Amy Parker Parents Vaccinate Children Case Study

Between 1924 and 2013, vaccinations prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Bailey). Vaccinating is “the process by which pathogenic cells are injected into a healthy person in an attempt to cause the body to develop antibodies to a particular virus or bacterium—successful creation of antibodies is referred to as immunity to the disease caused by the particular pathogen” (Introduction to Should Vaccinations be Mandatory). Popular conflicts regarding vaccination include the worry that this form of immunization isn’t natural, the idea that vaccination schedule for children in the U.S. takes away parents’ rights to make decisions for their children, and the concern that vaccinations aren’t safe for all children. Most doctors and scientists advocate for vaccinations in the name of herd immunity, protection against foreign diseases and prevention against pockets of disease outbreaks. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children in the United States for who they are deemed safe and effective.

The vaccinations of children are a cornerstone of the United States public health measures to protect people from a host of infectious diseases and possible death. Vaccines are beneficial to the greater good of the public health including your own as well as being a cost effective way to manage infectious diseases. Diseases that used to be common throughout this country and around the world can now be prevented by vaccination. These diseases include polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, rubella, mumps, tetanus, rotavirus, and haemophilus influenza type b (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).

The most commonly cited reason why parents decide to not vaccinate their children is due to their belief that vaccines cause harm11. In a survey that looked at risk perception with vaccines, researches found that while 94% of individuals surveyed had vaccinated or plan on vaccinating their children, only 23% of participants had no concerns about the vaccines16. This reiterates the point that even though there are high rates of vaccination in the United States,

Vaccinations are safe and they work. There are many parents who choose for their own reasons to ignore Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to vaccinate and exercise their right to not do so. They run the risk of having their child suffer or even possibly die when they opt-out to having their child vaccinated. Today in the United States, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease are often traced to susceptible children whose parents have claimed an exemption from school or child care immunization regulations (CDC, 2014).

In the article titled “Growing Up Unvaccinated,” published by Voices for Vaccines on January 6, 2014, Amy Parker argues that anti-vaxxers are being cruel by exposing their children to illnesses. Parker uses her healthy childhood throughout the article to argue that a child’s immune system itself is not strong enough to fight off vaccine-preventable diseases. For instance, in the following statements: “I was brought up on an incredibly healthy diet: no sugar till I was one, breastfed for over a year, organic homegrown vegetables, raw milk, no MSG, no additives, no aspartame. My mother used homeopathy, aromatherapy, osteopathy; we took daily supplements of vitamin C, Echinacea, cod liver oil.” And: “As healthy as my lifestyle seemed, I contracted measles, mumps, rubella, a type of viral meningitis, scarlatina, whooping cough, yearly tonsillitis, and chickenpox (Parker, 2014 p. 1 & 2).”

Choosing to vaccinate or not vaccinate children has become a large topic of contention between parents and medical personnel. Rates of non-medical vaccine exemptions for children entering public school continue to increase across the country. This increase has coincided with a resurgence in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, or VPDs (Lynfield, 2014, p.1). There are a variety of reasons why a family might apply for a non-medical exemption and the validity of these exemptions varies from state to state. Regardless of the justifiability of an exemption, growing numbers of non-vaccinated children entering school will increase the prevalence and mortality from VPDs (Lynfield, 2014, p.2).

“Sustaining high vaccination coverage among school-age children is vital to prevent outbreaks and avoid reestablishment of diseases that have been eliminated in the United States” (Zangger, 2017). Most of the articles found, stated a variety of issues involved with noncompliant parental decisions made about not vaccinating their children. Of these issues, to my attention, the main problem with compliance of vaccines comes from the lack of knowledge about adverse effects and contraindications. What parents are missing is the fact that these childhood diseases are totally preventable diseases. We also are seeing a lot of parents choose to use an alternative vaccination schedule (AVS) instead of what is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that leads to the same kind of issue (Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine and council on the community, 2011). The studies show that parents have an increased likelihood of refusing to vaccinate due to the lack of education provided on the subject itself.

They have minimized the outbreak, and control of major diseases, as well as taken smallpox to the level of eradication. (Hinman para1) There are however, two medical reasons a child should not be vaccinated; those with compromised immune systems, and allergic reactions to the vaccine. (Yang para 3) A one hundred percent vaccination rate is not needed to protect the vulnerable members of society; however, those who have chosen not to be vaccinated put those who have no option in danger. There are a majority of states that offer religious, health and most notably, undocumented philosophical reasons to not be vaccinated. All of these reasons, regardless of how well-founded they are, put a damper on herd immunity. This all together put other children and many older adults at risk. Despite a parent's prerogative not to immunize their child, these parents waive their right to have their child attend a public school. Not only to protect those children who have not been vaccinated, but the entire school population if a disease should be contracted. The state of California, joins West Virginia, and Mississippi in removing a parent’s ability to use religious and philosophical beliefs as reasons not to have their child vaccinated, closing the gap in that states probability of herd

However, these parents are underestimating how many other parents have the same idea. An increasing problem is that people assume that everyone else vaccinated their children. In reality, a minority large enough to start an epidemic are not vaccinating their children. Park estimates if all children received the recommended vaccinations from the time they were born to adolescence $10 billion in medical bills would be saved, 14 million infections would be avoided, and 33,000 lives would be saved (Park). The issue is, critics believe these numbers do not apply to them. Critics believe their child’s infection could not have been avoided, and, potentially, life could not have been saved if they did vaccinate their child.

Diseases will always travel throughout the world and it will continue to affect children severely if they are not vaccinated. One source known as Benefits from Immunization During the Vaccines for Children Program Era pointed out that the number of children born each year can be prevented, “Approximately 4 million children are born in the United States each year, each of whom is vulnerable to vaccine-preventable pathogens that continue to circulate” (Whitney, Zhou, Singleton and Schuchat 4). The number of children born each year can have an enormous impact on society, there can be a massive epidemic. People do not want their child to be exposed to these deadly infectious disease, especially if they are preventable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claim that immunizations are one of the most successful interventions in public health history (2015). The CDC is qualified to make this statement as research shows the vaccinations have eradicated smallpox and nearly eliminated the polio virus, in addition to diminishing the occurrences of preventable infectious diseases such as measles, diphtheria and whooping cough (2015). However, despite the statistics and research, in 2015, only 71.6% of the children between 19 and 35 months received the combined 7 vaccine series (CDC, 2015). This decline in vaccination rate can have devastating effects not only on the individual child, but also on the community, as a whole. Consequently,

Certainly, supporting the use of immunization at a young age for children is a practical strategy to maintain their health and wellness. Thanks to parents who choose to immunize their children on a voluntary basis, the public health is protected, and there is a reduction in the spread of infectious diseases across the Untied States. Jane Lemons reports, “Although the vast majority of Americans continue to vaccinate their children, studies have found that as many as 1 in 10 parents are delaying or forgoing some or all recommended vaccines for their children” (169).

Primarily, most parents generally opt for vaccinations towards children in the United States of America. The perception of why parents make this judgement is due to the benefits of vaccinations outweighing the potential of any health risk. Carole Joyce stated, “As many as three million children deaths are prevented and approximately 750,000 children are spared disability, worldwide, each year” (Joyce). Joyce’s statement shows that vaccines have proven to be one of the most efficient public health ingenuities in modern history. Improving overall public health and preventing children from being contaminated from preventable diseases are major benefits from vaccinations. Nevertheless, there are parents who delay the vaccination of the child due towards simply

When children who have been vaccinated do contract a disease, despite being vaccinated against it, they usually have milder symptoms with less serious complications than an un-vaccinated child that gets the same disease. It is true that some children who receive vaccinations may still become ill when exposed to other disease-ridden children. Research shows that 70-90% of the entire population must be vaccinated to attain “herd immunity”, “the resistance of a group to attack by a disease to which a large proportion of the members are immune.” (Farlex, 2012) When herd immunity is accomplished the spread of the disease can be averted throughout. If all parents were to take proper responsibilities and keep their children’s immunizations up-to-date, herd immunity would be achieved against all 16 of the major life threatening diseases.

Despite vaccinations being credited for the control and elimination of several childhood diseases, there are still many critics who raise concerns about the necessity of vaccination. In a national study of parents performed in 2000, 19% indicated they had “concerns about vaccines” whereas in a subsequent survey performed in 2009 this number had risen to 50%. There has also been a rise in non-medical vaccine exemptions that has occurred over the last several years. In a 2010 national survey of physicians, 89% of respondents reported at least one vaccine refusal by a parent each month (Dempsey & Gowda, 2013). Opposers argue that making school vaccination mandatory is against their right to make personal medical decisions. They feel that the government has no place to force parents to vaccinate their children if the parents decide it is not in their child’s best interest. Many parents are disagreeable about the multiple vaccinations received at one time, which results in possible pain and discomfort for the child. Another argument against vaccination is the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Critics are concerned about the unknown risks vaccines pose to children. Some parents noted their child acquiring a “high fever” or beginning to “act different” after the administration of a vaccine. There is a belief that there is a connection between the measles vaccination and autism. Another theory is that the influenza