The chosen state is New York, and it has specific regarding exemptions regarding vaccines for school-aged children. In particular, the current laws that mainly regulate any exemption of children from vaccinations in New York are referred to as the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 – U.S. Code and PHL Section 206. The law states that any exemption needs approval from a certified medical health professional or the parent of the child. For parents, the threats associated with data collection, data mismanagement, and child abuse in medical settings are key causes for concerns with school vaccinations for children. For health organizations and lawmakers, these exemptions associated with vaccines for school children increases the likelihood of potential disease outbreaks (Humphries & Bystrianyk, 2013).
One organization that supports vaccination for school-age children is referred to as the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). The NYSDOH organization is very active in various reforms pertaining vaccination in the state and in controlling any likelihoods of medical epidemics as well.
The first benefit of the medical exemption regulation is that it provides parents with optimal control over their child’s medical health. In particular, the parent is aware of the specific medical health supplement that a practitioner provides to their child. Another benefit is that the exemption also provides parents with the right to make decisions that affect their medical health data. Vaccination for school-aged children requires the personal details of both the child and the parent. In fact, a significant portion of parents are concerned with the mismanagement of medical information, which can be exposed to various malicious parties.
Besides that, these exemptions also have significant drawbacks. For instance, the exemptions compromises the state`s ability to address and to control the occurrence of disease epidemics. Even more, it may also increase cause other parents and legal caretakers to start considering these medical care exemption rights.
Based on my opinion, parents or guardians should still have the right to determine whether their child should receive vaccinations. However, the state should also come up with a reasonable structure to provide the best medical care of all children.
- Humphries, S., & Bystrianyk, R. (2013). Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and the Forgotten History. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
