Should vaccination be forced?

I think this is one of the problems some African religious believers faces, i will vaccinate my child/ren in the face of outbreak no matter what religion i cliam affinity. Public health is important because when outbreak wipes out the popuplace, the religion is dead and gone at least from that particular area/society.
I have not seen a culture that advocates for the killing of others in time of peace and outbreak is a peace period with uncertainty of health crisis, it is only through reasoning and education that these cultural belief can be reformed, so government should take into cognizance the culture of people. There is a quote in bible that says " No weapon fashion against me shall proper" however not when you see and know the effect of outbreak or when you see a bulldozer coming to your direction without control.

There is no excuse for not vacinating your child. To me as long as health issuses are concerned there shouldn't be any religious account by the medical team because vacinating children will help to protect them from lot of other diseases apart from that of measles. So health situations should always be given first attention before religious considerations or other thoughts. Please let us protect the children from poliomyelitis before they become infected.

Dear bbc,there is no excuse for not vacccinating your child,i personaly will not agree with that,because,our children health is in our hands,so measles vaccination should be our priority,so let take religious belief out of this context,moreovre,we in africa knows how our children are been effected by this deasies

Measles I'm sure is a disease and those diseases are being prevented earlier when people are immunized before it gets out of hand.In such instance, I believe strongly that vaccination should be forced because when vaccines are introduced, it means that we are trying to prevent infectious diseases so how can a specific group say that they will not allow that because their religious beliefs doesn't allow it!I believe in such case, those people should be given their cottage so that they can be doing their own thing because they are doing that for the good of the community and not specific people. I strongly believe that the health organizations should sit them down and explain to them because when there is an outbreak of such infectious diseases, it becomes quite difficult to deal with it.We should also understand that health is not only the spiritual well being of people but it includes spiritual,social and psychological so more education should be done on that.
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In the case of potential outbreak/epidemic, public health should supercede religious beliefs. Vaccinations should be enforced to protect the population at large. When choices made based on religious or cultural belief endanger other people, the safe option should be enforced.

Mass vaccination push is being phobic and calls for caution. However, if the affected countries have clear evidence of the spread of the outbreak turining into pendemic, then it is OK. The unfornate piece with this concept of mass vaccination is the market economy drive rather than the social wellbeing responsibility. The decisions are made in the ivory towers where statistics are manipulated to convince political leadership of the dangers as a scheme for money making.
Let there be consultative process with the people.

Here's the problem with forcing people to be vaccinated: such a practice would certainly be reminiscent of colonial practices. Across the African continent, the colonial powers restricted Africans' movement solely based on medical grounds. Though this practice might have been effective in restricting pandemics, it torn families apart and added to the long list of colonial practices that made Africans angry and frustrated with the European powers. And they resisted to these practices in any conceivable manners. What I propose (which is not entirely original but might just do the trick) is the following scenario. Since I believe education is the answer to this problem I think hospitals across Southern Africa should implement a different strategy. They should sell vaccines at a minimal rate to patients and families who have already gone through the ordeal of suffering because of measles. Something like 5-10 cents per vaccine. This way people would have a sense of ownership on the vaccine and have gone through the pain the disease is causing to realize that this is a big deal. I think a combination of education with consumerism would be a more suited strategy than enforcing this onto the African people. Africans are no longer the subjects on anyone and they should be treated as fully independent people.

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I would argue that vaccinations should be compulsory the world over. Personal beliefs are all well and good but in situations like these those people have no right to put their entire region in danger.

Yes, the vaccination should be forced. The measles do not discriminate. It does not matter which religion you prescribe to. If there are vaccinations and they are available, people should be vaccinated.

I THINK THAT VACCINATION SHOULD BE COMPULSORY IF NOT THERE WILL BE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES LETS THROW AWAY OUR BAD CUSTOMS HEALTH IS PARAMOUNT

With the severity of this health crisis, should vaccination be forced?

THE ANSWER IS YES - NO EXCUSES.

It really does depend on the reasoning behind the refusal, if it is a blanket refusal to any medical assistance then the wider issue of public safety does have a part to play in compulsory vaccination, however, if there is good reason for the refusal i.e. the vaccine contains live serum then forcing a vaccination should be considered a crime against the person equal to rape.

I can understand if parents in Africa wants their children to be vaccinated against diseases and other forms of illness.But I am oppose to the idea of using force to go about with vaccinating children,I think the people should be educated about idea and allow them to make their choice. No one should be force to do anything against their will as long as that individual is not putting the public at risk; is force vaccination an idea of the health professinals or the drug companies.
Mohamed Massalay, Manchester.

Don't use assumptions, use science to prove. As with Daniel, it was proven that he and his friends were more healthy than the others.

If the Church is of God, you will find they are indeed healthier despite your understanding.

Daniel 1:12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

I agree that the principles of religion should be upheld but not when it reaches to the point where your health is involved.People who pretend to put religion above their health are just ignorant and stubborn. Laura Golakeh, Monrovia.

I also believe that a proactive initiative like vaccination should be made compulsory. However, making it compulsory violates the fundamental rights of others because the choice should be personal. One may also argue that making it compulsory to save the population from infection is equivalent to forcing America or China to close their industries because they also pollute the environment which among others, is a health hazard.

Why is there dispute about rights at all, when it's about rules and duties?
People hardly would use the Declaration of Human Rights as excuse for violating traffic rules or safety technique (when handling tools or even weapons). Perhaps punishment parents for neglecting their children should be considered, preferably some, that would not affect family's finances.

Responding to Lance E: Your statements are take completely out of context. The reasons for the strict diet was to be in obedience to God's commandments and because of their obedience God gave them favor before the king. Science had nothing to do with it; and it did not put anyone else around them in any type of danger. In the case of vaccinations, there is no place in the Bible where it says not to do that, so doing vaccinations is not being disobedient to God nor not doing vaccinations being obedient to God. The Bible however does say that we are to be good stewards (caretakers) of what God has given us. If I as a parent, neglect my child's health; in this case what science has proven works (to use your words), then I am being disobedient to God because I am not being a good steward of the knowledge and children that God has given me

I am ever ready to be jabbed!