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
In the late 1800s disease such as the measles, chicken pox, typhoid, and fever were deemed incurable because no vaccines were available, but thanks to the advance of technology vaccines came to existence helping eliminate the effects of these disease. People who were infected with one of the listed diseases above has a low survival rate because there were no vaccines help eliminate and deter harmful disease from enhancing harm to the human body. Vaccines have also helped stop the spread of viruses that can cause serious health problems if not dealt with in a timely manner.
Abstract evolution has occurred in humans for millions of years; however, in a modern society many scientists and evolutionists are now debating whether or not it is still occurring, and if it follows the same rules. With all of the new technology humans have created, some experts believe that humans have essentially conquered nature, and no further evolutionary changes will occur. Still, others hold opposing views; some experts believe that evolution is still occurring, but modern societal advancements have changed the rules. These experts say that the changes in evolution are a result of recent medical advancements that allow doctors to perpetuate genes that would not have lasted years ago. Additionally, others maintain that evolution is
Despite significant progress in the fight against preventable disease, millions still die needlessly each year. According to UNICEF, originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, a vaccine preventable disease is responsible for 2 million fatal infections worldwide each year. About 75% of these deaths occur in children under five years of age. (N) In more vivid terms, UNICEF notes that vaccine-preventable diseases kill a child every 20 seconds. (D) Due to high rates of childhood vaccination, the United States has experienced a dramatic reduction in such deaths. A comparison of the years 1950 and 2010 clearly illustrates the benefits of vaccinations. During this 60-year period, deaths from diphtheria reduced from 410 to 0, tetanus from 336 to 3, pertussis from 1,118 to 26, and polio from 1,904 to 0. Measles deaths dropped from 468 in 1950 to 0 in 2008, the last year a United States death rate was recorded. It’s not surprising that vaccinations have been touted as one of the top ten health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Vaccines have had an undeniably positive impact on society, and are considered to be one of the most effective ways of protecting oneself and others from harmful diseases. Due to vaccinations, smallpox has been officially eradicated since 1980 and polio has been reduced to scarce singular incidents (Bt.cdc.gov, 2007; Immunise.health.gov.au, 2015). Similarly measles has been eliminated within Australia since 2014, however the
Vaccines have the potential to eradicate diseases. Vaccines completely destroyed smallpox in the United States. The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1948. The author quotes the UNICEF who states, “There were 500 cases of polio in 2014 worldwide, down from 350,000
Should the United States Make All Vaccines Mandatory? Since vaccines were invented 1924, vaccinations have prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Welch, 2014, ¶10).
One of the greatest achievements of public health is that of vaccinations (Dubé et al., 2013).
However, we must understand that only one disease - smallpox – has been completely erased from this planet. “From around the world in 2011 there was around 350,000 cases of measles, with outbreaks in the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and Europe." With this ever-growing sense of safety, small groups of anti-vaccine have begun to sprout and even our very own president has refused vaccines. Even though it may seem as though we are safe from the vaccine-preventable diseases, if we become too vulnerable due to no vaccinations there is a chance that a case that will start an outbreak of some disease that is now under control is just a plane ride
“Before there was a vaccine for diphtheria in the 1930s, for example the disease infected about 21,000 people in the United States each year, killing 1,800. By 2006 both numbers were zero” (Bailey). “Polio also went from deadly (16,000 cases, 1,900 deaths) to non-existent after vaccines were rolled out in the 1950s and 1960s” (Bailey). “Another example is chickenpox, which used to infect about 4 million kids a year, hospitalize 11,000 and kill 105, and within a decade of after the vaccines came out in the mid-1990s, infections had dropped to 600,000 resulting in 1,276 hospitalizations and 19 deaths” (Bailey). It is a very simple fact that vaccines are the most effective tool yet invented for preventing contagious airborne diseases (Bailey). As shown in studies all these diseases that
For many years ago, children had suffered deadly diseases. Diseases like rubella, measles, diphtheria, smallpox, whooping cough and polio were to a certain point in time, deemed incurable. Since the evolution of vaccines, these diseases have been largely prevented, and many children’s lives were saved.
In a recent analysis, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in the United States, the vaccination of children between 1994 and 2013 will prevent over 300 million illnesses and save approximately $1.4 trillion in future societal costs ("Should Any Vaccines", 2015). For this reason,
The Vaccination Controversy in Ohio According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, a vaccine is defined as “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting that person from disease” (“Immunization”, 2017). Children begin the vaccination process at birth and continue
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
Vaccines • Vaccines are “one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine” • In developed nations, vaccines have almost exterminated polio and smallpox and tightly controlled diseases like hepatitis A and B or typhus