I have chosen to write about if the vaccine should be mandatory based on the fact that it actually infects about one in three million people instead of curing them (oral vaccine only).  After a quick google search I found a link to a CBS news article written in 2009 about some of the dangers that the polio vaccine itself carries.  This particular column was dedicated to the evaluation claim concerning the pros and cons of the oral polio vaccination.  The article detailed how an outbreak caused from the vaccine can be more dangerous than a “naturally occurring” outbreak because of its ability to mutate into a more devastating virus.  At the time this article was written there were seven documented cases of the vaccine causing such outbreaks.

In this light, I do not think it fair to force the vaccine (especially the oral vaccine) on anyone.  Although the certain tribes may seem overly paranoid to people living in more industrialized countries we must remember that this is their culture and it should be respected.  The one in three million does seem to hold a very low possibility but most lotteries have significantly lower probabilities and many still choose to buy a ticket, so we should we not expect that some people might not want to tempt fate in a similar manner.

Total eradication of the polio disease does seem like an incredible thing but we need to realize the cost of doing something as radical as forcing people in places like Africa and other developing countries to take the vaccine is too high.  We cannot force people to do something that they view as immoral or dangerous even if it appears to be nonsensical.  A common practice in the United States is Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing to accept blood transfusions, even if it will save their lives because they believe it is wrong, this moral is upheld in our society even though to some it may seem odd.  The idea of “crop dusting” over certain tribes might seem good in theory but the hardship that it most certainly will cause is not worth it.

My personal opinions aside, the article detailed how utilization of the oral polio vaccine can cause outbreaks as opposed to preventing them.  A newly vaccinated child who has won this unfortunate lottery and is afflicted with the polio disease can host the virus and it is able to mutate inside the child’s body and become more dangerous, this newly mutated form can more easily be passed to those who have not yet been vaccinated.  This new form of the virus is now harder to eradicate than what the article calls the “naturally occurring” virus.  Outbreaks that number up to 69 children have been reported.  That is 69 children now crippled for life that would otherwise been unaffected.  Often times this is an entire village that is affected.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/14/health/main5242168.shtml