When talking about immunity, most people would relate it to a characteristic of a superhero. However, when you are talking about vaccines, immunity is the more relatable definition itself. When germs enter your body, they start to reproduce. The body’s natural defense mechanism is to create antibodies to help fight off the infection. The antibodies primary job is to attack and destroy the foreign invader that is making its host ill. The antibodies secondary task is to bolster the body’s defense capabilities from future infection. From experience, the antibodies build up a tolerance against that specific germ. What if there was a way you could build up that tolerance without experiencing the illness first? Enter vaccines! Vaccines purpose is …show more content…
Stories of holistic approaches such as drinking snake venom to gain immunity from snake bites have been heard for years. The first successfully documented vaccine was Edwards Jenner’s smallpox vaccine that was established in the 1790s (Stern & Markel, 2005). For a vaccine to become successful, the vaccine must undergo a specific creation process and mandatory testing to be distributed to the public. There are many approaches to creating a vaccine for a virus. The most common one is weakening the virus. By doing this, it prevents the virus from producing effectively in the body. Viruses typically cause diseases by reproducing in the body, so limiting this factor is key in assisting the body to fight off a potential infection (Plotkin, 2014). Another common approach would be inactivating the virus in general. Simply killing the virus with a chemical renders it ineffective. By killing the virus, it cannot reproduce and cause disease within the …show more content…
In 2014, the CDC reported an unusual increase in measles outbreaks. The origin of the virus was later pinpointed to Disneyland, however, most of the patients that became ill were unvaccinated or had an undocumented vaccination history. Some people claim that vaccines are directly related to causing autism and other serious side effects. Studies have shown this is not the case. The CDC (2014) claims that “A vaccine, like any medicine, could cause a serious reaction. But the risk of a vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small.” Like any type of medication, some patients have been exposed to more serious side effects but this is very
Although the negative claims behind anti-immunization stances are deceptive and discredited, some parents find it difficult to accept that vaccines are necessary and safe. Many of these reasons are due to personal or religious beliefs that have persuaded parents to bypass immunizations for their children. Consequently, health officials are seeing disquieting rises of diseases that are easily preventable. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported hundreds of measles cases in the United States in 2011, the largest number in 15 years (Ben-Joseph, Elana). Essentially, almost all of these cases were in individuals who had not received a vaccine shot. Also found in the article was that a great amount of the quarrel over the shots comes from a 1998 study that tried to connect autism to a type of vaccine that defends against measles. However, there has been no scientific evidence that a vaccine or a combination of any of the shots induces autism. Undoubtedly, the doctor that wrote the article, calling vaccines a “deliberate fraud” ,lost his license for not submitting any evidence of his claim and causing people to neglect shots for that year. Sadly, due to that article, 1 in 4 parents still believe that vaccines are
On the pro-vaccination site entitled, Why Vaccinate, they detail a situation that is a true story depicting a breakout of measles in Minnesota. In 2011, an unvaccinated toddler traveled to Kenya for a family vacation. Upon their arrival home the child now, unknowingly infected with the measles virus, not only infects another adult family member, but also attends a day care shortly after returning home. One day after attending the day care the child broke out into a rash and had unknowingly infected 3 more children at her daycare, these children went home and 2 more adults became infected. The adult family member that was infected spread the virus to 2 emergency medical professionals; the medical professionals would respond to a call at a homeless shelter later and infect 4 of its member. Three more cases would pop up in the area with uncertainty of how they contracted the virus. It only took one child to infect 23 people and put 14 children in the hospital, this could have all been avoided had the child been given the proper vaccination (Pastuer, 2013).
Many believe the measles mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine triggers autism spectrum disorder in some children. Many Hollywood celebrities in the acting community that have birthed children that suffer from autism spectrum disorder have concluded that this is how their child developed autism. These celebrities being very vocal about this link between vaccinations and autism spectrum disorders and have in turn influenced the increase in many ordinary middle-class parents refraining from getting the medically recommended vaccinations for their children. The medical community has done extensive research on this theory. However, to this date no reliable study shows a link between autism spectrum disorder and the measles mumps-rubella vaccine. In fact, the medical community have continued to recommend childhood vaccinations and continue to emphasis the danger of a non vaccinated child catching and spreading serious diseases like whooping cough (pertussis), measles and mumps (Mayo Clinic, 2012).
But the most serious risks, such as severe allergic reactions, are rarer than the diseases vaccines protect against. Other people argue that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, in particular, might cause autism. The authors refute these ideas by saying that studies have shown that there is no link between the two. Their conclusion is “To counteract the fears and misperceptions associated with vaccine campaigns, the research community and governmental agencies need to be proactive with regard to continued vaccine education, guiding public perception with rigorous scientific research on vaccine safety and emphasizing the importance of vaccination in preventing unwanted and potentially lethal infectious
In recent years more and more parents have become misled by fallacious claims towards vaccinations which have caused for a decrease in childhood vaccinations for preventable diseases cause side effects such as autism and sudden infant death syndrome. The study that influenced many parents to not vaccinate their children was done by Andrew Wakefield, and his study claimed that vaccines such as Measles, Mumps, and
The topic of childhood vaccinations and the dangers that accompany them has been a topic of controversy in contemporary times. At the near edge of the twenty-first century, a man named Doctor Andrew Wakefield released a study which created a mass uproar in both parents and health professionals alike. Parents were panicked as to whether or not they should have their young child vaccinated (in fear of their acquiring autism), and health professionals fearful that the population percentage of people acquiring measles, mumps, or rubella (for it was the M.M.R. vaccination that the parents feared in particular) would rise to a number which would lead to a mass risk of disease. Despite Wakefields’ study, the truth persists in all types of experiments related to vaccination. Whether being tested in a replication of Wakefields’ study or in any other, vaccines have been proven to work at preventing disease and display no causation of autism.
In December of 2014, an outbreak of measles, which started in Disneyland, resulted in nearly two hundred people being sickened across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The highly contagious respiratory disease spread for three months. Among those who contracted the illness, one developed severe pneumonia and multiple organ injury, while another suffered acute respiratory distress syndrome. So, why did an illness, which was purportedly eliminated sixteen years ago, experience a surge so dramatic that it caused more cases in 2014 than in the five preceding years combined? According to the CDC, the outbreak could be boiled down to one simple reason: “The majority of people were unvaccinated.” So while the California measles outbreak is a thing of the past, the fight to increase compliance with vaccinations continues. Although the benefits and safety of vaccinations are undisputed by the medical and scientific community, there are still sizeable groups of “anti-vaxxers” who refuse to vaccinate their children. These groups spread misconceptions, sometimes unknowingly, and become even more influential when coupled with the power of the internet and social media. Therefore, in order to increase compliance with routine vaccinations, the misconceptions of parents should be targeted, and legislation should be changed in order to prevent leniency and loopholes regarding vaccine exemptions.
In 2011 an unvaccinated 2- year old was taken to Kenya and returned with Measles. Before he was diagnosed with Measles he was taken to a daycare center where he passed the virus on to 3 other children. The virus eventually spread to over 3,000 people in the state of Minnesota. His parents refused to vaccinate him because they were afraid that the vaccine would cause Autism. Many people, especially parents, argue that vaccines are still not safe because of the potential side effects. However, childhood vaccinations should be mandatory because there is no scientific proof of disorders or diseases caused by inoculation and it prevents the contraction of potentially deadly diseases.
Some of the most important things in life is our health and family. Individuals cherish their family and try to provide the best life afforded to them. When their family’s safety or health is in jeopardy, the individuals will try to protect and ensure the proper measures are taken to safeguard their recovery to a healthy state. When this effects the child, the parents will do anything to ensure these beliefs by any means necessary. This can be a productive attitude, but also can be destructive to the parent’s goal of maintaining the child’s safety and health. In addition, this also evokes ethical dilemmas in pediatric health care. One dilemma that has been on the rise in the last decade, is parents refuting vaccinations for their children from reports of a link to vaccines causing autism. From December 2014 to February 2015 a 110 individuals acquired measles associated to the Disney Land® theme park. During the outbreak, 49% of the victims were unvaccinated and the rest were in different stages in the MMR vaccination process (i.e., only received one to two doses) (Zipprich, J., Winter, K., Hacker, J., Xia, D., Watt, J., & Harriman, K., 2015).
One such factor helping to manifest these large-scale epidemics is a study from 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that there was a direct link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine (Smith 1). As a result, many parents refused to vaccinate their children out of fear, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles began reappearing more in both America and Britain, the place where Wakefield conducted his study (Cohen 2). Although a later investigation by the British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had distorted or altered the medical records of all twelve of the study’s participants and that he had been paid $674,000 USD by lawyers attempting to sue vaccine manufacturers, the atmosphere of apprehension surrounding vaccines is still strong among many individuals, and especially parents (Cohen 1-2). But despite all the controversy and the scientifically unsupported arguments of anti-vaccine sympathizers,
Vaccinations have been beneficial in eliminating diseases, such as smallpox, worldwide, and eliminating diseases like mumps and rubella by over 99 percent. However, certain, serious conditions, primarily measles, have been reocurring. For example, in 2013, the measles occurrences spiked to 3 times their normal levels in the United States. This circumstance is primarily due to parents failing to vaccinate their children, due to claims from other parents that vaccines can trigger autism in a child. The severity of these claims have led researchers to devote their careers to prove them true or false, but, as of now, these claims remain bombastic, and many lives are in danger because of the failure to get
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
The advantages of child vaccination have been pertinent to a child’s overall health for numerous years. Over fifty years ago, in 1963, the measles vaccine was created and introduced to the United States. The measles vaccine was important to such a degree that it is referred to as a “life-saving advance.” This vaccine had the power to protect millions of children from the exceptionally contagious disease. Around this time, measles had the power to overcome four million children, create serious enough complications to hospitalize 48,000 children, and progress to bad enough conditions to result in death for more than 400 children on an annual basis (Parker). Childhood fatalities caused by measles has declined by 74% since the creation of the measles
Vaccines are made of viruses or bacteria that originally cause the diseases. In order to make this viruses and bacteria usable as a vaccine, scientists choice one of the three basic methods depending on the vaccine they want to produce. The first method is using weak version of the virus causing the disease. They weaken the virus by limiting its production using chemical material. This method helps produce small amount of the virus to stimulate the immune system without harming the body. Scientists use it to make vaccines for diseases like measles, chickenpox, and mumps. (“ Weaken the Virus”1,2,3). The benefit of this method is providing a life lasting immunity for the person with one or two doses of the vaccine.( “Weaken the Virus” 9,10). However, this type of vaccine can not be used for people with low immune system .(“ Weaken the Virus” 10,11).
In 1963 the Noble Peace Prize winning virologist John F. Enders finally licensed his vaccine for measles. Prior to this vaccine the United States alone reported 4 million cases of the measles each year. With more scientific discoveries the measles vaccine today has evolved to include immunity against rubella and mumps along with protecting millions against illness each year. However, vaccination is a word surrounded by controversy in today’s parenting world and the Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR) can be distinguished as possibly the most controversial vaccine of our time. Controversial because of the fear that many have that it causes autism along with other hazards. This fear has clouded