Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

Due to the advances in medical science, individuals can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children have been eliminated completely due to safe and effective vaccines (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Individuals who do not receive vaccination pose dangers to those who are unable to receive vaccines due to medical conditions, there are no links that vaccine causes Autism, and vaccines cost less money than the financial burden of choosing not to receive a vaccine. Therefore, vaccines are the most effective way of protecting ourselves from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccines have become an important innovation to health throughout the years. A vaccine is a product that produces immunity from a disease and can be given by the nose or the mouth.

The choice to vaccinate a child holds much debate in society today. As a person that lives in America, you may feel it is your right to be able to choose what medical needs and necessities you would want for your child or yourself. “The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 29 doses of 9 vaccines (plus a yearly flu shot after six months old) for kids aged 0 to six. No US federal laws mandate vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Even though vaccines are considered extremely safe there are cases where in some people have a type of allergic reaction. Most states offer medical and religious exemptions; and some states allow philosophical exemptions” (Wadman, 2017). This point calls for a lot of debate, both in the scholarly world and among average citizens. Some people claim that such medical conditions, such as autism are the result of over vaccinating or dosing at early ages of development. Reasons on the topic vary, and concerns can end up in long legal disputes. Such disputes have raised the question of vaccine safety, prevention, and government intervention.

The outbreak of disease can cost public health departments thousands of dollars per day. Vaccinations have a considerable influence on the reduction of healthcare costs including, the reduction of prescriptions, infections, and long-term care costs. Eradication and prevention of disease, coupled with saving in healthcare costs, offers additional resources for research and finding potential cures for other incurable diseases. As with any medical procedure, risk is involved. While the adverse effects of vaccination are plausible, they are considered minimal. Protecting the population is key in ensuring a healthy future. Bridging the gap with fact and fiction is imperative when weighing the benefit and risk of vaccination.

The topic of vaccines is something that has caused a lot of controversy for the past couple of years. Although there is scientific evidence as to how immunizations work, concerned parents still disagree and eventually pull their children away from getting any shots. However, this will become a major issue when the child gets enrolled to school. Most schools require vaccines like DTaP in order for the child to be accepted.

Not only is this website providing the top pros and cons, but it also gives background about the issue.

Immunization is defined as the process of giving immunity to prevent infectious diseases by artificial methods (The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia). Statistics show that vaccines prevent more than 2.5 million child deaths per year (Davey, et al 5). These deaths typically occur in children under the age of 5. Immunizations are arguably one of the most important benefits of modern medicine offered in our country. Vaccines are given to prevent a serious disease or illness. They are generally only given to healthy people to help boost immunity (Sanford, S52). Without vaccines diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), polio (IPV or OPV), diphtheria tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP), Haemophilus Influenzae type b (HIB) and Hepatitis (HEP A, B, C) would still be prevalent (Sanford, S61). Within the 21st century, there have been many positive changes occurring throughout our world. Vaccination is the most important factor in reduction of deaths or serious diseases in children under the age of 5 (Kennedy, 1). Controversy remains if whether the risk of side effects from the vaccines, outweigh the risk of contracting the disease. Vaccinations have proven to be an effective method of preventing serious diseases, which are the cause of many childhood illnesses that often result in fatality (Kennedy, 1).

It has been clinically proven that “vaccinations [are] the reason that we don’t see the suffering, disability, and death from whooping cough, measles, polio, and other infectious diseases like we used to” (Meadows, 6). Scientists have demonstrated the positive effects of vaccinations by presenting the statistics related to the number of deaths caused by diseases before and after the vaccines were implemented. Immunization seems to be humanity’s best defense against infectious diseases and without it, it’s much more probably that people can contract and transmit the diseases from person to person. Additionally, “routine childhood immunization has greatly reduced the economic costs of infectious diseases” (National Institute, 1). The costs for yearly immunizations for children are petty compared to the expenses of hospitalization and treatments which are far more probable for kids that do not get immunized from a very young age. In other words, people can save more money by preventing the disease in the first place rather than attempting to cure it after they have been infected. Furthermore, vaccinations also help develop immunity and protects the body. Vaccines allow people to teach their body to fight a certain strain of bacteria and provides artificially acquired immunity, an easier and much less risky method to gain immunity. Like anything else, vaccines are not always 100 percent effective and may not work the same for everybody else, but developing and implementing a vaccination is an arduous and thorough process which leaves very little room for scientists to make mistakes that could harm people. “Experts point out that the risk of being harmed by a vaccine is much lower than the risk that comes with infectious diseases,” and that is completely true because effects

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”).

Vaccines are one of the most debated topics in today’s society. Ever since the first smallpox vaccine there has been controversy over the ethics and safety of it. However, vaccines have helped people in many ways when it comes to their health. But, are they actually harmful? Are we being lied to, or is all this just a scare?

Those who are for vaccines focus on the bigger risks. Being vaccinated does come with the risk that you may suffer from side effects, or they may not work. However, vaccinating eliminates the threat of contracting a serious and fatal disease. Choosing which risk you want to take; possibly facing side affects, or suffering from a serious disease, may save your life one day. Vaccines overall have more positive outcomes than negative.

There are many illnesses in circulation that take the lives of children, however some of those diseases are vaccine preventable. So in other terms vaccines can save the lives of children.

In America, before vaccines, an average of 29,005 people died annually of smallpox, 16,316 died of polio, and 21,053 died of diphtheria. Thanks to vaccines, these diseases are thought to have been eliminated from America, yet people are still unconvinced that vaccines are helpful. However, in order to properly analyze whether vaccines are helpful or harmful, information must be gathered, such as the definition and origin of vaccines, the positive effects of vaccines, and the negative effects of vaccines.

Each year, about 2.1 million people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Many children may not receive their necessary first year vaccinations because of lack of availability, religious beliefs, and safety concerns (Healy, Rench, and Baker 540). Although all 50 States in the United States require children to be vaccinated to certain diseases before entering school, the states also have exemptions for these vaccinations (Lu 870). The conflicting party states that children’s immune systems can fight against the majority of infections naturally and vaccines will cause children to have side effects. The announcement has directed individuals to the assumption that immunizations are not

The first vaccination for smallpox was discovered in 1796 by Edward Jenner; since then there have been arguments over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of all vaccinations. A vaccination is a killed or weakened organism that is used to create immunity that protects you from a particular disease without causing the suffering from the disease itself. Immunizations have saved more than a billon lives and protected civilians in the United States from life threatening diseases. During the 20th century the life expectancy in the United States has increased largely due to immunizations and also reducing the mortality rate of infectious diseases (Healthy People 2020, 2014, p.1). In today’s society there has been skepticism among parents with vaccinating their children. Although there is no scientific discovery, parents have an idea that injecting a potential harmful substance may be linked to autism, SIDS, or other threatening side effects. Vaccinations are not mandatory in the United States, people have the right to choose, but outbreaks of preventable diseases will occur when numerous parents decide not to vaccinate their children. According to the CDC, vaccine-preventable diseases are still a threat to our society (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016, p.1). Outbreaks of measles, mumps, and whopping cough have been reported since 2001 and continue to infect children in the U.S.