[Organized Debate] Anet390 v. Sythe

This is my partner and I's case from a couple of months ago. This is a Pro/Aff case. The point of this thread is for you guys, the sythe community to NOT ONLY attack my case, but YOU MUST provide a valid case/points as well. If you fail to do this, your arguments will be ignored. Please keep your posts organized as possible. A Poll will be added on the 1st of October and will go for one week. It will be Anet390 (Pro) v Names of those who provided a case and arguments (Con)

Resolved: State mandated administration of childhood vaccinations is justified.

I currently stand in firm affirmation of state mandated vaccinations. First, I would like to define some terms used in the resolution.

Definitions:
Mandate - a command or authorization to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative - Merriam Webster

Vaccine - any preparation used as a preventive inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease - Merriam Webster

Justified - to be just and right or to be labeled as just and right - Merriam Webster

CONTENTIONS:
1. Safety is the priority
2. Vaccines do more good than bad
3. There are no benefits to rejecting vaccines
4. Vaccines prevent outbreaks

1. Safety is the priority - Vaccination should be required for children. No individual should have the right to risk the health of the public only for the purpose of satisfying their personal or moral views. Vaccines can eradicate disease and prevent serious illness and even death. Mandatory vaccination has prevented diseases that once killed thousands of children, such as polio and smallpox. According to researchers at the American Pediatric Society, childhood vaccinations in the US prevent about 10.5 million cases of infectious illness and 33,000 deaths per year. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most childhood vaccines are 90-99% effective in preventing disease.

2. Vaccines do more good than bad - When children who have been vaccinated do catch a disease, despite being vaccinated against it, they usually have milder symptoms with less serious affects than an un-vaccinated child that gets that same disease. Since some individuals that have been vaccinated may still get sick when exposed to infected individuals, we must achieve "herd immunity" to avoid any virus outbreaks. 75 - 94% of the population, depending on the disease, must be vaccinated to achieve "herd immunity" When herd immunity is achieved the number of immunized individuals is high enough to prevent the spread of disease through the population. The risks of not being vaccinated far outweigh the small risks associated with vaccination. Preventable diseases like measles and mumps can cause permanent disability and death. In 1991 an outbreak of measles in an un-vaccinated group of children in Philadelphia caused seven deaths. Children infected with the mumps can also become permanently deaf. The average symptoms of someone who gets sick from a vaccine are fever and slight dizziness until the immune system heals. Obviously death is much worse than a fever and becoming deaf is terrible compared to slight dizziness.

3. There are no benefits to rejecting vaccines - There are absolutely no benefits to avoiding a vaccine. As of February 2010, only 2.7% of the US has not been immunized. As of March 2010, one month later, 2.8% of the US was sick from a disease with a vaccine available. So, obviously about the same amount of people that are sick from a preventable disease haven't received any vaccines. This is clear and valid proof that vaccines have extreme benefits. In a study done by St.Peters Hospital in Savannah, Georgia by Dr. Lory Leslie, only 10% of kids that have been vaccinated will catch a virus that they were vaccinated throughout their entire life. She also stated that about 7% of those kids had gotten the virus directly or indirectly from an un-vaccinated citizen.

4. Vaccines prevent outbreaks - Even when diseases seem to no longer exist, outbreaks can still occur if children are not vaccinated. In Boulder, CO, fear about possible side effects of the whooping cough vaccine led many parents to refuse vaccination for their children causing Boulder to have the lowest school-wide vaccination rate in Colorado for whooping cough and one of the highest rates of whooping cough in the US as of 2002. And, no reports of major side effects were reported from the vaccine.



All these points make it clear that state mandated vaccinations are Justified. For all these reasons, I urge you to vote pro!

 

Closed.