Identifying and Associating With Professional Coalitions: Vaccinations and the State of Florida

For school-age children, the state of Florida, according to the most recent data on its website (2018) requires a relatively standard battery of immunizations, including inoculations for diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (Tdap), measles mumps and rubella (MMR), polio (IPV), Hepatitis B, chickenpox (Varicella). Some of these vaccinations have incurred controversy over the years, including claimed links to autism. Currently, for children medically able to be vaccinated Florida only permits religious exemptions from vaccinations. In other words, parents cannot opt their children out of vaccines purely due to personal conviction and stated fears. All 50 states permit vaccine exemptions for medical reasons (“Vaccination Exemptions,” 2018). These may include children with compromised immune systems or children with allergies to ingredients in the vaccines.

However, only three states—Mississippi, West Virginia, and California—only permit medical exemptions to vaccines. The other 47 states permit religious exemptions and exemptions of conscience. Most states demand that religious exemptions be justified with demonstrated sincere theological belief and there must be evidence that the belief is not merely personal philosophical conviction (“Vaccination Exemptions,” 2018). Such an exemption is usually...

Pro-vaccination advocates, however, point out the serious material impact that unvaccinated children can have in society, including the ability to infect other children who cannot be vaccinated, or individuals for whom the vaccine was not effective.
Eighteen states permit parents to be exempt simply due to parental philosophical or personal belief, even if that belief is not philosophical in nature (“Vaccination Exemptions,” 2018). The procedure usually requires parents to file a form stating why they find vaccinations objectionable. Pro-vaccination advocates are concerned given the rise in fears of diseases linked to vaccines and ingredients in vaccines, the demand for such exemptions has grown exponentially, from 0.99 to 2.45% between the years 1991 and 2004 (“Vaccination Exemptions,” 2018). As the memory of children actually affected by such diseases atrophies, vaccination rates may continue to decline, as manifested in a resurgence of diseases once thought to be eradicated. The rise of information on the Internet that is not medically validated has given further fuel to the anti-vaccine fires.

To counteract the voices of anti-vaccine advocates, a number of organizations have raised their voices in…