Childhood Vaccination Background

Children come into the world defenseless and vulnerable. The lifelong health of a child begins with what type of defense can be built up. Childhood vaccine schedules are the first step in healthcare for children. A vaccine schedule is a calendar with a combination of vaccines at set intervals and ages for children to receive from birth to six years old *******. The recommended combination of vaccines on the schedule minimizes the amount of times a child needs to get vaccines. Maximizing the number of vaccines a child receives at a time guarantees by school age, the child will meet requirements for enrolling in school. The childhood vaccination schedule was created to be beneficial for children.

Many infectious diseases that once quickly spread and easily killed have been controlled or eradicated due to vaccinations. The efficacy of vaccines in reducing morbidity and mortality, particularly in children, is undeniable. Per the World Health Organization, childhood vaccinations prevent approximately 2-3 million deaths per year worldwide (WHO, 2016). In the United States, the value of immunizations is clearly displayed by comparing pre-vaccine era morbidity/mortality rates to post-vaccine era in regards to vaccine-preventable diseases. For example, prior to the diphtheria vaccine in the 1920’s, 206,000 people annually contracted the disease resulting in 15,520 deaths (History of Vaccines, 2009). However, between 2004 and 2014, only

Throughout history people have seen many public health innovations. Numerous advancements were made between 2001 and 2010. These advancements include “tobacco control, motor vehicle safety, public health preparedness and response, and occupational safety.” (Ten Great Public Health Achievements --- United States, 2001—2010) One of the most important innovations was vaccine preventable diseases. Many people believe that it is right for the government to necessitate children to be vaccinated. Others think it is wrong and that the parents should decide what is best for their children’s health. It is beneficial for the United States government to require young children in the United States to get vaccinations including hepatitis A and B,

People in the United States are urged from day one that vaccinations are important for the well being of their children and for everyone that your child may come in contact with. Recently, childhood vaccinations have been stigmatized as a negative process. Parents have become increasingly concerned about the effects and side effects of vaccinations. The problem being, that the infectious diseases that are being prevented for, are being forgotten about. Vaccinations have been doing their job in protecting us for so long that the infectious diseases are less scary than vaccination process itself (Austvoll-Dahlgren & Helseth, 2012, p. 271). Vaccinations are a preventative measure and one that will continue to be implemented in children for their individual safety and for the safety of the public. However, it is still the families’ choice whether or not they want to proceed with the vaccination process or not. Most vaccinations are going to be administered by a registered nurse, therefore, it is the role of the nurse to supply information, and answer questions when counseling families through this process. The goal is to make people feel as comfortable and as informed as possible so that they can make a decision on whether to submit to the vaccination process or not.

The start of the vaccine was the year 1855 when the smallpox vaccines were mandatory for the school children. The state of Massachusetts passed the first U.S. law, mandating vaccination for the school children. This practice continues still today. Now in this modern age that the newborn baby receives 49 vaccines by the age of 6. Indeed, vaccines have saved a number of lives until today. This is one of the best action taken place for humanity. Moreover, the majority population doesn’t recognize in general that vaccines have toxins in them. For this reason, a certain population gets side effects through receiving vaccines. According to CDC data, there are about 30,000 cases of adverse reactions per year in 2015. The stories of those individuals injured by vaccines are incredibly moving. Accordingly, we need to take a look closer to this issue of our society.

Would you ever take away a prime defense from your child? Some parents are doing so without even knowing it. Per Glanz and Daley, “Last year 10 children died in California in the worst whooping cough outbreak to sweep the state since 1947.” (Daley, Glanz, N.p.) These are illnesses that are preventable with vaccinations. Childhood vaccinations are key for the protection of children, the people around them and the prevention of widespread disease.

Vaccinations were once part of every childhood in America, helping to drastically reduce our risk of acquiring diseases like diphtheria, measles, polio and whooping cough, though organizations like the Vaccine Resistance Movement are working hard to change this reality.

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

For years, universal childhood vaccinations have been a deliberated and debated topic among much of the population. Those who are in support of vaccination, including healthcare providers, believe that vaccinations are not only in the best interest of each child’s health, but also in the best interest of the public’s health as a whole. Many vaccine supporters also believe that the benefit of vaccinations outweigh the risks associated with them (Song, 2014, p. 542). Those who are not in support of vaccinations, or display hesitancy regarding them, may not perceive the continuing need for them or may decline them for various other reasons. Anti-vaccinators are also typically concerned with the safety of vaccinations and believe that the risks associated with them may be greater than their benefit (Song, 2014, p. 542). This paper will focus on discussing some of the ethical issues arising from childhood vaccinations, it will apply ethical principles such as autonomy and beneficence to the issue, and it will explore the role of the nursing profession and ethical standards by which they abide.

There is a division in the medical community about the benefits of getting vaccinated against the flu. Some medical professionals insist that vaccination against the flu can decrease death by fifty percent, while others provide evidence against such a claim. It is difficult to determine how many people die from the flu, who has the flu, and which strain of the flu someone has. There are over 200 viruses that cause flu like systems. In reality, researchers believe that only 7 or 8 percent of cases of people actually contract the flu that report systems associated with the flu such as, headache, fever, coughing, etc. The flu can mutate very quickly causing the virus to differ every flu season if only slightly. Thus, members of the World Health

When it comes to vaccinations, people should be more educated on the positives of those vaccinations. Pregnant mothers in their second trimester of pregnancy were evaluated on their perception of vaccines. People who believed in giving their child all the vaccines, known as accepters, knew most if not all about the importance of getting the vaccine. They believed that it was effective, safe, and valuable to get the childhood vaccinations. However, some pregnant women weren’t so educated when it came to how the vaccines could protect their children. So a lot of the women didn’t know how much these vaccinations protected us. I believe when it comes to improving or preventing the transmission of disease, people should be more informed or educated

My heart breaks in pieces when I witness my aunt taking care of her autistic child. I can only imagine how difficult it is for her to see her child like that every day that can’t communicate with others, that doesn’t socialize with his peers, can’t eat by himself, still plays with toys ages 0 to 5 when he is 15 years of age. It is more difficult to explain to her second son, why is his older brother acting certain ways. Her first child started to develop serious symptoms of autism right after MMR vaccine and that put her second child at very high risk. Is children vaccination even necessary? Do children really need vaccines? Is autism linked to vaccination? Question regardless vaccination of a child has been controversy for centuries. The role of childhood vaccination in prevention of diseases in the population is still very open subject of debate. In addition, the prospect of expanding vaccination programs to include healthy children has received increased attention in the past few years. Based on the researched studies I formed an opinion that children vaccination save lives, protect against serious disabilities, reduce suffering for children and their families who deal with low immune system and are sick a lot. Studies also show that vaccination does not cause autism.

There is an extensive list of all the vaccines, what diseases they prevent and the symptoms and complications that are associated with these diseases. By receiving this information alone can convince a person to have their child vaccinated.  Below is listed the vaccines and what the disease can cause according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for Vaccines and Immunizations:

Vaccination rates in the United States have suffered declines in recent years due largely to parents' fears about possible effects on their children. This has led to a resurgence in children's diseases that had been suppressed through decades of high vaccination rates. Childhood immunizations are beneficial because they prevent the acquisition and spread of dangerous infectious diseases, they protect immunocompromised children that cannot otherwise be vaccinated (such as those with autoimmune issues), and the benefits far outweigh any perceived risks. In January 2015, the CDC reported an outbreak of measles in that was 99% preventable, and which continues to spread.

The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) provides current data regarding the percentage of fully immunised children at ages 12, 24 and 60 months. This data is collected from the latest quarterly report on childhood immunisation coverage for September 2014, December 2014, March 2015 and June 2015. The percentage of children fully immunised at 12 months, 24 months and 60 months in Australia are 91.32%, 89.16% and 92.25% respectively (ACIR 2015). The overall coverage rate for these ages combined is 90.91%.