Imagine traveling to the “Happiest Place on Earth”, Disneyland, with your family. While you are there a person that has not been vaccinated is walking around with the measles virus in their system. While that person shows no signs or symptoms of the measles, they are infecting others that haven’t been vaccinated, due to young age or other purposes. Now what turned out to be many people’s family vacations is now a life-threatening situation for some. This type of outbreak actually occurred during December of 2014, where 40 Californians were exposed to the measles at Disneyland and 91 additional cases of the outbreak strain also occurred from the people exposed affecting others (Blumberg et al, 2015). Outbreaks likes this can potentially be …show more content…
This poses the question that if vaccinations can protect a child from a major illness why are parents choosing not to vaccinate their children? In the past couple of years controversy over immunizations has become a large debate in society. Many parents have come to the belief that if their child is given vaccinations their chance of getting autism spectrum disorder increases; therefore they choose not to vaccinate their child. However, evidence has show that vaccines have no correlation with autism spectrum disorder. A meta-analysis conducted of five cohort and five case studies found no evidence for the link between vaccinations and the subsequent risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (Taylor, Swerdfeger, & Eslick, 2014). The cohort study consisted of 1,256,407 children and the case studies consisted of a total of 9,920 children (Taylor, Swerdfeger, & Eslick, 2014). Though it’s natural for a parent to worry and want to protect their child from something harmful, scientific studies have show that no correlation is present with vaccinations and autism spectrum disorder. Childhood immunizations are extremely important to promote with expectant parents because it’s their vital decision to get their child vaccinated or not. Expectant parents need to be educated by health care workers about immunizations in order to completely understand how important they are for their newborn child’s health. Immunization accounts for
The researchers looked over the health records of 95,727 children, including more than 15,000 children unvaccinated at age 2 and more than 8,000 still unvaccinated at age 5. 2,000 of these children were considered at risk for autism because they were born into families that already had a child with the disorder.The study looked at the autism rates and MMR vaccination at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5 years olds. It showed no increase in Autism in any age. Autism rates we surprisingly lower in vaccinated
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).
Audience hook: In 2014, the U.S experienced a record number of cases of measles, mostly from the Philippines. Most were unvaccinated and most were from international travel.
One of the most controversial stories in today’s medicine is between autism and vaccinations. Autism is a disorder that makes it difficult for people to communicate with others and form relationships with them. It has been thought that vaccinations that children receive at an early age cause autism. Autism has become more prevalent over the years and scientists are still unsure how the disorder has come about. Some parents have taken it upon themselves to not vaccinate their children because they believe it will cause their child to become autistic. The real question is do vaccines really cause autism and if so which vaccine is it?
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).
Over the past decade, the concern among parents regarding the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations has become a concern in the United States and other countries around the world. A survey of physicians showed that 89% of the physicians who were surveyed reported at least one refusal of childhood vaccinations by parents each month (Gowda & Dempsey, 2013). Other researchers have noted that as many as 77% of parents have concerned about one or more of the childhood vaccinations that are recommended for children (McKee & Bohannon, 2016). However, organizations such as the World Health Organization (2017) note that not only are childhood vaccinations safe, the reduction in children receiving childhood vaccinations has brought back diseases such as measles that had been completely wiped out in the United States. It is clear that there are opposing viewpoints about childhood vaccinations that need to be understood and examined to determine which side has a better argument.
The relevant theory of why parents are not vaccinating their children would be cognitive dissonance. The parents choose not to vaccinate their children due to other cases that may or may not have been linked to autism. Once the immunization has been given, it doesn’t mean that the child is unable to get it. The disease could be dormant and the immune system hasn’t picked up on it. You can still possibly contract anything contagious even with the shot, so why expose a child with a fragile immune system to massive dose of chemicals.
The topic of the article is the connection (or lack of) between childhood vaccines (MMR) and autism. Contrary to popular opinion, vaccines are not linked to autism in any shape or form and there is no scientific evidence to support it.
A wise Welsh man once said, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.” But, can that also be said about immunizations? According to the Medilexicon medical dictionary, “an immunization is the action of making a person or animal immune to infection, typically by inoculation.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a more technical definition of immunizations by defining them as “the creation of immunity usually against a particular disease, treatment (as by vaccination) of an organism for the purpose of making it immune to a particular pathogen.” Most people feel that immunizations are a very important part of a health care regimen and should be mandatory for the majority of individuals. But over the past several years, questions have
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.
Primarily, most parents generally opt for vaccinations towards children in the United States of America. The perception of why parents make this judgement is due to the benefits of vaccinations outweighing the potential of any health risk. Carole Joyce stated, “As many as three million children deaths are prevented and approximately 750,000 children are spared disability, worldwide, each year” (Joyce). Joyce’s statement shows that vaccines have proven to be one of the most efficient public health ingenuities in modern history. Improving overall public health and preventing children from being contaminated from preventable diseases are major benefits from vaccinations. Nevertheless, there are parents who delay the vaccination of the child due towards simply
When children who have been vaccinated do contract a disease, despite being vaccinated against it, they usually have milder symptoms with less serious complications than an un-vaccinated child that gets the same disease. It is true that some children who receive vaccinations may still become ill when exposed to other disease-ridden children. Research shows that 70-90% of the entire population must be vaccinated to attain “herd immunity”, “the resistance of a group to attack by a disease to which a large proportion of the members are immune.” (Farlex, 2012) When herd immunity is accomplished the spread of the disease can be averted throughout. If all parents were to take proper responsibilities and keep their children’s immunizations up-to-date, herd immunity would be achieved against all 16 of the major life threatening diseases.
You and your significant other have just found out that you’re pregnant. You will carry the baby for 9 months and you will protect it with your own body, but what happens after birth? What kind of protection should you provide them with? The question is to vaccinate, or to not vaccinate? First off, let’s start with what a vaccine is. A vaccine is a substance that produces antibodies and provides immunity against one or many diseases. A vaccine is made up and prepared with the disease that causes it, its products, or a synthetic substitute. It’s treated to act like an antigen without producing the disease. So to simplify this, patients are injected
Parents must make many decisions about their child, which vary from what brand of diapers to use to at what age to start a college fund. Parents also take responsibility for their child’s health, including deciding whether or not to vaccinate. Immunizations serve as the most efficient way to prevent possible life threatening diseases, including mumps, Hepatitis B, and polio, from affecting children, not only during adolescence, but also throughout their adult lives. Parents need to make the informed decision to vaccinate their children.
During the last ten years or so, there has been a debate on childhood vaccinations. This debate all started from the acquisition that vaccines cause autism. Since the debate, many parents have been skeptical on whether or not they will get their children vaccinated. From the negative comments that are going around from highly respected people new parents doubt vaccines importance to the world. Parents are concerned, which they should be, about if vaccines are beneficial or harmful to their kid’s health? Some claim that vaccinations are needless and unsafe. With the misleading information in parent’s ears they are stuck with the big question. Should I vaccinate my child?