Was The Polio Vaccine Mandatory

Compulsory School Vaccinations And Forced Sterilizations

The Jacobson decision provided a powerful and controversial precedent for the extent of government authority in the early 20th century.

In 1922, the Supreme Court heard another vaccination case, this time concerning a Texas student named Rosalyn Zucht who was barred from attending public school because her parents refused to have her vaccinated. Zuchts lawyers argued that the school districts ordinance requiring proof of vaccination denied Rosalyn equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court disagreed. Justice Louis Brandeis wrote in the unanimous decision: Long before this suit was instituted, Jacobson v. Massachusetts had settled that it is within the police power of a state to provide for compulsory vaccination. These ordinances confer not arbitrary power, but only that broad discretion required for the protection of the public health.

In a far darker chapter, the Jacobson decision also provided judicial cover for a Virginia law that authorized the involuntary sterilization of feeble-minded individuals in state mental institutions. In the 1920s, eugenics enjoyed wide support in scientific and medical circles, and the Supreme Court justices were not immune.

In the infamous 1927 case Buck v. Bell, the Supreme Court accepted the questionable facts presented in the lower court cases that a young Virginia woman named Carrie Bell hailed from a long line of mental defectives whose offspring were a burden on public welfare.

What Are The Possible Side Effects Of Polio Vaccine

With any medicine, including vaccines, there is a chance of side effects. These are usually mild and go away on their own, but serious reactions are also possible.

Some people who get IPV get a sore spot where the shot was given. IPV has not been known to cause serious problems, and most people do not have any problems with it.

Other problems that could happen after this vaccine:

• People sometimes faint after a medical procedure, including vaccination. Sitting or lying down for about 15 minutes can help prevent fainting and injuries caused by a fall. Tell your provider if you feel dizzy, or have vision changes or ringing in the ears.
• Some people get shoulder pain that can be more severe and longer-lasting than the more routine soreness that can follow injections. This happens very rarely.
• Any medication can cause a severe allergic reaction. Such reactions from a vaccine are very rare, estimated at about 1 in a million doses, and would happen within a few minutes to a few hours after the vaccination.

As with any medicine, there is a very remote chance of a vaccine causing a serious injury or death.

The safety of vaccines is always being monitored. For more information, visit CDCs Vaccine Safety site.

This information was taken directly from the Polio Vaccine Information Statement dated 7/20/2016.

Vaccine Mandates Are Everywhere

The US isnt alone in mandating vaccines. In most of north and south America and much of Europe, childhood vaccinations are mandatory. On the other side of the world, Australia bans the enrollment of unvaccinated kids in preschools and child care centers, and parents who dont vaccinate their kids arent eligible for child benefits. Globally, universities often ask for inoculation records, and much of international travel requires certain jabs.

With covid-19 ranking among the 10 deadliest pandemics in history, nearly two dozen countries have made the jab compulsory in some capacity. The consequences for refusing the vaccine range from fines of up to 5 million rupiah in Indonesia to 462,000 colones for public sector workers in Costa Rica. Italy will suspend workers who refuse the vaccine without pay, while Fiji will penalize employers with unvaccinated staff with fines and operation shutdowns.

In the US, employers with more than 100 employees face fines of up to $136,000 if their workforce is not fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, or tested weekly, according to new rules released by the White House yesterday .

You May Like: Cvs Tdap Vaccine

Vaccine Safety And Adverse Events

Refer to Adverse events following immunization Part 2 for additional general information. Refer to Diphtheria Toxoid, Tetanus Toxoid, Pertussis Vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae type b Vaccine and Hepatitis B Vaccine in Part 4 for additional information regarding other components in IPV-containing combination vaccines.

Common and local adverse events

Adverse events following IPV vaccine are usually limited to mild injection site reactions.

Less common and serious or severe adverse events

Serious adverse events are rare following immunization with IPV-containing vaccine and, in most cases, data are insufficient to determine a causal association. Anaphylaxis following vaccination with IPV-containing vaccine may occur, but is very rare.

Guidance on reporting Adverse Events Following Immunization

Vaccine providers are asked to report, through local public health officials, any serious or unexpected adverse event felt to be temporally related to vaccination. An unexpected AEFI is an event that is not listed in available product information but may be due to the immunization, or a change in the frequency of a known AEFI.

Refer to Reporting Adverse Events Following Immunization in Canada for additional information about AEFI reporting.

Contraindications and precautions

Administration of IPV-containing vaccine should be postponed in persons with moderate or severe acute illness. Persons with minor acute illness may be vaccinated.

Preparations Authorized For Use In Canada

Poliomyelitis-containing vaccines

• ADACEL®-POLIO , sanofi pasteur Ltd.
• BOOSTRIX®-POLIO , GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
• IMOVAX®Polio , sanofi pasteur SA , Sanofi Pasteur Ltd. .
• INFANRIX®-IPV , GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
• INFANRIX®-IPV/Hib , GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
• INFANRIX hexa , inactivated poliomyelitis and conjugated Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine), GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
• PEDIACEL® , Sanofi Pasteur Ltd.
• QUADRACEL® , Sanofi Pasteur Ltd.
• Td POLIO ADSORBED , Sanofi Pasteur Ltd.

Poliomyelitis vaccine contains three types of wild poliovirus and is available as trivalent inactivated polio vaccine or in a combination vaccine. Live attenuated oral polio vaccine is no longer recommended or available in Canada because most cases of paralytic polio from 1980 to 1995 were associated with OPV vaccine. OPV vaccine continues to be widely used internationally.

For complete prescribing information, consult the product leaflet or information contained within Health Canada’s authorized product monographs available through the Drug Product Database. Refer to Table 1 in Contents of Immunizing Agents Available for Use in Canada in Part 1 for a list of all vaccines available for use in Canada and their contents.

Recommended Reading: Does Cvs Do Tdap Shots

The Dangers Of Religious And Philosophical Exemptions

In recent years, the core premise behind allowing religious and philosophical exemptions that communities can still achieve herd immunity even if such exemptions are granted has come under significant doubt.

Religious Communities as Disease Hot Spots.

Governments traditionally have considered communities in relatively broad terms, viewing entire states or sometimes even the whole nation as a community for herd immunity purposes . However, recent experiences have demonstrated that actual communities are far smaller. For instance, although nationwide measles vaccination rates appeared high enough to ensure national herd immunity, disproportionately low vaccination rates among blacks and Hispanics resulted in measles outbreaks in several large urban areas, most notably Los Angeles .

Religious communities particularly Christian Science, Amish, and Mennonite communities have been the source of many preventable disease outbreaks in recent years. Diseases from polio to measles to rubella have resurfaced with increasing frequency in the United States due to herd immunity being lost in such religious ghettos. This comes at a tremendous cost to society, for vaccine-preventable diseases impose $10 billion worth of healthcare costs and over 30,000 otherwise avoidable deaths in America each year .

Religious and Philosophical Exemptions as Exemptions of Convenience.

Vaccines Recommended For Travel And Some Specific Groups

After smallpox was eliminated from the world, routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer needed. However, because of concern that variola virus might be used as an agent of bioterrorism, the U.S. government has stockpiled enough smallpox vaccine to vaccinate everyone who would need it if a smallpox outbreak were to occur.

When there is NO smallpox outbreak, you should get the smallpox vaccine if you are a lab worker who works with virus that causes smallpox or other viruses that are similar to it.

If you need long-term protection, you may need to get booster vaccinations regularly. To stay protected from smallpox, you should get booster vaccinations every 3 years.

When there IS a smallpox outbreak, you should get the smallpox vaccine if you are directly exposed to smallpox virus. For example, if you had a prolonged face-to-face contact with someone who has smallpox.

If there is a smallpox outbreak, public health officials will say who else should get the vaccine. CDC works with federal, state, and local officials to prepare for a smallpox outbreak.

You May Like: Tdap Booster Cvs

Early Polio Vaccine Projects

Unfortunately, initial trials were poorly executed and caused great harm to those involved. Teams of researchers in New York and Philadelphia both administered vaccines containing active poliovirus to tens of thousands of living subjects, including children and chimpanzees. Many subjects became severely ill or paralyzed, experienced allergic reactions, and even died of polio.

Vaccine Mandates In Schools Arent New Theyve Been Used Since 1850

• As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, debates have emerged about whether or not the vaccines should be required to attend school for children who are old enough to get one.
• The United States has a long history of requiring vaccines to enter school.
• Experts say that while concerns around the use of COVID-19 vaccines in kids are understandable, theyve been shown safe and effective in children ages 12 and up.

All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve with the Delta and Delta plus variant, debates have come up about whether COVID-19 vaccinations should be required to attend public schools in the fall.

Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorized for use in children and teens ages 12 and older.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are conducting vaccine trials in children between the ages of 6 months and 11 years old. Experts expect young children to have access to the COVID-19 vaccines by the fall or mid-winter.

Several states, including Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Utah have already enacted legislation to ban public schools and universities from requiring students to have a COVID-19 vaccine to attend classes.

Don’t Miss: Cvs Pharmacy Tdap Vaccine Cost

Cultivating Poliovirus In Human Tissue

Scientists in New York City grew the poliovirus in embryonic brain tissue, allowing them to study how the virus spread. However, they were reluctant to create a vaccine in this manner due to the risks associated with using nervous system tissues. This particular study did at least advance the medical communitys understanding of the poliovirus ability to multiply.

Compulsory Vaccination In The Past

The first legal requirements for vaccination date to the early 1800s, when gruesome and deadly diseases routinely terrorized communities. A loose patchwork of local and state laws were enacted to stop epidemics of smallpox, the eras only vaccine-preventable disease.

Vaccine mandates initially applied to the general population. But in the 1850s, as universal public education became more common, people recognized that schoolhouses were likely sites for the spread of disease. Some states and localities began enacting laws tying school attendance to vaccination. The smallpox vaccine was crude by todays standards, and concerns about its safety led to numerous lawsuits over mandates.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld compulsory vaccination in two decisions. The first, in 1905, affirmed that mandates are constitutional. The second, in 1922, specifically upheld school-based requirements. In spite of these rulings, many states lacked a smallpox vaccination law, and some states that did have one failed to enforce it consistently. Few states updated their laws as new vaccines became available.

School vaccination laws underwent a major overhaul beginning in the 1960s, when health officials grew frustrated that outbreaks of measles were continuing to occur in schools even though a safe and effective vaccine had recently been licensed.

You May Like: Can I Get Tdap At Cvs

For Conscience Or Religious Belief

For your child to be exempted due to conscience or religious belief, you must contact your local public health unit:

• Let your local public health unit know you wish to have your child exempted from the required vaccines.
• The PHU will:
• advise you on the steps to take in completing a valid exemption, including watching the vaccine education video.

Once its complete, you must get it signed by a commissioner for taking affidavits in Ontario.

Make copies of your:

• signed Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief form

You will need to submit the original versions.

It is important that you keep your copies because the ministry and local public health units do not keep records of your exemption documents.

Submit the original copies of your Vaccine Education Certificate and signed Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief form to your local public health unit. Contact them to find out how.

What Drives The Introduction Of Mandatory Vaccinations

Overall, we found that the occurrence of recent outbreaks is a major factor in the introduction of mandatory vaccination, particularly for high and upper-middle-income countries in Europe. Germany, for example, made measles vaccination mandatory for school and day-care attendance in 2020 following large outbreaks.6 Similarly, Serbia tightened mandatory vaccination laws following a measles outbreak in 2014 to 2015 by introducing harsher penalties.7 Trends of reported cases of measles can be explored in detail here.

Secondly, many low- and lower-middle-income countries have resorted to mandatory vaccination policies because of a lack of other policy options. Nonetheless, many have still missed their target vaccination rates due to problems with vaccine supply, delivery, and access. In Guyana for example, vaccination is mandatory, yet vaccination coverage is hindered by the management of the supply chain in keeping storage temperatures consistent and the distribution of freeze-sensitive vaccines.8 In Nigeria, vaccination is mandatory, and several states have enacted legislation criminalising vaccine refusal. Yet as Onyemelukwe argues, there are structural, logistical, political, systemic, religious and cultural obstacles to the effective distribution and uptake of vaccines, ranging from cold chain issues, to corruption and security issues.9 There is thus often variation between vaccination in policy compared to in practice.

Tatjana MarksSamantha Vanderslott

Also Check: Can I Get A Tdap Shot At Cvs

Jacobson Goes To Court Amid Anti

The broader battle over the validity of vaccination science reached a fever pitch during the smallpox outbreak. Anti-vaccination groups, citing alleged cases of death and deformity from bad reactions to smallpox vaccine, compulsory vaccination the greatest crime of the age, claiming that it slaughter tens of thousands of innocent children.

In response, newspaper editorials characterized the smallpox vaccination controversy as a conflict between intelligence and ignorance, civilization and barbarism. The New York Times dismissed anti-vaccine activists as a familiar species of cranks who were deficient in the power to judge .

It was against this heated backdrop that Jacobson fought his $5 fine, first in a state trial court and then by appeal in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Jacobson wanted to present evidence that vaccines themselves were dangerous and ineffective, but the judges wouldnt hear it. Instead, Jacobsons chief argument became, Compulsion to introduce disease into a healthy system is a violation of liberty, specifically the personal liberty he believed was guaranteed by the U.S. and Massachusetts constitutions.

Court Rulings And New York City Schools Served A Key Role

The roots of requiring vaccines to attend schools go back to the 19th century. In 1827, Boston required students to show proof that they had received the smallpox vaccine in order to attend public schools. It is considered the first U.S. city to adopt such a mandate. Smallpox vaccine requirements for schools spread at roughly the same time that states began adopting basic requirements for public education services.

In a landmark 1905 ruling in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the state to implement penalties for those who did not receive the smallpox vaccine. By 1915, according to research by public health expert J.J. Hanlon, 21 states had adopted laws or rules empowering local jurisdictions to implement vaccine mandates, while nearly half the states had adopted vaccination requirements for school attendance by the start of the 20th century, the CDC has reported.

And in its 1922 Zucht v. King ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a San Antonio, Texas, ordinance requiring all schools in the city to publish lists of teachers and students and whether they had complied with a mandate to get the smallpox vaccine.

Principals wrote letters to parents emphasizing the importance. When teachers handed out permission forms to students, it implied that they backed the effort. Park said at the time that success or failure depends largely on educators backing.

Such actions presaged schools later involvement in vaccination campaigns.

Read Also: Cvs Pharmacy Tdap

Is Tort Law A Desirable Remedy

Although some may question whether tort law is the appropriate remedy for this problem, one must acknowledge that allowing such causes of action would be consistent with the primary purposes of tort law. The specter of tort liability provides a strong deterrent to engaging in risky behavior that may have a negative impact on other members of society . Just as the defamation torts deter newspapers and other media from recklessly publishing lies about individuals and products liability doctrine deters manufacturers from developing and selling unsafe products, finding individuals liable for using religious and philosophical exemptions to vaccinating their children would deter many parents, particularly those who use such exemptions merely for convenience and not due to a sincere religious objection, from the risky practice of not immunizing their children a very desirable outcome, given the benefits of herd immunity and the high costs of treating otherwise preventable diseases.