Arguments Against Childhood Vaccinations

For many of years, parents have been dealing with the idea of having their child vaccinated or choosing not to vaccinate them at all. Some parents would argue about the different viewpoints of the vaccinations given to children. Some parents

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.

“As healthy as my lifestyle seemed, I contracted measles, mumps, rubella, a type of viral meningitis, scarlatina, whooping cough, yearly tonsillitis, and chickenpox, some of which are vaccine preventable” (Parker 1). This quote by vaccine advocate Amy Parker, a woman who was not vaccinated as a child, shows just a glimpse into the life of an unvaccinated individual. Parents who do not vaccinate their children claim many different reasons for their decision. Three of the most popular reasons are: religious grounds, health problems as a result from vaccines, and the belief that the illnesses are rare. Each of these reasons can be proven as nonessential in the anti-vaccine argument.

Looking at the childhood vaccination controversy gives one an in-depth view into one of the more obvious conflict between the society and the vaccine manufacturers. The controversy is whether the government can require parents to vaccinate their children. Many families do not wish to do so based on religious and other reasons. Some believe the risk of catastrophic side effects is too high. Several childhood diseases have been nearly eradicated in the United States because of the required immunizations such as polio, whooping cough, diphtheria, etc. Some mild side effects include fever and local inflammation at the site of the injection. Some children can have severe reactions, which include seizures, autistic type reactions, and death. Parents

After much consideration, I have decided to research the controversy of childhood vaccinations and the risks associated with it. This issue has been brought up during my Biobehavioral Health (BBH) classes throughout my education. These classes have included: health promotion, public health, and epidemiology. The study of BBH can be described as an interdisciplinary program that enables students to explore all factors including: biological, behavioral, social/cultural, and environmental that influence the health of individuals and groups. In the BBH program, I have been able to view the topic of childhood vaccinations through the biological aspect of how they work, the behavioral and cultural aspect as to how individuals react to vaccinations,

The anti-vaccination sentiment exists worldwide, with activists arguing that vaccines are ineffective with a high risk of side effects, encouraging people to forgo immunization, including the influenza inoculation. Conversely, I wonder if these same activists would promote anti-immunization and anti-influenza inoculation to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for health care providers and medical personnel, especially countries with high infectious disease rates and high risk assessment of influenza with pandemic potential. Moreover, would these activists be willing to promote these individuals rights to perform their specialties in the United States without proper vaccinations? The answer to the question is not by any means. Nevertheless, a person deciding whether to be

The autism scare started 17 years ago, in the year 1998, when a paper was published in the British medical journal called The Lancet. Andrew Wakefield, M.D., a British gastroenterologist, and his colleagues were the authors of this paper which started the scare of immunizations causing autism. "Wakefield had a case study of eight children who had received the MMR and then developed symptoms of autism, says Paul Offit, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at the Children 's Hospital of Philadelphia. He also believed they had abnormal intestinal tracts and proposed a syndrome -- linking intestinal inflammation from receiving the MMR with the development of autism.” (Rope)

In less than fifteen weeks, I am going to be an aunt of a beautiful baby girl. I have many dreams for her, none of which include her becoming ill from a deadly disease just because she or others around her are not properly vaccinated. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), a vaccine is “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease” (“Immunization: The Basics”). Vaccination has been a controversial issue for many decades in the United States. Some people support mandatory vaccination of children because they believe that it is necessary to keep the entire population safe from preventable diseases, while others oppose it because they think it should be the parents’ choice whether or not to vaccinate their children. Although certain religious groups may have objections to vaccinations, requiring parents to vaccinate their children is in the best interest of the lives of the American civic society because vaccines are safe, economic benefits would accrue to society, and they save the lives of many people both in present and future generations.

Vaccines are safe, minimally invasive, and the most effective way to protect everyone from VPDS ("Five Important …" n.pag.). Nearly three million lives are saved every year by vaccines, not counting the lives saved by a strong herd immunity powered by proper vaccinations (Ruderfer and Krilov e76-e81.). In addition, 103 million illnesses and deaths have been prevented by vaccinations since 1924 (Welch et al. 18-26). The connection between the dropping vaccination rates and the death rates of vaccine-preventable disease is evident and confirmed by statistical analysis (Ruderfer and Krilov e76-e81.). As science advances some vaccines have become obsolete; smallpox, polio, and diphtheria have been defeated by modern medicine. "Five Important

The intended purpose of this presentation is to provide facts and scientific research that persuades the audience members regarding the use of vaccinations. My intention is that the audience will support the use of vaccinations and consider the facts before making decisions that affect the entire community. My central idea is that inaccurate data exists with regards to vaccination; instead, that vaccinations should be viewed as essential for protection of society, both from extreme illness as well as life threatening, and sometimes fatal, diseases.

Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. Vaccinations have been used since the 18th century to cure various deadly diseases, from smallpox to the influenza virus. On a global level, vaccination is one of the few cost-effective medical measures that result in universal benefit. Yet there have always been those opposed to vaccinations because of possible side effects. With the increase in technology and the ability to share ideas in modern society the anti vaccine movement has flourished making the eradication of disease and safety of the public a difficult task. The anti-vaccine movement in the United States is one which brings about a very serious issue of safety. Vaccinations are put in place to protect people; they are administered by trained professionals who weigh the costs and benefits of vaccines. Yet there are still people out there who refuse to be vaccinated out of fear and therefore decide for themselves the effectiveness of vaccines. In order to ensure a safe society the public needs to be educated about vaccine in order to make a truly informed decision.

Did you know that Before vaccines were invented lots of parents were surprised at the thought that future generations would be able to protect their children from many of the most serious childhood infections and diseases? After all, there was a time when diphtheria was one of the most feared childhood diseases, claiming more than 10,000 lives a year in the United States during the 1920s. But to this day some parents do not want their children to be exposed to the type of chemicals that the vaccines have. Vaccines were invented to decrease the number of children and adults from dying from the deadly disease. These vaccines have saved so many lives from the day when Edward Jenner invented a method to protect against smallpox in 1796 until this

21st century contains lots and lots of diseases that some people can’t be protected from. But with the right vaccination lots of people lives can be saved. If an unvaccinated child gets exposed the child's body might not be able to fight off the disease; before vaccinations children died from diseases that vaccines now protect. Vaccines help reduce the risk of infection by working with the body’s to immunity. Vaccines are what the disease itself is apart of;l it’s like having the disease but only a portion of it inside of your body. This happens so that your body is familiar to the disease itself, and this helps the immune system fight off the disease when you come in contact with it. Example( Flu) it occurs during the cold half of the year;

Vaccinations have been proven safe for consumer use time and time again, yet people are still wary or hesitant to have their children receive vaccinations. Often times, people who argue against vaccinations are undereducated or miseducated about the real advantages and dangers of vaccinations, and many times these concerns are due to widely spread misconceptions. However, these have been proven wrong by a plethora of reputable pharmaceutical companies. Proven by many , vaccinations prevent epidemics, save money for the nation, and protect the future.

According to the World Health Organization, immunizations currently prevent between two to three million deaths every single year among all age groups. Vaccinations are one of the most cost-effective and successful public health interventions. As human beings, our natural instincts are to survive. If vaccinations have the ability to increase one’s probability of survival and overall quality of life, then why are some individuals choosing to not vaccinate themselves or their children? Their decision may be linked to the false, misleading information that is linked to vaccinations. A few decades ago, vaccinations were assumed to be a normal part of childhood, along with learning how to ride a bike and tie shoes. However, recently some parents have decided to not vaccinate their children. While the group of parents that choose to not vaccinate their children may be small, they put a significant amount of the population at risk while furthermore having a significant impact on public health. Many states in the America have regulations and rules regarding vaccinations, however, rules and regulations tend to vary by state which makes it difficult to abolish certain diseases. In order to eliminate deadly-life threatening diseases, parents need to be informed and educated on vaccinations. Vaccinations are a crucial element needed to guarantee public health and safety.