Worldwide, 1 in 10 infants do not receive any vaccinations; this equates to 12.9 million unprotected, vulnerable, new born babies. To put this into perspective the population of Illinois is approximately 12.8 million. The controversy of governments requiring vaccinations has led to misconceptions about vaccines and their potential risks. Although parents argue that it is their right to choose whether their child should receive vaccinations, they need to be a requirement for all children to ensure safety of the child and the public. Some parents decide not to vaccinate their child due to them believing that they are unsafe and that the side effects of vaccines are worse than the actual disease; however, vaccines are crucial to the safety and well-being of their child's life. Life-saving vaccines have been around for several years, and many major medical organizations deem them safe; vaccines not only protect individuals, but protect “herds;” and as a result of vaccinations many diseases have been nearly or fully eradicated. Some opponents may argue that vaccines can cause life-threatening allergic reactions; however, these reactions are extremely rare and vaccines save exponentially more children than they harm. Major medical organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and the American Medical Association approve of vaccinations. The CDC says that “vaccines are very safe,”(CDC) and the Patrice Harris, a chairperson for the AMA released a statement saying the AMA
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.
Parents are bombarded with information when it comes to their children and their children’s health and it happens the moment they are born. One main question they face off the bat is whether to immunize or not. For children ages 0-18, the CDC recommends vaccinations against 16 diseases, many of which could result in devastating illnesses and even death. Several injections coupled with several possibilities of severe reactions, pain, irritation, itching, ect. But through extensive, heavily monitored research and effectiveness, and evidence-based science illustrating the improvements and protection of the community it is clear that their benefits outweigh their risks. This paper will outline why the decision to immunize is one less
In less than fifteen weeks, I am going to be an aunt of a beautiful baby girl. I have many dreams for her, none of which include her becoming ill from a deadly disease just because she or others around her are not properly vaccinated. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), a vaccine is “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease” (“Immunization: The Basics”). Vaccination has been a controversial issue for many decades in the United States. Some people support mandatory vaccination of children because they believe that it is necessary to keep the entire population safe from preventable diseases, while others oppose it because they think it should be the parents’ choice whether or not to vaccinate their children. Although certain religious groups may have objections to vaccinations, requiring parents to vaccinate their children is in the best interest of the lives of the American civic society because vaccines are safe, economic benefits would accrue to society, and they save the lives of many people both in present and future generations.
Over the last couple decades the debate over vaccines has been heated. In the last week there seems to have been a renewed interest. This is likely to the recent occurrence of measles around this country. I feel compelled to share some basic information that will hopefully address concerns regarding vaccines. At the very least, my friends and family can know where I stand.
Vaccinations have been proven safe for consumer use time and time again, yet people are still wary or hesitant to have their children receive vaccinations. Often times, people who argue against vaccinations are undereducated or miseducated about the real advantages and dangers of vaccinations, and many times these concerns are due to widely spread misconceptions. However, these have been proven wrong by a plethora of reputable pharmaceutical companies. Proven by many , vaccinations prevent epidemics, save money for the nation, and protect the future.
Why wouldn’t people want to be vaccinated when there is diseases out there that can cause them to be in pain and sometimes it can be fatal?
vaccines than by the diseases themselves” (Wisconsin for Vaccine choice). The first example of this, in Vaccines a Reappraisal, Dr. Richard Moskowitz points out an example of a parent who left the exam room for a moment and never had the opportunity to give or refuse permission for the doctor to give their child a flu shot. A few days later the child was found blue in his crib and rushed to the hospital. Regrettably, this child suffered severe brain damage, and the doctors encouraged the parents to remove the child from life support (110). Furthermore, he recognizes there are the parents who have to live with the guilt, like this example, “My son died 40 hours after his 2-month shots. I’d never heard of vaccine injury before. I feel guilty every day because it was the one thing I didn’t look into and wish I did” (Moskowitz 51). The current trend to choose not vaccinating children causes legitimate concerns about the spread of disease and receives a great deal of news coverage; while the mainstream media under-reports the numerous stories of children injured and dying from vaccinations.
We live in a country where not only adults, but children are being forced to take different vaccines for the “safety” of other children. Some vaccines of course are necessary; however, there is one vaccine on the market that children are being forced to take. This vaccine is known as the MMR vaccine also known as, the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. This vaccine used to be three separate vaccines until the 1970’s when they decided to combine them to make them more convenient for parents. Ever since these vaccines were combined, the rate of autism has gone up exponentially. Parents do not have a choice to have their child receive three separate shots and are being forced to give their child the combines MMR shot. Vaccines are also not tested as thoroughly as pharmaceutical drugs. So how do you know if this vaccine is safe to give your children? You don’t. People should have the choice to give their children the MMR vaccine all at once or as separate shots for precautionary measures. This vaccine should also be vigorously tested the same way as pharmaceutical drugs for the safety of all children.
Vaccines are safe to the human body although there are dangerous and concerning ingredients. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carefully monitors and tests the ingredients to ensure the safest vaccine.The ingredients in vaccines are tested to be safe in the quantities used. As reported by the CDC, vaccine ingredients such as thimerosal, formaldehyde, and aluminum can harm one only in large amounts of doses (Vaccines and Immunizations). The CDC notes that, “people are exposed to more bacteria, viruses, toxins, and other harmful substances in one day of normal activity than are in vaccines” (Vaccines and Immunizations). Discussing the concerns of the public about the ingredients, the CDC commented, “[t]he FDA requires up to 10 or more years of testing for all vaccines before they are licensed, and then they are monitored by the CDC and the FDA to make sure the vaccines and the ingredients used in the vaccines are safe” (Should Vaccines Be Required). Vaccines are tested to the highest standard of safety. They are carefully evaluated with the help of many programs to reassure safety.
Diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, yellow fever, small pox, and mumps are several diseases that have become unfamiliar to many nowadays. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, these illnesses struck and killed thousands of people worldwide, targeting mostly children. Today, these diseases remain forgotten due to vaccines. A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity against a type of disease. Vaccinations are beneficial because they train the immune system to resist a new pathogenic without exposing us to the disease by producing antibodies to fight it. Whereas before vaccinations, in order to be fully immune from an illness you had to catch the disease, and hopefully survive it. However, despite the positivity that comes out of being vaccinated, their are still certain individuals who do not believe vaccines are as beneficial as they are said to be. This indeed is a false accusation because vaccines can save a child’s life, the ingredients in the vaccine are proven to be safe in the amount used, vaccines saves time and money , and they are proven to protect future generations.
Diseases have been around since the beginning of time. In response of disease, vaccinations were developed. Since the 1800’s, vaccines have been protecting adults and children from fatal diseases by building up immunity within the human body against such communicable diseases like smallpox, measles, and tuberculosis. Throughout history, vaccines have been widely accepted as mandatory for life events such as travel and school. While most of the world population welcomed vaccines enthusiastically, there are groups of people that believe the vaccines are more harmful than helpful.
. Most children today in the United States receive multiple post-natal vaccinations. As such, some parents are concerned about their children being overly vaccinated. Staunch vaccination opponents believe that vaccinations can cause physiological impairment, mental disorders, and even birth defects. This is largely attributed to a broad misunderstanding of two intrinsic properties of vaccines. Vaccines are generally weakened versions of a viral strain. Once the vaccine is exposed to a patient, the patient’s own immune system recognizes so called markers called antigens on the surface of the virus. The immune system promptly initiates a cascade of cellular actions that both result in the virus being destroyed and a prompt increase in the number of immune cells that are engineered to attack that specific virus strain. Opponents to vaccination are likely to oppose vaccines once educated on how vaccines work and how much vaccines have contributed to modern society. In extreme cases, vaccinations can cause severe illnesses, however they are credited with preventing numerous diseases on a global scale. Vaccination should be mandatory because they prevent malignant illnesses from occurring and have been shown eradicate certain diseases.
Vaccine-preventable diseases cause important health, societal, and economic burdens worldwide. Morbidity and mortality from vaccine preventable diseases occur primarily in poor countries. It has been estimated that out of the approximately 162 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) that have been lost around the world from vaccine-preventable diseases, over 90% occurred in low income countries(2). Additionally, it was estimated that 87% of the 2.5 million deaths of children under 5 years of age worldwide have occurred in poor areas of the world(2).
Vaccines have been engineered to help prevent infectious diseases some specifically for children. Not every parent want to let their children get vaccines and other people believe that these vaccines are vital. This forms the debate on whether or not vaccines should be required for every child.
Vaccines have saved many lives the last couple of decades by the support and advancements in Vaccinology. The effectiveness of vaccines has expanded, leaving 99% of people getting vaccinated to help the epidemic of immunity in Louisiana. The sensitive discussion of whether it should be voluntary or involuntary for parents to have children vaccinated is still controversial today. The parents that refuse to vaccinate their children has started a vaccine war due to opting out of vaccinations for their children. When they decide to opt out of their children receiving vaccination, the children become unprotected and gain ability to spread diseases efficiently. There are many vaccines provided for children to help prevent various diseases throughout their life including Varicella, Tetanus, HepA, FLi and MMR. When parents can protest vaccinations, they are setting up the public to be a disease transmitting environment which could contribute to further problems. Utilitarianism can help us prevent the further problems of disease spreading by making the children get the vaccines because it is best for the greater good. As of today, there are a variety of vaccinations required of children before attending school, Varicella being one of them. Varicella is a vaccine for the chicken pox, which is easily spread among children not vaccinated. When parents withhold their children from vaccines such as Varicella they are at risk for disease exposure, prevent them from attending school and