Parent's Not Vaccinate Their Children Essay

The argument encompassing whether or not parents should vaccinate their children is ongoing. It is a very interesting matter to learn about and I possess some strong feelings about the case. This issue interests me because there are parents who don’t have their children vaccinated, and there are parents who do have them vaccinated. But all these parents share one particular quality: they all would like for their kids to be safe.

My topic will be about the controversy of vaccinations. I am going to research its history, the effect on your body, advantages and disadvantages. I am also interested in the reasons behind not getting vaccinations for your children, even when the parents could be willingly risking their child’s health and other children’s health. Furthermore, I wonder how doctors and professors view vaccinations and if they believe vaccinating your children is mandatory. The reason why I chose this topic is because recently, I watched an episode of Private Practice where a parent objected her child to be vaccinated for measles because she believed it caused her other son’s autism. To me, it seemed absurd that anyone thought that vaccinations, a precaution used against viruses, could be causing harm. So, instead of going off a T.V. show to understand vaccinations, I wanted to do in-depth research on it and become well-informed on this topic.

Not getting vaccinations could have many consequences. Not getting a vaccine can make someone very vulnerable to getting sick, causing social implications like exclusion and isolation from others in order to not risk others getting sick as well. Unvaccinated children can require treatment that is not quite the same as normal, medical staff may be less commonplace, and less experienced, with the systems required to fittingly treat a child who is

“Sustaining high vaccination coverage among school-age children is vital to prevent outbreaks and avoid reestablishment of diseases that have been eliminated in the United States” (Zangger, 2017). Most of the articles found, stated a variety of issues involved with noncompliant parental decisions made about not vaccinating their children. Of these issues, to my attention, the main problem with compliance of vaccines comes from the lack of knowledge about adverse effects and contraindications. What parents are missing is the fact that these childhood diseases are totally preventable diseases. We also are seeing a lot of parents choose to use an alternative vaccination schedule (AVS) instead of what is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that leads to the same kind of issue (Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine and council on the community, 2011). The studies show that parents have an increased likelihood of refusing to vaccinate due to the lack of education provided on the subject itself.

My topic will be about the controversy of vaccinations. I am going to research its usage, the effect on your body, advantages and disadvantages. I am also interested in the reasons behind not getting vaccinations for your children, even when the parents could be willingly risking their child’s health and other children’s health. Furthermore, I wonder how doctors and professors view vaccinations and if they believe vaccinating your children is mandatory. The reason why I chose this topic is because recently, I watched an episode of Private Practice where a parent objected her child to be vaccinated for measles because she believed it caused her other son’s autism. To me, it seemed absurd that anyone thought that vaccinations, a precaution used against viruses, could be causing harm. So, instead of going off a T.V. show to understand vaccinations, I wanted to do in-depth research on it and become well-informed on this topic.

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.

The recent measles outbreak occurring at Disneyland in December 2014 became widespread news and rekindled an ongoing debate of childhood vaccination. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is the United States government agency responsible for the protection of Americans from health threats, there were 159 incidents of measles arising from this outbreak (“Morbidity and Mortality” 373). Considering this outbreak, it is not unexpected that the role of vaccination would come to the forefront. The CDC presently advocates 29 vaccinations for children from birth through the age of six years old (“2016 Recommended Immunizations” 1). However, each state respectively establishes the laws for vaccination and corresponding vaccine medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions. For comparison purposes, in the early 1970’s, only three vaccinations were recommended (The Merck Manual 1462). This growth is a 314% surge in the number of vaccinations encouraged by the CDC. Thus, the subject of vaccinations and corresponding exemptions is contentious, divisive, and widely debated. Indeed, some believe that childhood vaccinations should be mandatory in order to protect every individual from preventable diseases (Gostin 1100). Instead, vaccination should be an informed parental choice, not mandated by the federal government, because vaccine safety is questionable, diseases being vaccinated against have fundamentally

According to the World Health Organization, one in ten infants worldwide did not receive any vaccinations in 2016 (Fadela). Additionally, many children receive their first round of vaccinations, but they do not continue with the additional rounds. Without vaccinations, children are at risk for potentially fatal illnesses. A child is exposed to viruses every single day, whether the child goes into a public setting or an infected person visits his or her home. Vaccinations are important for the protection of a child’s undeveloped immune system and preventing a child from diseases.. While parents may have multiple reasons for deciding against vaccinating their children, these children face serious medical

Thesis Statement: Today, the choice on whether to vaccinate children or not is a thriving topic that many parents are starting to look deeper into. Ultimately, the sole purpose of vaccinations are to promote immunity. When parents decide not to vaccinate they are not only putting their child at risk for contracting diseases, but other children as well. Claim: When parents decide not to vaccinate they are not only putting their child at risk for contracting diseases, but other children as well.

Millions of lives have been saved thanks to a global effort to vaccinate for deadly diseases. Peter Yeo reports “Immunizations have saved more children than any other medical intervention in the last 50 years” (Reforming the U.N. 118). Yet, a new trend for parents is opting out of vaccinating their children for personal beliefs or religious exemptions. Although, the majority of Americans believe vaccines protect children, and conclusive evidence has proven vaccines can prevent the spread of deadly diseases. Still, a few parents believe vaccinating children is not essential for their health, additionally, they believe an increase in mandatory vaccines has insufficient scientific research to prevent serious medical side effects.

Should we vaccinate our children and ourselves or allow our bodies to battle potential disease on their own and suffer the consequences later? This is a question that is debated by young, old, intellectuals, and average Joe’s all across the globe. After viewing different sources, my pro-vaccine stance still stands. I still believe that vaccines are more beneficial to humans in many different ways. Some argue that the potential side effects or long term effects of various vaccines outweigh the purpose they were intended for. However, thanks to vaccines we can now live longer, easier, and healthier lives.

“Prevention is better than cure.” This common statement could not relate any better than it does with the controversy surrounding the morality, effectiveness, and safety of childhood immunizations. The major argument is whether or not laws should be established to declare vaccination mandatory for all children. “The US food and Drug administration (FDA) regulates all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness,” (ProCon.org, 2012) therefor there should not be any reason to risk the health of any child. Vaccinating our children not only ensures their safety but also that of their future to come.

One of the risks of choosing to not vaccinate your child is that it doesn’t just affect their health; it potentially affects the health of those around them. For example, say your child does contract a disease such as measles and is in daycare or at the hospital being treated for it. In that time your child could potentially spread the disease to other children that are either unprotected because they aren’t old enough to receive the vaccine yet, or have compromised immune systems due to something such as cancer or someone suffering from kidney failure and they are unable to receive any live vaccines, or children who have received the vaccine and still have a low immunity against the disease. Choosing to vaccinate your child will protect people around your child, and that’s the ultimate goal with vaccines is to protect the health of the general public.

The Center for Disease Control describes vaccines as the greatest development in public health since clean drinking water. For several decades, vaccines have saved countless lives and helped eradicate some fatal diseases. The push to do away with vaccines will not only endanger our youth, but our society as a whole. Vaccination is needed to maintain a healthy balance within our country. Vaccines provide the immunity that comes from a natural infection without the consequences of a natural infection. Vaccinations save an ever-growing amount of lives every year. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination (“Vaccine ProCon”).

The pros and cons of children immunization is my topic because being in the medical field it is my duty and responsibility to educate parents about the vaccinations which child is receiving and be able to explain to the parents what the vaccination is for and how to protect their child from illness or deadly diseases. According to MedlinePlus website the meaning of immunization (vaccination) is a way to trigger your immune system and prevent serious, life threatening diseases.17