Outline Of A Child Immunization

Vaccines are one of the best inventions of our time. Vaccines’ abilities to fight infection and prevent deaths are incredible. According to the CDC, vaccination programs remain strong, with the US having the highest vaccination rate of 95 percent (CDC, 2004). However, despite the many benefits to not only the US, but also globally, these disease-fighting vaccines have caused many controversies over the years. This paper will help outline the history of vaccines and the anti-vaccine movement.

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

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).

Poliomyelitis was a highly infectious disease that spread through many Americans in the early 20th century. As a matter of fact, over 3,000 Americans died of the disease each year. Families were overwhelmingly desperate for doctors to find a cure. When one suffered from polio, they generally experienced painful symptoms which included not only fatigue and muscle weakness, but even death. Therefore, when the polio vaccine was introduced by scientist Jonas Salk in 1953, it greatly contributed to Americans in numerous positive ways. Environmentally, the vaccine saved countless young American lives affected by the disease thus decreasing American mortality rates. Socially, the polio vaccine convenienced families who were either directly afflicted

The idea of increasing the rate of vaccinating children at an early age during the twentieth century is what makes it unquestionable. A lot of diseases such as poliomyelitis, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B have been killing infants and causing a rising percentage in the infantile mortality. Some of the diseases such as polio, and diphtheria have been discarded completely while other diseases have not. However, vaccination has helped due to the fact that it has been contributing to decreasing the effect of the disease. For instance,

When you think of horrid diseases a couple will come to mind. One of the ones that comes to my mind is Polio. Even though this disease is virtually eradicated, it was once rampant. Paralyzing and killing children, there was no treatment or cure for this horrendous disease. As stated by Indiana Jen, “It wasn’t until the 1960s that the Salk vaccine was developed enough to provide immunity to 99% of recipients.” Nowadays, most adults and children never have been touched by the disease and fail to recall that it was once a killer of children.

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

When the Polio outbreak was thriving in 1953, Jonas Salk wasn’t just lying around. He was tiredly working on the improvement of the Polio vaccine (Fact Check). The previous vaccine was unreliable and unaffective. It led some patients to be infected with Polio and die

With the last outbreak of Polio in the US being in 1979, many today have no recollection of the terror of this disease. The disease primarily infected children, and there seemed to be no pattern to who succumbed to it. No one could feel safe. Polio as a disease presents such horrors that even those who overcome it once can be plagued by its aftereffects in later life. Before vaccines, single outbreaks could devastate entire communities. One outbreak

Childhood vaccinations have profound effects on both the child and the society. For every child that is vaccinated, 33,000 lives are saved and 14 million cases of diseases are prevented (Nicastro & Rejman, 2012). Smallpox has been completely eradicated through vaccinations, the rubella immunization has nearly eliminated the harmful effects of deafness and blindness created by the congenital rubella syndrome, and the stereotypical gait, leg braces, iron lung and associated infections created by polio are no longer prevalent due to the polio vaccination (Ferbach, 2011). Fortunately, today’s generation has never had to witness the devastating effects of these highly contagious diseases.

The article in the textbook concerning child vaccinations touches on the importance of vaccines and some of the reasons why children aren’t vaccinated. Vaccinations are very important to prevent diseases; the injection is a small dose of inactive virus to allow the body to guard itself against the disease. Some common beliefs are that children who are vaccinated are at risk of chronic illnesses which the textbook reveals that these illnesses have no correlation to the vaccinations. Another reason why children aren’t vaccinated is due to income, poverty levels affect the children who are not vaccinated because the families cannot afford them.

There is much debate to whether or not children should or shouldn’t be vaccinated. Every day there are many children and even adults who have died from diseases that could have been prevented before they came up. Immunizing our children is important so that they will stay healthy and so will other children around them. Children are at the most risk for developing diseases when they are growing up. They will play amongst other children and can potentially bring home germs and a common cold. Nowadays, many diseases are being eliminated since parents and their children are being vaccinated. If parents decided against vaccinating their children, there could be some serious consequences. Diseases can be spread and there can even be fatalities if the diseases were left untreated. Vaccinations are extremely important because lives would be risked every single day by many parents deciding against vaccinations for their children. They should also be mandatory for every child, even if they do not attend schools. Parents protect their children from many things; diseases should be one of them.

Since vaccines were invented 1924, vaccinations have prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Welch, 2014, ¶10).

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.

Immunizations were created to keep children and adults healthy and safe. Edward Jenner administered the world’s first vaccination known as the smallpox vaccine, which had killed millions of people over the centuries (). Jenner administered the vaccine on an eight year old boy who he exposed to the fluid of a cowpox blisters, the boy developed a blister which eventually went away. Jenner then exposed the boy to the smallpox disease and the boy did not get sick, this led to the smallpox vaccine and the drastic decline in the smallpox disease. Fast-forward three centuries later and the small pox diseases is eradicated do to people receiving the vaccine. Immunizations are extremely important to the world’s overall health. Babies and children are most vulnerable to disease because they are son young and their organs and bodies are growing at a rapid rate. It is important for children to be immunized against vaccine preventable diseases such as: rubella, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough), and a host of other diseases. High vaccination coverage has significantly reduced vaccine-preventable disease morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially among children (Baggs et. al., 2011). While some people focus on the cons of vaccinations, there are many pros to children receiving vaccinations.