The chances of your child getting a case of measles, chicken pox or whooping cough might be quite low today, but vaccinations are not just for protecting ourselves and are not only for today. They also protect the people around us, such as the people who may be unable to get certain vaccines or who won’t get them for some reason. They also protect our future generations by keeping diseases that we have almost defeated from coming back. If we stopped vaccinations, we could soon find ourselves battling epidemics of diseases we thought we had conquered decades ago. Disease rates are low in the United States today, but if we let ourselves become vulnerable by not vaccinating, we could cause a serious outbreak (“What Would Happen If We Stopped Vaccinations?”).
Vaccines are the best defense we have against serious, preventable, and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. Vaccines are some of the safest medical products available, but like any other medical product, there may be risks. Vaccines are held to the highest standard of safety. The United States currently has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history. The FDA demands that vaccines undergo a rigorous and extensive evaluation program to determine safety and effectiveness, as well as using animal studies and human clinical trials to test the side effects of the ingredients. If a vaccine does receive approval by FDA, it is continuously monitored for safety. A large amount of the over one billion doses of vaccines
Vaccination protects the spread of diseases around us. Getting vaccinated doesn’t only mean helping yourself, it means helping other people around you too. “The U.S. has seen 118 cases as of mid-May, compared with the 56 cases a year from 2001-2008” (Ropeik). This is important because it’s saying that the rate of vaccination is decreasing, which disease will be increasing. We shouldn’t let this continue because diseases would be spreading faster than ever. We should be alarmed and need to take action for our future and get vaccinated now. Getting vaccinated means protecting ourselves and our community. That’s the reason why vaccine were there in the first place, to
[Vaccinations have lowered the death rates of Americans over the years. According to McNeil “in November 2007, death rates for 13 diseases that can be prevented by childhood vaccinations were at all-time lows…nine of the diseases, rates of hospitalization or death had declined more than 90 percent. For three…death rates had dropped by 100 percent” (Paragraph 3). This study shows that vaccinations are beneficial to children. With these vaccinations, children will be less exposed to these diseases, which will prevent them from spending time in the hospital or in some cases dying.
Controversy concerning the risks of vaccinations will always exist. As is the nature of a preventative intervention, it is difficult to rationalize giving a completely healthy child an injection that is known to have varying degrees of sides affects5. Additionally, these injections are to provide immunity to children for diseases that have an extremely low risk of circulating within a population. Since these vaccines have been able to protect so many individuals from experiencing these dangerous infections, most parents do not even have personal experiences regarding the impact of these diseases. As such, many parents do not see the vaccine-preventable disease as a threat to their child. This often causes parents to not fully understand the risk their child has for contracting a disease and the subsequent danger of a vaccine-preventable disease infection verses the potential side effect of a vaccine which is normally only mild to moderate discomfort for their child15.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination” (“Should Vaccines Be Required”). If vaccines were never invented, then people would die from many diseases because of the serious symptoms that each disease presents. Every disease is different and presents its own set of symptoms and levels of seriousness. Doctors and medical researchers have not yet discovered cures for these diseases, so being vaccinated as a preventative measure is the safest and smartest thing that a person could do. It is better to be protected from getting a disease than getting it and dealing with it until it either goes away on its own or kills
Vaccines are part of preventive health and protect us from disease. If we get vaccinated, we can help protect those who can't. One study found that a child has a 35 times more chance of getting measles, if they don't vaccinate (Lemmons 185). In the U.S., vaccines have decreased or terminated many infectious diseases that once killed or hurt many people (Vaccination). If we do not vaccinate, it will leave people unprotected and susceptible to disease.
Vaccinating does not only keep your child from getting sick, but also any one else’s child that they come in contact with whether the other child is an infant too young to get a vaccination, or children whose parent chooses not to vaccinate. The risks of not vaccinating are not only that your child may get a virus that could have been prevented but also that they will spread that virus to people who are also not vaccinated or are too young to vaccinate. People may think that certain vaccines are not needed because no one has had measles in the U.S. for a long time but that’s only due to the high vaccination rates we previously had. People might also say that vaccines can cause Guillain Barré Syndrome, or anaphylaxis. The Gullain Barré Syndrom
Almost all American citizens had previously contracted Measles before a vaccination was available for the general public; these days, doctors rarely see any cases of Measles due to the vaccine. Before vaccines, many died from the disease they had been infected with. It is important to vaccinate children, otherwise they could contract an illness and suffer the terrible consequences, even death. With vaccines, fewer and fewer people get diseases that could essentially kill them. Without vaccination, many more would be afflicted. Hundreds of thousands of children are saved by harmless vaccines each year, hence it is crucial to vaccinate all children to protect whole communities.
It is almost too easy to say that vaccination should no longer be allowed. There are so many dangerous ingredients in them and this story about a mom and her kids getting vaccinated is the perfect example of why parents should not get their kids vaccinated. Her son, Harley, is 2 months old, and her daughter, Ashlee 2 years old, were getting taken to the doctors to get vaccinated. The only thing wrong with Ashlee is she had a cold. Harley was given his first DPT, polio, and Hib shots, which are shots that babies get when they’re born. Ashlee received her first Hib and MMR and DPT and polio shots. After they were vaccinated they went home and took a nap. Not long after Harley woke up and thighs were all red and not long after Ashlee woke up and fell because she couldn’t walk. Her mom took her to the hospital, leaving Harley with a babysitter. Eventually her mom came back to her son screaming and screaming until he fell asleep. For the next 10 days Harley had barely eaten or slept and on that day he passed away. After they looked for all the possible things that could have happened and the doctors for starter, marked Harley as a 5 week old baby when he was
disease to occur with numerous antigens entering the body at once and that their child will not be able to properly metabolize and excrete the mercury from their body.
The bubonic plague has ravaged Europe for nearly a year now, and the population has been decimated (Museum of London, 2015). Dead people, peasants and nobles alike, line the streets and fill the church graveyards. Most families suffered at least one loss, and the disease’s toll on the country was so grave that many desperately prayed and wept bitterly for a solution.
After reading about the many infectious diseases in our discussions; it has given me a clearer insight of many of the pros and cons.
The Center for Disease Control describes vaccines as the greatest development in public health since clean drinking water. For several decades, vaccines have saved countless lives and helped eradicate some fatal diseases. The push to do away with vaccines will not only endanger our youth, but our society as a whole. Vaccination is needed to maintain a healthy balance within our country. Vaccines provide the immunity that comes from a natural infection without the consequences of a natural infection. Vaccinations save an ever-growing amount of lives every year. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination (“Vaccine ProCon”).
“Proponents argue that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century. They point out that illnesses, including rubella, diphtheria, and whooping cough, which once killed thousands of infants annually are now prevented by vaccination” (“Vaccines”). Many deaths occur simply because children, along with adults, do not get the required shots needed. Medical treatments are not given to do a person any harm, but to keep a person and environment safe. Kids being vaccinated will give them less of a possibility to obtain a disease that could lead to death. Benefits outweigh any possibility of risking accumulating a disease. When people say that vaccinations are harmful, does not necessarily mean to develop a deadly disease, simply means some small risks. “Vaccines are not entirely harmless, but the small risks are outweighed by the benefits of a disease prevention” (Offit). Indeed flu shots must be tested in order to be able to give anyone the shot. Receiving vaccinations is only meant to help people prevent many illnesses and deaths. Although some small risks could be accumulated, those small risks are very small possibilities of anything happening to anyone. Getting immunized is not a one-time thing; people must follow up on required dates to receive them.
The number of individuals who are unvaccinated or infected in the United States has increased (Sun). Vaccines recommended for children are crucial and result in fewer health risks and greater healthy lifestyles. Proponents agree that vaccines are safe and effective, while opponents disagree and believe that vaccines create more negative outcomes than positive ("Should Any Vaccines..."). Opponents attempt to influence and persuade the majority of individuals to stray away from their viewpoints relating to the encouragement of vaccinating children. The rising percentage of children and parents who reject immunization and protest safe vaccines indicate less triumph for sufficient immunization for the population. There are many detrimental risks that affect unvaccinated children, and supporting childhood vaccinations profoundly benefits each parent and child.
During the last ten years or so, there has been a debate on childhood vaccinations. This debate all started from the acquisition that vaccines cause autism. Since the debate, many parents have been skeptical on whether or not they will get their children vaccinated. From the negative comments that are going around from highly respected people new parents doubt vaccines importance to the world. Parents are concerned, which they should be, about if vaccines are beneficial or harmful to their kid’s health? Some claim that vaccinations are needless and unsafe. With the misleading information in parent’s ears they are stuck with the big question. Should I vaccinate my child?