The connection between religious beliefs and reluctance to take vaccination has been a hotly debated issue over the past couple of years. Some religions believe the body should be healed by God, prayer or through other spiritual means (Najera, 2018). The US reported about 465 cases of measles in 2019 being the second largest outbreak in the country (Flattum-Riemers & Alter, 2019). This has come as a shock since medical officials eliminated measles as a threat back in 2000 as a result of widespread vaccination. This issue has been fueled by the fact that about 47 states allow religious exemptions from vaccines (Flattum-Riemers & Alter, 2019). This poses a huge health risk to children in cases that are easily preventable through vaccination.
Many diseases have been eradicated throughout the world through vaccination. Parents who in most situations reject the idea believe that their children are provided with too many vaccinations which are ineffective since their children have strong immune systems (Flattum-Riemers & Alter, 2019). Others believe that vaccines are part of a religio-political scheme to control population growth (Flattum-Riemers & Alter, 2019). This has been a major concern reported in countries such as Nigeria and Pakistan which have huge populations.
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News outlets in various parts of the world are reporting an increase of vaccine-preventable diseases. Countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, which have a considerable Muslim following are reporting issues where these believers hold that vaccines are manufactured using pork-derived substances hence they cannot accept them since consumption of pork in Muslim is prohibited (Najera, 2018). Churches in the United States such as the Church of Christ openly discourage believers not to get vaccinated. This places thousands of lives at stake. On the other hand, the Catholic Church has helped in fighting the resistance to vaccinations since they go hand in hand with the will of God of preservation of life (Najera, 2018). The risks of not vaccinating outweigh the religious beliefs behind not using them. Divergent religious and spiritual beliefs behind not using vaccines signal the necessity of increasing more communication and collaboration between medical and health officials and the general publictowards the benefits of vaccination.
References
Flattum-Riemers, T., & Alter, R. (2019). A case against vaccine religious exemptions. Medical Xpress , 1-3.
Najera, R. (2018). Very Few Religions Expressly Prohibit Vaccination, Yet Confusion Remains . Retrieved from The History of Vaccines: https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/religion-vaccination-confusion
