When considering vaccination, people have numerous viewpoints, which is a result of different cultural understanding and values. These social interpretations on vaccination develop from a wide range of religious teachings, and most distinctly skepticism of vaccines. This mistrust towards vaccination has been around for as long as vaccines have, and are prevalent to this day, and this can mainly be attributed to the parents of young children, who for one reason or another have made up their minds. However, this becomes an issue when a child dies from something that is completely preventable such as whooping cough. For example, in 2013 in Wisconsin 300 children under age 1 came down with whooping cough, 177 of them less than 6 months old. Of …show more content…
I do not think there is an outright answer to this as it should not be one person’s or a group of people’s responsibility, it is on all of us. Parents, the government, and scientists/doctors must come together to find a middle ground, this is the essence of democracy. There must be a balance between the needs and wants of an individual and the wants and needs of society as a whole. We have the right to vote and have a voice, but my right to swing my arm stops where your nose begins. Therefore, a parent’s right to make choices for their children is completely acceptable until it comes to the point where the child is endangered by those decisions. However, a government’s right to state what is good or best for citizens needs to have a scientific basis and the understanding that a household is like it’s own small country. Scientists and doctors must also keep in mind that when they are telling the people what is good and not good for them that it may rub them the wrong way. Parents must also understand that science works with trial and error and not panic when something is wrong. “That’s the way scientists work, we do not believe in facts like most people believe in facts, we believe in consensus. That is how science progresses, being wrong”