I Am Doing A Research Paper On The Controversy Surrounding Vaccines

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.

Recently an anti-vaccination movement has sparked a worldwide discussion about both the safety of vaccines and the responsibility of people to vaccinate. Recent outbreaks of preventable diseases have caused both fear and anger from people on both sides of the issue. These same outbreaks have also served to cause significant political tension between those against vaccines, who do not want their right to choose compromised, and many proponents of vaccines, who are calling for mandatory vaccinations.

Many people put their views on vaccinating in blog posts, in newspapers, on the radio, and talk shows throughout the country; where there are several diverse groups that take a stance on this topic, parents, students, the medical community, and lastly educators all holding various positions. Why people might be interested in this question now is because they may have children and do not know all the facts and history about vaccines, or since the issue has been televised regularly, the topic has caught their attention. Constraints people may have with this issue could be some are being misinformed of the ingredients or components in some of the vaccines. Also, people may not understand how these components may or may not cause harm to someone over time. As well as parents not understanding the diseases that were eradicated by vaccines. The recent measles outbreaks has many interested in the question now; history of the vaccine issue has been an ongoing topic for many years, but most parents have not questioned vaccines until recently. The issue has changed over time since people have become more intrigued to know what chemicals or other ingredients are in vaccines, how effective they really are, and if they are safe enough to distribute to children. Not to mention, the childhood diseases in question

This paper was written for MLS 500: Graduate Research and Writing taught by Dr. Kyla Hammond

According to American historian, David Oshinsky of the Wall Street Journal, “the controversy over vaccines is as old as the vaccination itself.” While both sides of the immunization controversy have gathered ample sources backing their claims throughout the duration of this controversy, the validity of the two sides couldn’t contrast more. The pro-vaccine advocates provide factual information supported by scientific research, while the anti-vaccine advocates make bold sensational statements that attempt to place blame for various diseases and genetic disorders on vaccines, while failing to support to any such claims with scientific evidence and instead substituting this with hearsay from media outlets and non-reputable sources. Regardless

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,

Illnesses and diseases continue to develop and spread constantly throughout the world. These harmful viruses have always had a huge impact on humanity. Viruses caused many deaths and outbreaks in the past and present because viruses can be passed on easily. Luckily today there is a way to prevent the spread of these viruses, which is vaccines. Vaccines are used to provide immunity against diseases. Once vaccines were introduced there were a lot of speculations and assumptions. There are many people who are for and against vaccines, but today there are many health professional, experts, doctors, and parents who believe that vaccination is a lifesaver. Vaccination is a controversial topic for many parents and guardians of children. Vaccines

The controversy over vaccination has two sides, the one side believes that vaccines are a crucial part in saving lives. The other side, believes that vaccination do more harm then good. This controversy over vaccination has been going on since the introduction of vaccine. Vaccines were introduced to the medical community in the 1800’s by a physician named Edward Jenner. The controversy really started with the Vaccination Act of 1840, which made vaccines free for the poor. In 1853 the Compulsory vaccination Act was passed, that made all infants under three months of life, and if not done you were to pay a fine. The anti-vaccination league challenged the law, because they felt that the compulsory vaccination act challenged there basic rights

When one is given a vaccine, he or she is being injected with a killed microbe to train his or her immune system to be able to fight it off, in hopes to prevent a future disease. Whether or not to vaccinate one’s child has been a controversy through the years, because some vaccines have had unplanned side effects. These unplanned side effects have caused parents to be skeptical on whether or not to vaccinate their child, despite getting vaccines can possibly prevent a fatal disease. Many questions have risen from this practice of vaccination, in which Dr. William C. Douglass attempts to answer in his article, “How To Win the Vaccine Argument Every Single Time”. Although William C. Douglass provides decent arguments

Vaccine are a common topic in todays society, they are used in the medical field everyday and most people have had vaccines. Vaccines are used to prevent specific illnesses that the immune system might not be able to handle if not vaccinated. Most people assume that they are safe, and that they should be used by everyone, but is that really the case? There currently exists a debate over the safety of vaccines, and the possible dangers that they might pose. The debate consists of two sides, the Pro-Vaccine group, and the Anti-Vaccine group. The Pro-Vaccine group believes that vaccines are a good thing, and that we should use them. The Anti-Vaccine group believes that vaccines are a bad thing, and that we should not use them. Each group has their fair share of good points. In the standpoint of who’s winning that could go to the Pro-Vaccine group, they currently have more support in society and most people believe that vaccines are safe. But number do not always mean something is right, the Anti-Vaccine group can not be discredited just because they have less support. The Anti-Vaccine group has their fair share of valid points on the issue. The middle ground in-between these two sides is pretty clear, the option to opt-out of vaccines that might be mandatory, while would be a big win for the Anti-Vaccine group it still has yet to happen. The best solution would be to make vaccines mandatory in a way

Before this debate, I never really thought about what these companies were gaining and losing by producing and selling these vaccines. For me this perspective vastly altered my perception of the importance of vaccinations/immunizations. The only pro idea that had any value to me was how much money people and in the end society saved in medical expenses by vaccinating. The students that represented pharmaceutical companies against vaccinations indicated a variety of great justifications. A few that I found insightful were: 1) over time it has become less profitable for pharma companies to produce and sell vaccines, 2) they make more money from selling drugs compared to vaccines, and lastly 3) the negative impact of adverse events from vaccines on companies image a great which can hurt them when trying to sell the other things their company sells. After listening to those ideas, I was now truly stuck in the middle about the importance of

Vaccines. Should they elicit a sense of safety, or fear? Vaccinations used to be supported by a majority of the population and served as the main fighting agent against illnesses. However, within the past few years, this ideology has begun to change as more individuals have begun to voice their concerns about vaccinations. As opposed to recognizing the harmful diseases vaccinations counter, people are stringing together possible harmful effects of vaccinations. Specifically, they believe different components of vaccinations have the potential to cause disabilities such as autism. These “anti-vaxxers” continue to spread this rhetoric, gaining momentum for their cause by using fear tactics, paranoia, and refusing to acknowledge the scientific

Living in an environment where we are prone to many viruses, it’s very important that one take the proper precautions or considerations to control the risk of getting affected. However, when utilizing the ability of not becoming infected, one may question the fact weather there’s an actual effective form of prevention or not. To clarify the uncertainty, over many years one of the most strategic methods that have been used for the control and preventions of viruses are vaccinations. A vaccination takes advantage of one’s body natural ability to primarily learn how to eliminate almost any disease causing germ or microbe that affects it. Therefore vaccinations are considered one of the most effective ways to prevent severe outcomes initiated by viruses.

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.

Vaccines has become a big part of society and have been developing over the years, and with that development comes doubt. Over the years more and more people have been fighting vaccines. So some questions that come up while researching vaccines are how vaccines are different from personal health decisions, who should be allowed to make decisions about vaccines also should parents be allowed to refuse them and what information do you need to know about a mandatory vaccine before making an decision.