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Ryleigh Kidder

ENG 1101

Prof. Dunham

November 6, 2019

Should Vaccinations be Mandatory?

In this essay, I will be talking about whether or not vaccines should be mandatory. The

vaccine debate has been going on for years as to whether or not vaccines should be required.

Some argue that vaccine risks outweigh the benefits. I will be focusing this essay on the

beneficial factors of vaccinations and why they’re important for not only yourself, but everyone

around you. For decades, vaccinations have saved countless lives, why question them now?

Anderson, Linda Dahlstrom. “This Vaccine Came Too Late for My Oldest Son - but Not My

Youngest.”

TODAY.com, TodayShow, 7 Sept. 2016, https://www.today.com/parents/life-saving-

vaccine-came-too-late-my-oldest-son-not-t102634.

This article was written by a parent who lost her seven month old son due to meningitis. This

article is credible because it tells the story of a mother who lost her son to a vaccine-preventable

disease. This is a first hand situation of a mother who deeply regrets not getting her son

vaccinated and wants to spread awareness to all mothers in hopes for it to not happen to anyone

else. Linda had another child a year and a half later after her first son's death and he knew his

older brother from pictures and stories that Linda told him. He received the vaccine as soon as he

was old enough. After his vaccination, he asked “Is that it?” and that was all it took to prevent

him from the same disease that ended the life of his older brother.

Curley, Bob. “Vaccine Laws Mandatory.”

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Healthline, Healthline Media, 11 Aug. 2019, https://www.healthline.com/health-

news/should-childhood-vaccines-become-mandatory-in-the-us.

This article was written by Bob Curley who lives in Rhode Island and is a health and wellness

writer. Bob Curley is credible because he’s worked in the field for over ten years and has

experienced different types of illnesses first hand. In the article, he wrote about different

countries who have enforced mandatory vaccinations and the outcomes. He also mentioned

report rates in those countries about how certain illnesses were gradually decreasing. I plan on

using this information in my article because it was written in 2019 so it’s very up to date with

real life situations.

Daley, Ellen M., and Robert J. McDermott. “The HPV Vaccine Should Be a Part of Mandatory

School Vaccines.”

Sinclair College Off-Campus Authentication Form, Gale, a Cengage Company, 1

Jan. 2012, https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&sea

rchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition&docId=GALE|

EJ3010672247&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-

MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE|

EJ3010672247&searchId=R2&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true.

This article was written by Ellen Daley and Robert McDermott. Ellen Daley has her PhD and is a

professor at the College of Public Health in Tampa Florida. Robert McDermott earned both his

PhD and M.S. in both health education/ curriculum and instruction. He is also the senior editor of

the Florida Public Health Association journal. This article is all about the HPV vaccine and how
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it fights cervical cancer in women. The article mentions how safe the vaccine is and how it works

exactly. There were over 3,500 deaths due to cervical cancer in 2007.

Leifer, Cynthia. “Mandatory Vaccination Will Protect All Citizens.” Pharmaceutical Journal,

The Pharmaceutical Journal, 2 Apr. 2015, https://www.pharmaceutical-

journal.com/opinion/comment/mandatory-vaccination-will-protect-all-

citizens/20068190.article?firstPass=false.

This article was written by Cynthia Leifer who has her PhD and is an associate professor at

Cornell University teaching Immunology. In her article, she talks about how we shouldn’t let the

freedom of choice endanger the lives of our whole population. One child dies every 20 seconds

from vaccine-preventable diseases. Cynthia provides real life current situations involving cases

that end in fatality from vaccine-preventable diseases and outbreaks. I will use this information

in my argumentative essay to stress the importance of vaccinations and how lucky we are to have

this advanced medicine.

Yogev, Ram. “Childhood Vaccinations Are Important for Public Health.” Edited by Noel

Merino,

Sinclair College Off-Campus Authentication Form, Greenhaven Press, 1 Jan. 2010,

https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&se

archType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition&docId=GALE|

EJ3010616202&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-

MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE|

EJ3010616202&searchId=R1&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true.
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This article is credible because it was written by Ram Yogev, who is a medical doctor and

professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Medical School. This article is all about the

power of vaccines and their ability to eradicate diseases such as smallpox and polio which are

nearly gone today. This article includes the benefits, side effects, and purpose of vaccinations.

Yogev also talkings about how vaccines can build immunity. I plan on using this information to

inform my reader how vaccines actually work and the purpose of them.