What Schools Require Vaccinations?

For the safety of other students, it is not uncommon for schools to require certain vaccinations before the student starts their first day of school. Not doing so could put other students at risk for dangerous diseases that could make them incredibly sick. After doing some research, Proco.org provided me with some information about what states require certain vaccinations and what states do not. According to the article, each state (including DC) can make it's own requirements regarding vaccinations in the school system. Despite this, data taken in 2014 states that "all 50 states and DC require vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis; polio; and measles and rubella (49 states and DC also require mumps vaccination)" and that "48 states and DC require varicella (chickenpox) vaccination (Montana and Pennsylvania do not); and 45 states and DC require hepatitis B vaccination (Alabama, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota do not) to enter kindergarten" (Procon.org). That being said, it easy to see which diseases are being focused on the most before the student's start school while vaccinations like the flu vaccine and PCV are only required by one state. Vaccination requirements will vary from state to state since states are allowed to decide their own vaccination requirements, however every school should require the vaccinations listed above because all 50 states require them for entry into school. 

For more information, read the article here:

http://vaccines.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005979

Vaccinations and Their History

Vaccinations have been around for over two centuries, but when did we begin focusing on vaccinations and immunization? According to an article written by Alexandra Stern on Health Affairs, Edward Jenner performed the world's first vaccination in 1796 when he  "[Took] pus from a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand, [and] inoculated an eight-year-old boy, James Phipps." Two weeks later, Jenner exposed the boy's hand to smallpox but the boy remained unaffected by the disease. After several more trials and experiments, Jenner published Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccine, which would go onto become a "a classic text in the annals of medicine" His assertion “that the cow-pox protects the human constitution from the infection of smallpox” grew the foundation for modern medicine and vaccinations today. Even after Jenner's discovery, Stern states that "it took more than 80 years for scientists to discover new vaccines". Since then, we have developed vaccinations for several different diseases, including the MMR vaccine, chickenpox vaccine, and flu vaccine. 

To read more about Alexandra Stern's information, visit here:

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/3/611.full