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Abstract: In this article, we discuss this debate through an examination of the historical and contemporary aspects of immunization requirements as a condition of school attendance. Part II provides a brief history of vaccination as a medical and public health practice, using smallpox disease as the primary case study, and subsequently addresses corresponding societal and individual objections to the proliferation of vaccination programs. Part III reviews the subsequent legislative and judicial reactions to these policies. Did state and local lawmakers second guess the need for school vaccination laws, and, if so, for what reasons? How did courts construe these laws? Our judicial examination includes a review of the various legal and constitutional objections to school vaccination policies, including those based on religious beliefs under the First Amendment, equal protection theories, and due process concerns.
The historical and modern legal and social contexts supports a contemporary discussion of views about school vaccination requirements in Part IV. We examine the modern debate through a scholarly discussion of available evidence of the public health effectiveness of school vaccination programs. We compare (1) childhood immunization rates and (2) rates of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases before and after the introduction of school vaccination requirements. These data suggest that school vaccination requirements have succeeded in increasing vaccination rates and reducing the incidence of childhood disease. Finally, we discuss modern antivaccination arguments. Like arguments from the past, modern antivaccination sentiment is fueled by general distrust of government, a rugged sense of individualism, and concerns about the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
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