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What are mandatory vaccination programs?(FACTUAL)

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What are mandatory vaccination programs?(FACTUAL)

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Mandatory vaccination programs are open for all ages from 2 to 4 months, 6 months, 1 year, 15 and 18 months, 4 to 6 years old grade 7, 14 to 16 years old and adults if they need them. You can get the influenza and covid-19 vaccines for everyone

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About routine immunization

Vaccines help:

build up and strengthen your immune system

protect you against disease in each stage of life

Immunization helps to prevent serious illnesses - including many that are easily spread in schools and daycare centres.

Vaccines in Ontario's routine immunization schedule are provided free of charge if you meet the eligibility criteria.

Learn more about vaccines and immunizations in Ontario.

See all the recommended vaccines in each stage of life.

Vaccines for pregnant individuals

Vaccines help to protect those who are pregnant from serious illness. It also helps protect the baby during the first few months after birth.

If you're pregnant, you should be vaccinated against:

Talk to your health care provider or local public health unit about making sure your vaccines are up to date as other vaccines may be recommended for you.

Vaccines for babies and toddlers

You should vaccinate your children during their first and second years.

Learn more about vaccines for babies and toddlers, including information about required vaccines for children who attend licensed child care centers.

First year vaccinations

At 2 and 4 months old, babies should receive the following vaccines:

At 6 months old, babies should receive the following vaccine:

At 1 year of age, babies should receive the following vaccines:

Second year vaccinations

At 15 months old, babies should receive the following vaccine:

At 18 months old, babies should receive the following vaccine:

Vaccines for children at school

Learn more about vaccines for children at school, including the school immunization checklist.

Between 4 and 6 years old, children should receive the following vaccines:

In grade 7, children should receive the following vaccines:

Between 14 and 16 years old, teens should receive the following vaccine:

Vaccines for adults

As an adult you should receive the following vaccines:

Learn more about vaccines for adults, including information about vaccination before traveling, flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines.

Influenza and COVID-19 vaccines for all

flu (every fall for everyone aged 6 months and older)

COVID-19 (for everyone 6 months of age and older)

Personal risk factors

If you have special medical conditions or other high risk factors, you may need additional vaccines, and some of these may be free under the publicly funded program. Talk to your health care provider or your local public health unit about other recommended vaccines.

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Learn more about the vaccines recommended for each stage of life.

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Parents are likely to personally see the devastation caused by infection is diseases that can be prevented by vaccination when vaccinations prevent disease. That's when worries about immunizations or misguided anxieties can easily happen over worries about the illness itself.

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It was recently announced that all parents in France will be legally obliged to have their children vaccinated from 2018.

Mandatory vaccination is something that's long been debated.

On the 'pro' side are those who say that legislation has had a dramatic effect in other areas of public health and safety (such as the indoor smoking ban, and use of seatbelts) so why not do the same with immunisation

Others are more reserved however, expressing concerns that there is a lack of evidence that mandatory vaccination actually helps to increase uptake.

Why should vaccines be mandatory?

Vaccination is one of the most effective public health interventions in the world for saving lives and promoting good health. Only clean water, which is considered to be a basic human right, performs better.

Despite this, uptake of vaccines has reduced in some countries and this is thought to be partly caused by misguided concerns over vaccine safety.

When vaccines control disease, parents are less likely to witness the devastating effects of vaccine preventable infectious diseases first hand. It is then easy for misplaced anxiety or suspicion about vaccines to override concerns about the disease itself.

When vaccination rates decline, we start to see a resurgence of infectious diseases.

That's why some countries are choosing to make vaccination mandatory. However, the effectiveness of this approach varies in countries which have already implemented it.

What do we know about mandatory vaccination so far?

In all 50 US states it is mandatory for children over five to receive vaccinations prior to enrolment in state licensed public schools, and often private schools or day care facilities. All states have exemptions on medical grounds, almost all states grant religious exemptions and only a few states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunisations because of personal, moral or other beliefs.

Rates of exemptions have increased in recent years and studies have shown that vaccine exemptions tend to cluster geographically, leaving some communities at greater risk for disease outbreaks.

Additionally it seems that some parents delay vaccinating their children until they start school. This is not ideal because babies are much more vulnerable to the diseases for which vaccines are scheduled in the first year of life. They need that protection early.

There has also been an increase in rates of home schooling which is speculated could be an unintended consequence of the legislation.

In US states with the strictest laws, the rates of whooping cough and measles are significantly lower, which suggests that if exemptions are harder to come by then mandatory vaccination may be more effective.

In Australia a requirement for children to meet immunisation schedules has for a long time been attached to childcare payments. In an attempt to further improve vaccination rates, exemptions were removed as of January 2016. Six months later it was reported that more than 148,000 children who had not been up to date with their immunisations met their requirements as a result.

Is there a better way?

Making vaccination compulsory is not the only way to obtain high vaccination rates. The UK has held an enviably high uptake rate for many years with the vast majority of parents choosing to vaccinate their children.

Research into how to further improve uptake rates amongst vaccine hesitant parents suggests that talking concerns through with a trusted health professional is beneficial. Additionally, practical issues such as making sure that vaccines and health care are easy to access is essential. Many families who don't vaccinate are not averse to it but simply have difficulty getting convenient appointments or don't get reminders when their children are due vaccines.

Perhaps making vaccination a core part of the educational curriculum could help future generations be less hesitant to vaccinate.

One thing we know for sure is that meningitis and septicaemia are deadly diseases that strike without warning, and vaccination has proved to be the only way to prevent it.

Whether mandatory vaccination is the best way to achieve high uptake of vaccines remains under debate. The impact this has in France will be of great interest.

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We look at the pros and cons of mandating vaccines. Is this the best way to improve health and welbeing?

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Is there a better way then vaccination? 

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Is there a better way then vaccination? 

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In the UK it shows that  a lot of parents get their kids vaccinated but some other parents are wondering if there's a different way to do it but meningitis and septicemiaAre dangerous illnesses that can strike at any time and vaccination has shown to be the only effective way of preventing them that we know.

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It was recently announced that all parents in France will be legally obliged to have their children vaccinated from 2018.

Mandatory vaccination is something that's long been debated.

On the 'pro' side are those who say that legislation has had a dramatic effect in other areas of public health and safety (such as the indoor smoking ban, and use of seatbelts) so why not do the same with immunisation

Others are more reserved however, expressing concerns that there is a lack of evidence that mandatory vaccination actually helps to increase uptake.

Why should vaccines be mandatory?

Vaccination is one of the most effective public health interventions in the world for saving lives and promoting good health. Only clean water, which is considered to be a basic human right, performs better.

Despite this, uptake of vaccines has reduced in some countries and this is thought to be partly caused by misguided concerns over vaccine safety.

When vaccines control disease, parents are less likely to witness the devastating effects of vaccine preventable infectious diseases first hand. It is then easy for misplaced anxiety or suspicion about vaccines to override concerns about the disease itself.

When vaccination rates decline, we start to see a resurgence of infectious diseases.

That's why some countries are choosing to make vaccination mandatory. However, the effectiveness of this approach varies in countries which have already implemented it.

What do we know about mandatory vaccination so far?

In all 50 US states it is mandatory for children over five to receive vaccinations prior to enrolment in state licensed public schools, and often private schools or day care facilities. All states have exemptions on medical grounds, almost all states grant religious exemptions and only a few states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunisations because of personal, moral or other beliefs.

Rates of exemptions have increased in recent years and studies have shown that vaccine exemptions tend to cluster geographically, leaving some communities at greater risk for disease outbreaks.

Additionally it seems that some parents delay vaccinating their children until they start school. This is not ideal because babies are much more vulnerable to the diseases for which vaccines are scheduled in the first year of life. They need that protection early.

There has also been an increase in rates of home schooling which is speculated could be an unintended consequence of the legislation.

In US states with the strictest laws, the rates of whooping cough and measles are significantly lower, which suggests that if exemptions are harder to come by then mandatory vaccination may be more effective.

In Australia a requirement for children to meet immunisation schedules has for a long time been attached to childcare payments. In an attempt to further improve vaccination rates, exemptions were removed as of January 2016. Six months later it was reported that more than 148,000 children who had not been up to date with their immunisations met their requirements as a result.

Is there a better way?

Making vaccination compulsory is not the only way to obtain high vaccination rates. The UK has held an enviably high uptake rate for many years with the vast majority of parents choosing to vaccinate their children.

Research into how to further improve uptake rates amongst vaccine hesitant parents suggests that talking concerns through with a trusted health professional is beneficial. Additionally, practical issues such as making sure that vaccines and health care are easy to access is essential. Many families who don't vaccinate are not averse to it but simply have difficulty getting convenient appointments or don't get reminders when their children are due vaccines.

Perhaps making vaccination a core part of the educational curriculum could help future generations be less hesitant to vaccinate.

One thing we know for sure is that meningitis and septicaemia are deadly diseases that strike without warning, and vaccination has proved to be the only way to prevent it.

Whether mandatory vaccination is the best way to achieve high uptake of vaccines remains under debate. The impact this has in France will be of great interest.

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We look at the pros and cons of mandating vaccines. Is this the best way to improve health and welbeing?

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The government makes up who and when to get the mandatory vaccination and what vaccinations need to be mandatory, they make it a priority and try to get everyone immunized to be safe. The Ontario Canada website has a post explaining what is happening and it's usually on the news to spread the word.

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Vaccines have been around for a long time to help with deadly diseases. The  world's first successful  vaccine was the smallpox vaccine that was made in 1796 by a British physician Edward Jenner demonstrating that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against a deadly smallpox virus.

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History of Vaccine Requirements and Research Highlights

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Learn about the history of major vaccine requirements in the U.S. and highlights of vaccine research at Mayo Clinic.