#MOCOvaccinates

A Campaign to Spark Discussion About the

Importance of Required Immunizations
Rachel Ungos
ENGL 391
May 11, 2015
Final Proposal

TO: Larry Bowers, Acting Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools

FROM: Rachel Ungos, University of Maryland Student
SUBJECT: Educating students on the importance of vaccinations
DATE: May 1st, 2015
The Montgomery County Public School system is one of the largest in the state of
Maryland. 153, 852 students go to school in this district and out of that population, about
800 have not been vaccinated. While this is a relatively low number of un-vaccinated
school-age children, I think that Montgomery County could work to act as an example for
the rest of the country, where more people may be deciding to not vaccinate their
children.
I want to propose that Montgomery County Public Schools conduct a county-wide
campaign to raise awareness about immunizations and why they are necessary. Starting
discussions and distributing information at schools would get both students and parents
talking about the importance of vaccinating.
This proposal will be aimed at the country as a whole. If the reason why people
are apprehensive of vaccines is due to wide-spread discussion about a false conclusion, it
should be possible to combat speculations with a wide-spread discussion of the benefits
of immunizations. This campaign could be seen as a spark to ignite a bigger discussion
and change of mind in the country as a whole.
I hope that you will consider this proposal and may begin to implement the
campaign in Montgomery County. I am asking you even simply to start talking, and to
start educating our children so that they might educate others.

For further information, please contact: Rachel Ungos | rungos47@gmail.com

PROBLEM
In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a study, which claimed that
vaccinations caused adverse effects such as autism and gastrointestinal damage. This
struck fear into many people, including celebrity Jenny McCarthy who then began to
spread the apprehension of vaccines.
However, Dr. Wakefield's study was officially retracted in 2010 after reporter
Brian Deer found the 'study' to be completely fraudulent. The study started with a lawyer
hiring Wakefield to create a case against the MMR vaccine.

DISTRUST OF VACCINES
"Anti-vaxxer" parents still look to Wakefield as a sort of leader in their
movement, even though there are no grounds for his claims. Wakefield still continues to
support his claims, even without evidence.
It is imperative that people realize their fears are based off of issues that do not
exist. There is no evidence to prove that there is a causal relationship between vaccines
and autism or other diseases. While people may claim that children with autism have
gotten vaccines, it is logical to point out that all children, autistic or not, receive vaccines,
and that autism in a child may have already been present prior to immunizations.
There has been a hefty amount of discussion when it comes to the dangers of
vaccine, especially when it comes to sensationalizing the idea of not vaccinating children.
It is okay that people have their skepticism, but as you can see, it is precisely the reason
why we need to spark discussion about the positive aspects of vaccines.

RECENT MEASLES OUTBREAK

All children should be protected against diseases. All children deserve the right to
live healthy lives free of previously eradicated diseases such as the measles. As of 2000
the measles were declared officially eradicated from the United States, and they did not
make any sort of reappearance until 2014 when a breakout began in Californias
Disneyland. This breakout is a result of individuals not being protected from the disease,
therefore making others more vulnerable as well. It is unacceptable that the personal
choices of a few should have any sort of effect on public health.
The outbreak of the disease in Disneyland is a prime example of how inadequate
vaccination practices can affect the safety of the public. The MMR vaccine has a 97%
protection rate for people who are exposed to the disease. While this is not 100%, it is
still a very statistically significant number and makes the vaccine worth getting.
However, when you consider the probability of it, people without the vaccine are more
likely to contract the disease, meaning that they are more likely to spread the disease onto
others.
To not be protected is very dangerous. While we are allowed certain personal
freedoms in the United States, it has always been clear that we are only allowed those
personal freedoms as long as they do not harm anyone else. Not vaccinating our children
puts other children at risk. Not protecting our children means that we are also putting the
public in danger.
There is an extraordinary amount of media attention on the people who are
against the methods that keep our children safe from disease. Because the discussion
currently has such a narrow focus, we need to flip the discussion and focus on whats

important.

SOLUTION
The solution to this problem is to eliminate wariness of vaccines by engaging the
public in discussion. If people are continuously talking about how vaccines promote
health, as well as the dangers of not receiving vaccines, then people are more likely to
change their views on the situation.
What I want to propose is a campaign that will start with Montgomery County
Public Schools. As stated before, MCPS has a very low percentage of students without
their required vaccinations. I believe that this means MCPS could be a great platform for
starting the discussion about vaccines.

ASSEMBLY
The discussion would start as an assembly at all schools, talking to and educating
children about vaccines and how they protect public health and keep our communities
safe from harmful and deadly diseases.
The assembly will include volunteer speakers such as doctors and parents from
the area. Because these people are volunteers, it will show that they are so passionate
about the cause that they are willing to speak about the issue for free. Having passionate
speakers is important because they are more likely to be persuasive to the audience. In
reference to cost, the county might reimburse speakers for travel expenses (i.e. gas
money) to travel from school to school within the county. The assembly itself would be
about an hour long, speaking to students about how they need to work together to discuss

why vaccines are important. The assembly will be as interactive as possible to ensure that
students remain interested in the discussion.

CAMPAIGN
After all schools receive the assembly, the speakers will distribute papers and
brochures with facts about the issue and why the student s should care. Teachers should
continue discussions within the classroom and encourage their students to go home and
talk to their parents. The intent is that the school discussions will spark out-of-school
discussions by way of a chain reaction.

Geared more towards the older high school students, the second aspect of the
campaign will be the hashtag #MOCOVaccinates. Students will be encouraged to Tweet
and post on social media about the campaign, using the hashtag in hopes that it will start
trending. Once the hashtag is trending, the word will spread to other school districts that
catch wind of the discussion. Not only will this actively involve students in the discussion
of this issue, but it will also give them a chance to positively represent their schools. I
think that this is an appropriate method, as social media is a consistently growing
platform for spreading ideas. Twitter is also something that typically appeals to young
people, and would therefore make the campaign discussion more interesting for students.

WHY MCPS?
There are more than 150,000 students currently enrolled in Montgomery County
Public Schools. Of these students there is only 0.5 percent that have not receive

immunizations. This is an incredible statistic, and shows that Montgomery County as a

school system is already in the mindset that vaccines are necessary. Having the right
attitude about an issue before starting a campaign is very important.
Of course, not many students at MCPS schools have children of their own.
However, everyone enrolled currently in MCPS is considered a part of the millennial
generation. This is the next generation of people who are going to have children of their
own and who are going to be making decisions about vaccinations for their children.
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, millennials are more likely
to be against making vaccinations mandatory (Anderson, 2015). While the difference is
not very significant at the moment, it is quite possible that students simply feel as if they
are invincible when it comes to deadly disease. Therefore, it is important to educate
young people who are skeptical about the benefits of vaccinating outweigh the negative
effects.

COST
The expenses for this campaign will be relatively minimal. We can have school
nurses as well as volunteer experts from the community come in and speak. It is safe to
assume that finding volunteers would not be an issue, as many experts are passionate
about the causes they support. Any costs would come from printing fliers and posters
relating to discussions, as well as pamphlets to hand out to all students. However, the cost
of these materials should not be an issue. Getting students to talk about important issues
is essential for preparing them for the real world and help guide them into safe decisions.

When it comes to the children currently in public schools, we are talking about the future
of our nation, and need to prepare them to protect the public.
The only other expense we may want to consider is reimbursement for volunteers
to travel from school to school if they have to drive a long way.

RELIGION
One major objection to making vaccines mandatory is that certain religious
groups have beliefs that do not approve of vaccinations. However, it is important to note
that the views of one group should not affect the safety of another group. By allowing
religious groups to stay exempt from vaccines, we are consequently putting the public at
risk for disease.
Currently, there are 48 states that offer religious exemptions from vaccinations,
and Maryland is one of them (CHILD). While it may seem great to have everyone choose
based on what they believe in, it is not always the wisest decision. For example, we do
not typically approve of religions where human sacrifice is part of their tradition. Based
on this logic, making vaccines mandatory should not be an issue.

OVERVIEW
The notion of not providing children with proper immunizations is generating
large-scale discussions lately. In order to combat the attention that this is getting, and
hopefully decrease the number of people who agree with the notion, we must make the
counter argument stronger. Engaging fully and passionately in discussion, we can

generate positive responses from the public, and accumulate a population that generally
agrees that vaccines are necessary.
MCPS is the perfect school district to spark this discussion, as it is a nationally
ranked school system that is already used to leading by example. Through this discussion
and campaign, we can further show the world that MCPS students are forward -thinking
individuals. As an individual who graduated from MCPS, I can say that I have seen so
much pride from the students and staff alike when it comes to representing their schools.
I think that this campaign will give MCPS members yet another way to stay involved
with the community.
As the new superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, I understand
that you may have a lot on your plate as far as responsibilities go. However, I do believe
that this campaign is going to be worth your time. This is an opportunity to teach our
youth to speak up and out about real issues in the community. Not only is it a great
learning opportunity for students, it is also an opportunity to show the rest of the country
what our students are capable of. Montgomery County Public Schools will be able to
give the country yet another reason why they are one of the top school districts in the
country.

References
An Open Letter to Anti-Vaxxers. (2014, October 12). Retrieved April 5, 2015.
Anderson, M. (2015, February 2). Young adults more likely to say vaccinating kids
should be a parental choice. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
Asser, S., & Swan, R. (1998). Child Fatalities From Religion-motivated Medical Neglect.
Pediatrics, 625-629.
CHILD. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://childrenshealthcare.org.
Deer, Brian. "Exposed: Andrew Wakefield and the MMR-autism Fraud." Andrew
Wakefield. Accessed March 30, 2015. http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancetsummary.htm.
Frequently Asked Questions about Measles in the U.S. (2015, March 20). Retrieved April
Kelto, A. (2015, February 19). Why A Court Once Ordered Kids Vaccinated Against
Their Parents' Will. Retrieved March 1, 2015, from www.npr.org.
Louis, C. (2015, March 1). Most Doctors Give In to Requests by Parents to Alter Vaccine
Schedules. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
"Policy & Legal |." CHILD. Accessed March 30, 2015.

RETRACTED: Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive

developmental disorder in children. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2015, from
http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-paper.htm
Ziv, Stav. "Andrew Wakefield, Father of the Anti-Vaccine Movement, Responds to the
Current Measles Outbreak for the First Time." Newsweek. February 10, 2015.
Accessed March 18, 2015.