This paper explores the benefits and risks of recommended child immunizations. The potential risks involve health outcomes but not limited to asthma, learning disorders, seizures, and autism. Even with extensive research, there has been question on whether enough resEarch has gone into addressing the long term outcomes and the entire immunization schedule. Engaging parents in the stages of development is crucial to address any concerns about the childhood vaccines. The process of development of these vaccines have undergone years of approval and improvements. Parents need to understand how much time and effort has gone into developing these vaccines. By closing the gap of confusion and questions, parents can feel more secure in their decision to immunize their children.
Introduction/Problem Statement
Over the past few decades, immunizations have saved more than a billion lives and prevented countless illnesses and disabilities in the United States. Vaccine-preventable diseases are still a threat today. These diseases can be passed on to those who are not protected by vaccines, resulting in hospitalizations and deaths every year (Common, 2015). But there is still a small number of people who continue to fight mandatory immunizations, and refuse to abide by the immunization schedule. It has been shown that refusing to follow vaccine protocols can result in disease outbreaks such as the December 2014 measles outbreak that began at Disneyland (Koch, 2000). Even though in
Childhood vaccinations have not been a topic of controversy until recent times. Due to the recent outbreaks of diseases that were thought to be eliminated, people are now investigating vaccinations. State representatives and Congressional people have even gotten on the bandwagon to emphasize the importance of vaccinations. Many states already require children to be vaccinated before entering school, but states allow religious, medical, or personal exemptions. Getting rid of these exemptions would be beneficial to not only parents and children, but also to members of society. Having children vaccinated at a young age when the immune system can respond correctly to vaccines will benefit the future health of children. Children are more at danger at a younger age to catch infectious diseases. Vaccines are a safe way to prevent the child from getting sick. “Proponents say that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century”
Furthermore, there are beneficial reasons for embracing vaccinations for one’s children. Children are especially vulnerable to disease because their immune systems have not yet developed, and getting a serious illness can have
In recent years there has been a movement against giving vaccines to children, that now has nearly 40% of parents in the United States following along. But it is due to these vaccines that most children today have never experienced diseases such as polio or the measles such as their grandparents have. Since they have not seen these diseases, parents feel it is unnecessary to vaccinate them for fear of developing the possible side effects or because of reports they cause autism. However, these vaccines are critical for eradicating these deadly infectious diseases, and are vitally needed to keep them under control. Which makes it absolutely necessary that children who wish to attend school have mandatory vaccinations against diseases such as polio and measles, without exception. Therefor this paper will show the benefits of getting vaccinated far out weigh the risks such as potentially saving your child 's life, protecting your families, and saving your family time and money from enduring prolonged hospital stays. That the risks of getting the diseases such disfigurement, paralysis, even death, or the very serious threat posed to people with medical exemptions like those who are immunocompromised are worse than the side effects of the vaccines. And yes, vaccines do have side effects, but not one of them is autism, and there is ample scientific evidence to back it up. It is vital to everyone that the current laws for mandatory vaccination of school age
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Parents with infants and young children have been tussling with this proverbial question for several decades now. With the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web, parents have been bombarded with a plethora of information about pros and cons of vaccines from all kinds of sources, some creditable, and some are not. To the non-scientific community, these conflicting information can create problems in the decision making process; thus, forcing parents to make the wrong choices and putting their offspring and others at risk. However, this article will attempt to address the importance of vaccinations, how vaccines work, why we should vaccinate, and why parents should not be afraid to vaccinate their offspring.
The issues of vaccination controversy is about parents making the choice for their children whether it’s the best for them to associate with the medical procedure. Today every child born are expected to receive with some 30 vaccines by the age of 18 months and and also by the age of five years old with the total up to 38 shots. Even though the parents are unaware that the vaccines can contain ingredients that are safe in the amounts used, but some of the ingredients may be harmful. Some parents might second guess themselves by thinking about the certainty of side effects caused by the vaccine.
Being a parent is a never ending full time job. Constantly on the run, doing laundry, making food, and wiping snotty noses, you are faced with decisions to make for your child every day. One of those important decisions is whether or not to vaccinate your child. In today’s society this has become a tough choice to make as negative light has been casted upon vaccinations and their safety. False allegations of vaccines causing Autism have led parents from vaccinating their children, but research has proven that vaccinations are not the cause of Autism and parents should continue to vaccinate for the safety of their child as well as society.
Often debated, with strong convictions on each side, timely immunizations for children do more good then harm. Over the last few years, a phenomenon has come to our door steps. It used to be that all parents would immunize their children, without fail, because doctors told them to. In the past, the only non-immunized children were the children with health deficiencies. These children depended on the “herd” mentality. However, times are changing and parents are choosing to not immunize their children mainly based on these reasons: the possibility of them getting autism, parental lack of education about immunizations and lastly they believe that the illnesses that children are being immunized against are gone and immunizations are no longer needed.
Millions of lives have been saved thanks to a global effort to vaccinate for deadly diseases. Peter Yeo reports “Immunizations have saved more children than any other medical intervention in the last 50 years” (Reforming the U.N. 118). Yet, a new trend for parents is opting out of vaccinating their children for personal beliefs or religious exemptions. Although, the majority of Americans believe vaccines protect children, and conclusive evidence has proven vaccines can prevent the spread of deadly diseases. Still, a few parents believe vaccinating children is not essential for their health, additionally, they believe an increase in mandatory vaccines has insufficient scientific research to prevent serious medical side effects.
More than 10 million vaccines per year are given to children who are less than one-year-old, usually between 2 and 6 months of age. At this age, infants are at greater risk for certain So many infants have suffered a lot of problems from getting different injection because of their age (“VAERS Data”). Other parents, in general, would say all children should have their vaccines because neither one would want to catch any diseases that are spreading around. Most would say that all parents should make sure their children are vaccinated because a lot of children are dying of preventable diseases, and they cannot go to school, travel and it does not cause autism.
The first major concern parents have when it comes to childhood vaccinations is that of the health and safety of their children. Some parents
Most people hear the word “measles” and think of pictures in their pediatrician’s office, or vague images of a disease their parents described after explaining why they had to get a shot. Most people do not think of Disneyland, December 2014, or 100 people in the western United States coming down with the disease in early 2015. After the outbreaks in 2015, vaccination became a huge national debate, with “anti-vaxxers” arguing that vaccines can cause autism, and are a personal choice. The outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease shows one thing, however: that vaccines should be mandatory, because they protect everyone through herd immunity, many diseases are preventable through vaccines, and the objections people cite on a day-to-day basis against vaccines have little to do with the actual life-saving and life-protecting value that they have.
The importance of vaccines for children has a large impact on healthcare and my future practice. Therefore knowing what programs are available is critical to increasing the vaccine rates. Over the decades, there have been devastating consequences resulting from preventable communicable diseases as well as programs and strategies to assist in increasing the immunization rates. This paper will explain and critique the program called “Vaccines For Children”. This paper will also include how I will adapt this program in my future pediatric practice.
In ignoring the recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there has been increase in outbreaks, which can be linked to vaccine refusal (Phadke, Bednarczyk, Salmon, Omer, 2016). In Table 1. of the article Association Between Vaccine Refusal and Vaccine-Preventable Disease in the United States, it clearly demonstrates that more cases of measles were found with those who were unvaccinated against measles. From 2000 to 2015 there were a reported 1416 cases of measles and of those 804 were unvaccinated against measles.
Now, many once-forgotten diseases are reappearing. TIME Magazine reported that “In 2014, the U.S. experienced a major outbreak of measles that totaled 383 cases and was primarily spreading among an unvaccinated Amish community in Ohio.” (Measles Outbreak) The number of cases of these diseases is going up when it can be easily prevented. Worldwide, “Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.” (World Health
Since this vaccine debate, “about 40 percent of American parents today has chosen to delay certain vaccines or outright refuse to allow their children’s physicians to vaccinate their children with one or more of the recommended or mandated vaccines” (Largent). As the rates of being vaccinated go down, it is putting not only that child in danger but also the whole community. Diseases that were once gone are on the rise.” A 2013 study published in the journal Pediatrics reports that California’s worst whooping-cough outbreak, which infected more than 9,000 people (Rothstein)”. Also “the CDC reports that from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2014, 54 people in the U.S. have reported being infected with measles” (Sifferlin).