Though vaccinations do have benefits, they should not be mandatory for all people. Personal choice trumps all, and if someone chooses a different route for managing their health, they should have the freedom to. In a country of liberty and freedom, vaccinations should fall under those liberties.
For people who have a compromised immune system, vaccinations only heighten the risk of illness. For someone like me, whose immune system is so weakened that a small cold after a vaccination turns into weeks-worth of sickness, vaccinations are not ideal. Every person is different, coinciding with how vaccinations should be a personal, individual choice. Some people cannot handle the effects of a post-vaccination flu.
Other people don’t receive vaccines due to religious and philosophical beliefs, among them being Healing by Faith. This practice involves choosing to not be vaccinated but relying on their faith in God to heal them. While some may not feel this course of action is wise, these people still have a right to live according to their beliefs when they are in a free country.
Vaccinations do lessen the chance of a person getting infected, they are not a guaranteed protection, nor are they the only option available. Especially since some people have experienced serious side effects, though the range can go from fevers, rashes, or achiness to seizures or allergic reactions. Each vaccine works differently and has different side effects, along with vaccines working on every individual differently.
With the rise of essential oils and other natural ways of preventing illness, people shouldn’t have to take the unknown risk of what chemicals and toxins they are putting into their body will do. Natural alternatives such as Elderberry syrup are used to treat colds and flu. Manuka honey is also used to strengthen your immune system, according to Off the Grid News. Some also use a healthy diet as an alternative.
At the end of the day, vaccinations will always have an unknown risk of being ineffective. In an article for “Mind Body Green”, James Maskell said he doesn’t vaccinate his daughter for the fear of medical complications after injecting his daughter, such as Ovarian failure, Febrile seizures, or the increased risk of respiratory infections after receiving the flu vaccine. Maskell, the creator of Functional Forum, the world’s largest integrative medicine conference, goes on to say how though he can vaccinate his daughter, she can still contract the infection anyway, which defeats the purpose of the vaccination to begin with.
While vaccines have benefits and aren’t completely horrible options, every person should not be mandated to get them if they feel the vaccinations wouldn’t be beneficial to them.