Keeping a community healthy is a shared responsibility between all its members, no matter their role.

Vaccinations are a core piece of that responsibility.

Relaxed laws and flimsy policies that don’t take a strong enough stance on requiring vaccinations are putting many communities in Oregon at risk.

Oregon law states that in order to register for classes, students must provide documentation for only one: The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine.

Documentation for bacterial meningitis, a variant of which recently led to the death of a University of Oregon student, is not required.

Stricter policies could save lives on campuses across the state.

Individuals can exempt themselves simply by checking a box for “personal reasons” and taking a short online educational course. 

Currently, there is little true obligation to be vaccinated.

The problem is, seeking out exemption or refusing vaccination causes more harm to the community than to the individual.

It only takes one infected student to introduce meningitis, meningococcal, chicken pox, or any other variety of vaccinable diseases to campus.

Preventing the spread of infection to a community is preferable to treating it with antibiotics, which are often in limited supply and can result in drug-resistant “superbugs.”

Health officials at Linfield are pushing towards higher expectations and raising awareness through campus-wide emails, but no change in policy has occurred yet.

“The intent is to remind people that there are viruses and bacteria which pose serious health risks. If you are someone who hasn’t been vaccinated, you have a window of opportunity to prevent that,” said Patti Haddeland, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center.

There are some complications which contribute to the lack of change.

International students often arrive from countries where different diseases take higher priority, or where vaccines are not as readily available. A change in policy could complicate their enrollment.

However, such technical issues should not prevent the state, or Linfield, from raising their standards in order to protect the community.

Overcoming minor challenges for the sake of change is a small price to pay for the implications in public health and campus safety.

-The Linfield Review Editorial Board