Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

The controversy over the MMR vaccine started in the late 1990’s when Andrew Wakefield suggested that there was a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism in a scientific paper which he had published with several other co-authors. Although there has not been a proven fact that the MMR vaccine is the causation to autism it has brought concerns to parents and has caused a major drop in immunization rates. For example, Dannetun et al., 2005 states that, “Fear of side effects and beliefs

Through this data, the authors make a point that a vaccine's effectiveness depends on the strains they pick—and sometimes they get it wrong. But the bottom line is that vaccines have meant far fewer deaths, hospitalizations, and disabilities than at any other time in history. In turn, the second question is answered by clearly stating that the claims made that autism is linked to MMR vaccine come directly from “one anecdotal study, based on 12 children with autistic spectrum disorders.” And from that alone sparked outward fears and concerns of parents but the main source of this is through broadcasted media on the

In the 1950s, the polio vaccine was introduced and life in America was forever changed. We vaccinated children against polio and many other diseases and America as a whole became a much healthier place. Soon, parents could quite reasonably expect to have a happy and healthy child. Vaccines were like miracle drugs. Then, in 1998, everything changed. Andrew Wakefield, a physician from the United Kingdom, published a study stating that he had found a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Thus began the dangerous trend of refusing vaccines for children. Although many people believe vaccines to be dangerous, in fact, they are one of the safest medical procedures done.

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 debate around vaccination has been raging on for many years now and it’s a strongly polarizing one at that. With many parents (and even some quack doctors) taking a stance against vaccinations, it has once again become a heated topic in light of the recent outbreaks (the major one being that at Disneyland, California). Herd immunity is becoming a lesser option as fewer and fewer children are being vaccinated. While there have been laws proposed to counter this problem, it is not the solution. Proponents of the anti-vaccine movements over the years have come up with various concerns about vaccinations. The biggest one being autism. Sensationalist and rumour-driven journalism has created a false-positive correlation in the minds of parents between the increased amounts of required childhood vaccinations and recent increase in cases of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Andrew Wakefield was the first to draw a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism in 1998. But it soon became evident that he had falsified his evidence, and his “research” was retracted. Wakefield was subsequently banned from practicing medicine in the United Kingdom (his home country), for “serious professional misconduct”, but the damage had already been done. The vaccine-autism hypothesis became the forerunner in the anti-vaccine argument and has been for years now. To add fuel to the fire, it gained main stream attention when celebrity Jenny McCarthy publically blamed vaccination for the cause of her son’s

Americans are on fire over a hot topic controversy regarding vaccinations – “to vaccinate, or not to vaccinate?” More specifically, people are vividly debating whether or not children should receive the MMR vaccine. The injection itself was created in order to prevent infection of measles, mumps, and rubella - all of which are viruses that cause serious illnesses, and even death. Several thousand people in the United States, commonly referred to as “anti-vaxxers,” are choosing to defer the vaccination of their children because they believe it causes more harm than good. Two main speculations sparking the MMR debate are the accusation that it causes autism and has side effects that are far more negative than the benefit of immunity. Despite these accusations, the MMR vaccine is, without a doubt, providing resistance to illnesses that can lead to death. Therefore, Americans should continue to vaccinate their children with the MMR.

One mother from the documentary stated that her child’s health is a private affair, not a public one. Personally, I reject this notion because once her unvaccinated child goes into the public arena, her child’s health is no longer a private matter and could potentially jeopardize the health of others. The same mother in the documentary also stated that she would rather have her child get sick as opposed to getting a vaccine because “getting sick is not a bad thing.” Unfortunately, there are many parents out there that support this type of pseudoscientific belief (Miller, 2015). This type of mentality and thought process does not register well with me as I base my beliefs on facts, not on theories. Others in the documentary stated that the amount of vaccines administered to children has increased over the years and providing several immunizations to a child can hinder a child’s immune system, although studies have suggested this hypothesis to be contrary (Miller, 2015).

Vaccines that prevent individuals from contracting deathly illnesses are one of the greatest achievements in the history of epidemiology. A vast majority of individuals choose to get their children as well as themselves vaccinated. However, there are some people who choose not to get vaccinated because they believe that vaccines are dangerous and unnecessary. This dilemma emphasises the vastness of the controversy between choosing to get vaccinated or not. The subject of this dispute is difficult to resolve since each individual has their own opinion on the topic and is in control of whether or not they want to get vaccinated.

The problem today with getting kids vaccinated is a study that was conducted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and 12 other colleagues. In this study that he published, claimed that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine caused behavior regression and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Even though this study was not a controlled one and he chose the results that benefitted his agenda. An example of not being vaccinated comes out of California, Janet D. Stemwedel wrote," . . . it will probably come as no surprise to you that California pertussis is a result of the downturn in vaccination in recent years, nor that this downturn has been driven in large part by parents worried that childhood vaccinations might lead to their kids getting autism, or asthma, or some other chronic diseases"(Stemwedel, 486). Humanity has an obligation to protect oneself and others that can't defend themselves. For example, people that have some sort of reaction to vaccinations and others that have an immune deficiency. Depend on the healthy persons to get vaccinated. In turn, they run less risk of contracting a mutation the virus causing serious health problems even death.

In the year 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a scientific article that would eventually weaken the human species in both Europe and the United States and sow distrust in the idea of getting children properly vaccinated (Kolodziejski). In his article, Dr. Wakefield falsely claimed that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could be linked to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (Kolodziejski). Unfortunately, even though Dr. Wakefield’s study was discredited the “damage was already done” (McLeod 8). The article caused a decline of vaccinations of children by their parents for fear of unintentionally inflicting ASD upon them. Years later, Celebrities Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey also reinforced his ideas reflected in the article in the United States that caused a similar effect as well (McLeod 8). It is not surprising that outbreaks of diseases that were previously regulated by vaccinations began to occur once again following these events. It should be a requirement for children to get vaccinated because it saves the lives of children, it is safe, it benefits more than just the child and it is still a necessary precaution.

Like all medications vaccines do have risk they can be as mild as a head ache or as serious as permanent brain damage. This is a scary possibility for parents they fear for their child and never want to risk their lives but what they do not acknowledge is that by avoiding these risks they are putting their child in even more danger. People have a higher chance of making the United States Olympic team or becoming a billionaire than a child does to having a reaction to the MMR vaccine. Consider the risk that comes with not vaccinating according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2000 there were "an estimated 733,000 deaths"(CDC) cause by measles. Measles is not the only deadly disease vaccines are protecting children from as shown in the article “The Anti-Vaccine Movement Is Forgetting the Polio Epidemic” by Jennie Rothenberg Gritz. Gritz article tells abouthow the polio epidemic beginning in 1952 ravaged the United States causing close to 60,000 cases nearly half of which left their victim dead or paralyzed. The U.S. was saved from this grotesque epidemic by Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine. Salk’s vaccine had wonderful results, according to Gritz, “By the early 1960s, the recurring epidemics were 97 percent gone” saving countless lives this vaccine was a blessing to the United States. Like Mr. Salk’s vaccine the vaccines we have today were made to save

The concern over the MMR vaccine began when “In 1998, Andrew Wakefield and colleagues published a paper in the journal “The Lancet”. Wakefield's hypothesis was that the MMR vaccine caused a series of events that include intestinal inflammation, entrance into the bloodstream of proteins harmful to the brain, and consequent development of autism” (“Vaccine Risks”). This caused widespread concern over the safety of the vaccine in Great Britain, so much so that “After its publication, rates of inoculation fell from 92% to below 80%” (Deer). To plainly state the effects of even this small drop of 12%, “official figures showed that 1,348 confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales were reported [in 2008], compared with 56 in 1998. Two children have died of the disease” (Deer). A 2400% increase in the incidence of measles might have some hope of justification if the original study tying the MMR vaccine to autism were true. Sadly, a recent ruling by the second highest court in America, the United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, re-affirmed the decision of a lower court which “found that Dr. Wakefield's work had been largely discredited within the scientific community and that none of the studies indicating the presence of measles virus in autistic children had been successfully replicated by an accredited laboratory” (“Hazlehurst v. Secretary of Health and Human Servs.”). The evidence against

In 1963 the Noble Peace Prize winning virologist John F. Enders finally licensed his vaccine for measles. Prior to this vaccine the United States alone reported 4 million cases of the measles each year. With more scientific discoveries the measles vaccine today has evolved to include immunity against rubella and mumps along with protecting millions against illness each year. However, vaccination is a word surrounded by controversy in today’s parenting world and the Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR) can be distinguished as possibly the most controversial vaccine of our time. Controversial because of the fear that many have that it causes autism along with other hazards. This fear has clouded

As time progressed, scientific innovations have led to the development of vaccines for various types of infectious diseases. Diseases that were once feared by the American public such as smallpox, whooping cough, and polio have now become rare. Smallpox has even been eradicated with the last naturally occurring case presenting itself in 1980. Vaccines were once welcomed with open arms by the citizens of the United States, but that all changed in the late 1990s when Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his collegues published a report the linked the MMR vaccine to autism. The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubuella) vaccine is usually administered to children 12 months and

Since the introduction of vaccines in 1790, “millions of lives have been saved and microbes stopped in their tracks before they could have a chance to wreak havoc,” as stated in