Brandon Moyse | When we waiver on public-health issues

With meningitis, and now measles, on everyone's mind, many students are wondering: "How could this have been prevented? How can I keep myself safe?"

If you don't believe me, just look at the 3,000-plus who went to Student Health to get prophylactic treatment last week.

Vaccines are the answer - but not everyone at Penn who could be vaccinated is. (While it's true that the vaccine did not protect against this strain of meningitis, that's hardly an argument against vaccination.) Unfortunately, despite the fact that Penn has historically been a leader in vaccine requirements, the University's hands are tied by state law that allows students from kindergarten up to university to bypass those requirements as long as they present a waiver.

By allowing parents to waive vaccines for their children on personal belief or religious grounds, Pennsylvania and the other 47 states with waivers (children in West Virginia and Mississippi, of all places, are the only ones who are always vaccinated), are creating a public-health hazard and preventing the eradication of several infectious diseases. The solution is clear: The law should be repealed and vaccination of all children and students (who do not have medical contraindications) should be made mandatory.

However, there hasn't been much of a push from legislators to undertake this change. Their main concern is infringing on people's religious and personal beliefs.

"I'm a believer in immunizations, but . it's not my place to tell someone to disregard the moral tenets of their faith," says Evelyn Wiener, director of Student Health Service, in response to whether the University should deny religious waivers. "And by law, we have to accept personal beliefs, whether or not we agree."

But Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and an active supporter of immunizations for all children, said there is no constitutional right that allows people to exempt themselves from vaccines. Furthermore, he argued "it is not discrimination if you require everyone to do it."

Another, more tenuous excuse that some parents offer for not vaccinating their children is that they believe the vaccine causes more harm than good, since the chances of their child getting sick without the vaccine are so low. But the long-held notion for some that the rigorous vaccination schedule imposed on infants causes autism was recently disproven. It was never really accepted by the medical community, but certain anti-vaccination groups had expended much effort in spreading misinformation.

Regardless of the reason given, parents who do not get their children vaccinated depend upon the notion of "herd immunity" - the fact that immunization among the greater population is so high that their child will be protected. Actress and pro-vaccine crusader Amanda Peet calls them "parasites." In an Introduction to Economics course, you'd call them "free riders."

The problem is less innocuous than that, though: By not getting vaccinated, not only do these parents put their own children at risk, but they put others at risk as well. Offit, backed by several studies, thinks that conjugate vaccines - like Menactra for meningitis - not only produce immunity but also reduce the chance that the vaccinated person can be a carrier for the disease. In other words, by not getting vaccinated, one contributes to the spread of the disease.

Because vaccines are not 100-percent effective, those who are immunized are placed in jeopardy by that minority. Even more unfortunate are those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical contraindications and are left completely vulnerable. The reckless disregard shown by parents who refuse to vaccinate their children is appalling.

"When you watch movies about polio and how everyone was getting their children immunized, you get a real sense that people were doing it not just for themselves but for the group," Offit said. "You don't see that anymore."

I'm a strong believer in individual rights and abhor the idea of the "nanny state." But when we allow personal liberty to take precedence over public health and safety, it's time to re-evaluate our laws.

Brandon Moyse is a College junior from Montreal. He is the former senior sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. What Aboot It, Eh? appears on Thursdays. His email address is moyse@dailypennsylvanian.com

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