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Speak Out
What should be the government’s role in vaccinations?
If you spent Thanksgiving dinner trying to avoid your coughing, sniffling, contagious younger cousins, you’re probably thinking about staying one step ahead of sickness this week. But would you take it as far as getting a flu shot?
The government recommends that virtually the entire population get vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease. But vaccinations are a personal choice: You notice that the government is only recommending them. It doesn’t mandate shots on a national level, though some state governments have tried to step up their role by requiring vaccinations for health care workers. And in California, where a whooping cough outbreak caused the death of 10 infants this fall, a law goes into effect in January requiring students to be vaccinated for the disease.
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With 310 million people living within its borders, the U.S. government has an interest in making sure they don’t all get sick at once. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the government agency that studies disease outbreaks, monitors how they spread over time and makes recommendations on how the public can stay healthy. It is a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, a wing of the executive branch dealing specifically with recommending laws and policy regarding the country’s health.
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But how about the big one – the flu? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 5 and 20 percent of Americans get the flu each year. More than 200,000 people go to the hospital because of it, and 36,000 people die (usually babies or the elderly). The CDC says this could be prevented by simple annual shots, and in the past, it has recommended that everybody between 6 months and 18 years of age, as well as everybody over 50, get vaccinated.
This year, the CDC expanded this range to include that gap between 18 and 50 – it now recommends that pretty much the entire population get a flu shot. But not everybody does; last year, only 35 percent of the public was vaccinated. In a recent Consumer Reports survey, 37 percent of respondents said they planned on getting vaccinated this year – slightly more, but still low.
Why do so few people get their shots? The reasons are many. Some say there’s no evidence the vaccine works. Some worry about the vaccine’s ingredients – and toxic side effects they are afraid will come with them. Since vaccinations involve being injected with a strain of the disease to build up immunity, many people (24 percent, according to a Harvard study) worry that flu shots actually cause the flu, even though they don’t. Others feel that the shots can lead to autism in the young, or Alzheimer’s in the elderly. Religious groups that don’t believe in medication avoid getting shots. People who don’t like needles avoid getting vaccinated (even though the flu vaccine is also available as a nasal spray).
Because of these many reasons – some legitimate, some perhaps not – the federal government does not make any vaccinations required, only recommended. However, some state laws do take enforcement a bit further.
In California, for instance, a whooping cough outbreak led to a law introduced by state Assemblyman Juan Arambula requiring all students entering seventh grade to get a booster shot to prevent the spread of the disease. (The state already requires kindergartners to be vaccinated before entering school; most get a series of three shots before their first birthday.)
The vaccination debate also includes health care workers. If you had the flu, would you want to a doctor taking care of you who wasn’t protected from the disease? The CDC says that only 40 percent of health care workers get vaccinated for seasonal influenza. Some states feel they should – New York State Sen. Tom Duane this September introduced a state law requiring it. In other states, enforcement is left up to those in the profession – 94 of the 98 hospitals in Washington state adopted a policy requiring employees to get a flu shot or “take another protective action” – which can range from watching an educational video, to wearing a face mask, to risk losing their job.
What do you think?
Would you get a flu shot? Should you? How involved should the government be in deciding who is vaccinated and why? Should they do what some states have done and require shots? Or should they stick to recommendations, and leave the choice to get shots a personal one? What reasons can you think of for getting a flu shot? What reasons can you think of for not getting one? Join the discussion!
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