With the choice of vaccinating a child in the parents’ hands and with the concern of public health, the debate of vaccinations has increased in the community and in politics. Ranging from the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccination to the Human Papillomavirus Virus vaccination, there is no singular vaccination targeted that parents are refusing for their children. Some believe that a big determinant to why people are not vaccinated is because of the fear of the side effects. However, that is not always the case. Those initial arguments undermine some of the more common reasons why people do not receive vaccinations. For some it is not a choice to not receive a vaccination, just the lack of opportunity. The question whether education, race, religion and socioeconomic status impact parents’ decisions to vaccinate their child highlights how privilege plays an important role in the decision making of vaccinations. Access to vaccinations is dependent on socioeconomic status, education, race and religion.

Socioeconomic status plays an important function in the number of children vaccinated due to the wealthy having more of an opportunity and easier access to vaccinations. Those in poverty might have to travel long distances barely being able to afford a fifteen dollar or more vaccination or even the fare for public transportation. For those in the middle and upper class, it may seem like a routine visit to the doctor’s office dreading to get shots. However, for those impoverished a vaccine could be the difference between life and death. If contracted with a vaccine preventable disease some would not be able to afford to treat it. In “Differences in Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Among Adolescent Girls in the Metropolitan Versus Non-Metropolitan Areas: Considering the Moderating Roles of Maternal Socioeconomic Status and Health Care Access”, it displays that in the study the girls with a low-income and with mothers who did not complete high school had a lower probability of receiving vaccinations compared to girls with a high income and with mothers who completed college. Comparing socioeconomic status, it is, “among high-income girls and girls whose mothers completed college, those in metropolitan areas had significantly higher odds of vaccine initiation than those in non-metropolitan areas” (Monnat 3). It shows a relationship to those who had difficulty paying medical expenses and low vaccination rates. Families choose to spend their money and resources on other factors like food, water and housing. Having their children be vaccinated is not prioritized when faced with hunger and poverty. In “The Impact of the Parental Education and Socioeconomic Status on Routine Childhood Vaccination: An Observational Study”, it discusses in the observational study that children born into a family with low-income had a high percentage of being unvaccinated. According to the study, “socio economic status was found to be significant with 20% of population partially vaccinated and unvaccinated” (Ahmad 282). This shows that there is a relationship between low-income families and unvaccinated children. Among other factors like government concerns and not being educated enough on the topic of vaccinations, not being able to afford a vaccine is a leading factor for some families.

Alternatively, in “Protecting the Herd: A Public Health, Economics, and Legal Argument for Taxing Parents Who Opt-Out of Mandatory Childhood Vaccinations”, Parkins suggests that parents who chose not to give their child the required vaccinations, that can afford to should pay a fine due to the potential harm it could come to public health. Public health is impacted because “in the case of measles, perceived risk may be greater the greater threat. Opt outs from mandatory program may dampen social resistance, but vaccination rates tend to fall as opt outs become more permissive” (Parkins 18). The perceived risk threat would ultimately surpass the actual risk of receiving a vaccination. Advocating to not vaccinate hurts public health because diseases spread when people are not vaccinated. It would also provide an incentive for the middle and upper-class families to vaccinate their children so they can avoid the tax. Socioeconomic status effects those who choose to vaccinate because some low-income families cannot afford to vaccinate their child but it also should affect those who can pay for it but choose not to, dismissing public health.

Education plays a crucial role in vaccinations because the more a parent is knowledgeable on the topic the more a parent can make an informed, educated decision. In the Tedx Talk “Why I Changed My Mind on Vaccinations,” Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Danielle Stringer, discussed why her opinion on vaccinations changed after she had done research on the topic. Previously believing that vaccinations cause autism, contain mercury and are part of a government agenda, she said she was very skeptical when becoming a nurse. After changing her opinion on vaccinations Stringer accounted that, “…in the thousands of vaccines, I have given to children, I have never seen a serious adverse reaction. The statistics for the benefits. They are very calculable. Vaccines save the lives of six million children across the world every year” (Stringer). The statistics of the benefits of vaccinations outweighed the cost of obtaining the vaccine preventable disease so much that her opinion changed. Having a hands-on experience helped Stringer realize the importance of being educated on the topic of vaccinations, thus she started the blog “Kid Doctor” that strives to inform parents on vaccinations. Being educated on vaccinations is not the only factor of education that effects decision making on vaccinations.

A higher degree of education also impacts a parent’s opinion on vaccinations. In “The Impact of the Parental Education and Socioeconomic Status on Routine Childhood Vaccination: An Observational Study” it was found that over fifty percent of the illiterate parents had their children unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. The study revealed, “that the children of 15 out of 27 (55.5%) of the illiterate parents were either partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. The later declined significantly to 14.8% and 18.1% respectively when parent’s education was raised to school or college level” (Ahmad 281). Those children who had parents that had a college education had a significantly less percentage of unvaccinated children. A higher degree of education is an opportunity that everyone is able to have. It is privilege to those who can afford it. Being educated on vaccinations or having a higher degree of education influences a parent’s choice on vaccinating their child.

Race is also relevant in the discussion of vaccinations. The disparities in race associated with vaccination is that more Caucasian children are vaccinated then Black or Latino children. In “Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in the United States: Uneven Uptake by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation”, studies also show that with receiving the Human Pamplona Virus vaccination Black and Latino women are less likely to follow through with the procedure then Caucasian women. In the study regarding race and vaccinations, “compared with White women, Black women had 30% lower odds of HPV vaccine series initiation and women of other or multiple races had marginally lower but not statistically significant odd of HPV vaccine series initiation” (Daniel-Ulloa 1). The link between the cervical cancer discrepancy of Black and Latino women could be a contribution of the lack of the HPV vaccination. The correlation between race and those who receive vaccinations and being a minority has an impact on whether or not someone receives a vaccination.

Religion is an alternative example why parents choose not to vaccinate their children. In “What the World’s Religions Teach, Applied to Vaccinations and Immune Globulins”, Grabenstein addresses why some deny vaccination because of their religious belief. “Sickness is part of the error which Truth casts out” is the central quote in the book of Science and Health regarding medicine as a Christian Scientist. From this quote it is believed that, “the Christian Science principle that disease is cured or prevented by prayer that affirms human perfection as God’s child and denies the reality of the disease” (Grabenstein 2015). Prayer is the only resource for curing diseases according to the Christian Scientists. A Christian Scientist believes that a disease is not physical but a mental illusion. With the growing awareness of vaccinations and lack of alternatives, some of those who had denied vaccinations for religious reasons are now receiving them.

Fear is also a factor when it comes to vaccinations. It is those who have the privilege to vaccinate their children that seem to forget that many do not have the opportunity or resources to vaccinate their child when fear obscures their judgement. In “When Parents Say No to Child Vaccinations”, McNeil describes that some of the key reasons why parents choose to not have their children vaccinated range from distrust in the government to religious reservations. Parents also fear the side effects that come with vaccines not fearing the disease itself. However, some of these diseases become a reality for these families. A mother Meg White regrets not vaccinating her family because “three years ago, her whole family, including her infant son Julian, had whooping cough ‘really, really bad’ for more than three months” (McNeil 4). Many believe that the disease will not affect their middle-class family. It takes one of their children laying in the hospital bed for a vaccine preventable disease for parents to see the importance of vaccinations. The risks that come with diseases outweighs the risk that comes with vaccinations for some parents. In “Why Parents Fear the Needle”, Willrich states that around twenty-percent of Americans still believing that vaccines lead to autism. A British medical researcher named Andrew Wakefield published an article that made, “…a disturbing fact that will probably hold true even after the publication this month, in a British medical journal, of a report thoroughly debunking the 1998 paper that began the vaccine-autism scare” (Willrich 1). Even after the report was proven false by multiple sources, many parents still use fear of autism to not vaccinate their children especially as babies. The vaccination controversy however did bring some positive aspects with more federal regulations on enforcing vaccinations. With public health being one of the main concerns, education on vaccinations has become increasingly vital. The hesitancy of parents and vaccinations sometimes roots from fear.

The anti-vaccination movement is growing nationwide. Because some states like New York and Ohio make it easy to apply for nonmedical vaccine exceptions, there is an overall increase in parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. Mississippi, California and West Virginia are the few states that have strict vaccine laws. Some parents that are a part of the anti-vaccine movement are not fully vaccine deniers but are vaccine hesitant. Parents who are vaccine hesitant agree that vaccines benefit public health but they question how every doctor has a different vaccine schedule. One doctor could argue one vaccine is important whereas another doctor could not have that vaccine in their schedule. Because of the anti-vaccination movement there has been a reemergence of diseases that could have been easily managed with vaccines. For example, there have been more recent outbreaks of polio, whooping cough and measles. The anti-vaccination movement clouds all the advances and positive outcomes that comes with the power of vaccines. 

The reasons that parents deny access to vaccinations is dependent education, race, religion and socioeconomic status. By acknowledging the contrast of those receiving vaccinations and those that are not vaccinated, a possible solution could be identified that could help bridge the education, race, religion and socioeconomic gap with vaccinations. To increase the number of children receiving vaccinations medical officials need to educate parents about the risks and benefits of vaccinating a child. Every community should attempt to be pro-vaccinations with the hope that many parents will modify what they believe for the sake of going with the societal norm. Additionally, making vaccinations more accessible financially would help provide more opportunities for low-income families. Ultimately, monetary incentives would motivate parents to vaccinate like a tax credits. Rewarding physicians for every child vaccinated would also cause an increase in those vaccinated. Providing an incentive for the parents and the physicians encourages both parties to work together to ensure the child is best protected from easily preventable diseases. Easier access to vaccinations would increase the number of vaccinated children of vaccinated of low-income, uneducated, religious and minority families nationwide.
