrage should be vented in the proper direction—at those who developed ineffective shots and falsely promoted a defective product.