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Vaccination Ethical Dilemma Essay

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The Ethical Dilemma Associated With Vaccinations
If you have recently watched or followed the news, then you have begun to see a trend: “antivaxers” have begun to create a stir in the media. Instead of following the traditional vaccination schedule, they are opting to take another stand: not vaccinating their children at all. In the wake of this, we have seen a reemergence of diseases such as measles. There are some children who have to undergo immunosuppressant therapy who are unable to receive vaccines, so they rely on the immunity of others, referred to as “herd immunity” (The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 2015).
Part of being a parent is making decisions regarding the healthcare of their child. By mandating …show more content…

Relationship with patients is another ethical code that associates to immunization issue. Healthcare providers and nurses establish relationship of trust and provide service, according to the need. Respect for patient decision does not require that healthcare providers agree with or support all patients’ choices. When the choices are harmful to others, healthcare provider has an obligation to offer the opportunities and resources to alter the behavior or eliminate the risk (American Nurses Association, …show more content…

On one hand, there is the dilemma of the governing authorities of whether or not to obligate parents to vaccinate their children by law or to allow them to choose to vaccinate their children or not (Ota, Idoko, Ogundare, & Afolabi 2013). This violates the ethical principal of autonomy while perhaps upholding the principles of non-malfeasance and beneficence. On the other hand, we have the parents or guardians of the children who may see the risks of the vaccine (whether real or imagined) as greater than the benefits of being immunized (Ota, Idoko, Ogundare, & Afolabi

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