Child Vaccination Essay

The argument encompassing whether or not parents should vaccinate their children is ongoing. It is a very interesting matter to learn about and I possess some strong feelings about the case. This issue interests me because there are parents who don’t have their children vaccinated, and there are parents who do have them vaccinated. But all these parents share one particular quality: they all would like for their kids to be safe.

Thesis statement: Research suggests that childhood vaccines should be mandated because vaccines protect you and others you care for against unnecessary exposure to diseases and vaccines are safe.

Death by diseases that can be prevented with the use of childhood vaccinations is becoming more prominent in our society today. With infant and toddler vaccinations being around for centuries this should not be so prominent in today’s society. Childhood vaccinations should be a necessity for all children because they not only protect the child that receives the vaccination but also the children that can’t receive the vaccination for heath and age restrictions. Throughout my research I have found these five articles to be the most helpful to prove my argument in my research paper, “Vaccination greatly reduces disease, disability, death and inequity worldwide”, “Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?”, “Immunization in the United States: Recommendations, Barriers, and Measures to Improve Compliance”, “Vaccination: The Best Return on Investment”, and “Vaccinations and childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of observational studies”. With two of the sources being popular articles and three of them being scholarly academic journals the credibility of each source differs. The article titled “Immunization in the United States: Recommendations, Barriers, and Measures to Improve Compliance” is proven to be more credible because it’s use of evidence and logos.

Parents are bombarded with information when it comes to their children and their children’s health and it happens the moment they are born. One main question they face off the bat is whether to immunize or not. For children ages 0-18, the CDC recommends vaccinations against 16 diseases, many of which could result in devastating illnesses and even death. Several injections coupled with several possibilities of severe reactions, pain, irritation, itching, ect. But through extensive, heavily monitored research and effectiveness, and evidence-based science illustrating the improvements and protection of the community it is clear that their benefits outweigh their risks. This paper will outline why the decision to immunize is one less

It is very important for healthcare providers to be educated on the safety concern of vaccination. Proper protocols must be taken through evidence-based research on the issue of vaccination and the risk factors that can allow stakeholders better implementation on laws that can be beneficial to parents. The stakeholder’s in the healthcare field such as patients, healthcare providers, insurance companies, organizations, and those who enforce policy main concern are the safety of these patients. The decisions most of these stakeholders make can either benefit patients or affect them. For example, the consequences parents have if their child is not vaccinated. The mandatory law of children who are not vaccinated cannot enrolled in school is unfair to parents. I believe parents should not be penalized or forced for their child to be vaccinated. If all stakeholders can reunite through evidence based research on the topic of vaccinations risk concern it can cause a positive impact on parents and alternative ways children can prevent the side

“In 2011 alone, 1.5 million children died [worldwide] from diseases preventable by currently recommended vaccines” (“Immunization” 2). The magnitude of this tragedy is in part caused by the fact that some of those children simply weren’t reached by organizations like UNICEF, which aim to vaccinate children (“Immunization” 2). However, there are other reasons for the recent deaths and epidemics—such as the whooping cough epidemic of 2012, with 48,000 cases nationally in the United States—involving vaccine preventable diseases (McClay 1).

While this paper will mainly focus on the pros of vaccinations, they are some cons or arguments against children being immunized against vaccine preventable diseases. One of the arguments

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.

The first question we need to examine is why should vaccinations be required? There are strong beliefs that children should be vaccinated surrounding public health and mortality. In the article, Understanding Public Perceptions of

This topic is extremely significant to my audience because a growing number of parents do not vaccinate their children due to fear of side effects. Parents today have lost confidence in in the vaccination industry as a consequence of sensationalism brought about by false evidence published and the celebrities that latched onto that claim. Sadly, some people have taken to considering the strong opinions and may not research vaccinations before making decisions

“Prevention is better than cure.” This common statement could not relate any better than it does with the controversy surrounding the morality, effectiveness, and safety of childhood immunizations. The major argument is whether or not laws should be established to declare vaccination mandatory for all children. “The US food and Drug administration (FDA) regulates all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness,” (ProCon.org, 2012) therefor there should not be any reason to risk the health of any child. Vaccinating our children not only ensures their safety but also that of their future to come.

In this area of study related to Childhood Vaccination, we will discuss about the major and key stakeholders. These major stakeholders, those influencing and shaping the debate are; Government and Legislators (Policy Makers), Parents, NGO’s and Lobby Groups. We can also find some least influential stakeholders which do not have as such influence on this issue but they are the one who are most “affected by” group in term of the issue is concerned. These are New-Parents/Future Parents and Children. In this part, we will try to find out the perspective of major stakeholders, their agreement and disagreement as far as issue is concerned, and also, is there any interaction between those stakeholder exist or not?

Frequent vaccination has protected the unimmunized population throw the herd immunity resulting in lower childhood death rate and morbidity in the global population. However, parental trust in the safety and efficacy of the immunization programmes has been eroded by the various contradictory reports that emphasise the side effects of immunization and are ongoing barriers in accessing immunization hugely affect vaccination accomplishments. Vaccination is evidently identified as a greatest means of controlling infectious disease and it will continue to be the essential tool in controlling infection. Clearly, there is no doubt that immunization has hugely reduced the incidence and mortality of infection diseases in global context and should be continued and expanded until this disease have been eliminated completely. Therefore, future research must evaluate the claims against vaccination as quickly as possible to allay doubt spreading and policy makers should create new vaccination schedules which present evidence based statements regarding the safety and importance of

The pros and cons of children immunization is my topic because being in the medical field it is my duty and responsibility to educate parents about the vaccinations which child is receiving and be able to explain to the parents what the vaccination is for and how to protect their child from illness or deadly diseases. According to MedlinePlus website the meaning of immunization (vaccination) is a way to trigger your immune system and prevent serious, life threatening diseases.17

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