Should Immunisation Be Made Compulsory For School Children

Immunization is one of the best contributions of science to the mankind. It is a fortification process that protects the human immune system against an agent that can bring infectious disease. Immunisation can be active or passive in nature. It is usually in the form of vaccines that prepare the human body against a transmittable disease.

The process of immunization is initiated with the birth of the baby and is essential for the healthy growth of the baby. It has helped in controlling some life threatening diseases from the world. According to the statistics given by World Health organization, it helps in saving 3 millions lives each year as it protects against diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus, hepatitis B, Diphtheria etc.

Some of the most important vaccines are due for children who are from 4-12 years old. These vaccines includes DTap, MMR, IPV, Varicella, HPV, MCV4 and will protect them against Dephtheria, Tetanus, Measles, Mumps, Rubella etc. So it is essential that these vaccines be given on time. This age group is of the children who go to school as usually children are admitted at the age of 4 and above.

It has been seen that people often neglect this very important responsibility sometime only because of sheer negligence and sometimes because of their ignorance. This is specifically true in countries that are under-developed. This casualness can endanger the health of a whole generation of kids.

That is why immunization must be made compulsory for school children since usually children of ages 4 and above are enrolled in schools all around the world. This will provide surety that each and every school going child gets his due share of immunization.

This process will work specifically in those countries where elementary education is compulsory. The government can enforce all schools to ensure immunization of children in cooperation with the respective health department. This would make vaccinations timely and mandatory for children of all ages and from all backgrounds.

However, there are people who are against this notion. They are of the view that no one can care better for children than their own parents. It should be left to the parents' discretion whether to immunize their children or not, as parents are the sole caretakers for their children.

This point of view can acutely affect the health of our children. All of us remember the incident when MMR immunization was wrongly linked to autism disease and people refrained from getting their kids vaccinated for MMR. This resulted in country wide measles outbreaks in children.

Since parents are not aware of the whole situation, they can be influenced by myths. That is why immunization must be made compulsory by schools. This would help in making sure that all the children get their share of vaccinations regardless of their financial or social background. When the state can take action against careless parents, it can also take such extreme action for safety of the new generation.

by : Kate Gerbich
Source : ezinearticles.com

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