Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

Even after vaccines were made popular, there have always been parents who have been concerned about immunizing their children. It has become such an issue that there has been some debate on whether or not the government should get involved and require vaccination by law. As with every issue, there are two sides who stand firmly with their beliefs. Parents who do not vaccinate claim that they have the right to decide what is best for their kid’s health, and for some, it interferes with their religion. The other side argues that children need vaccines to ensure the overall safety of the individual and others around them. Though both sides provide a compelling argument, statistics show that parents should be required by law to vaccinate their child.

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.

Vaccinations are a much-debated topic whether they are necessary or even safe for our children. There is a great amount of evidence that suggests, vaccinations are not only safe for children but are lifesaving. Even though it is reported that vaccines are the surest, most effective treatment for reducing and preventing diseases, some researchers dispute vaccine safety. It is reported that vaccines can cause serious side effects that may be associated with ADHD, autism, and other chronic illnesses. There is supported facts that claim, those who choose not to vaccinate their children are not only risking the health of their children but jeopardizing the lives of other individuals that are unable to receive vaccines, such as those with a weakened immune system due to cancer or other diseases that affects the immune.

Vaccinations or immunizations should not be required to attend school or to have a job. I think it should be the guardians or individual’s choice on what they want to be vaccinated with. I do think that some vaccines can be a benefit to an individual’s lifestyle, but not all vaccines. Vaccinations and immunizations are supposed to help create permanent immunity by injecting small amounts of the live or weakened microorganism that causes the illness into the muscle tissue. The body’s immune system is then supposed to fight the virus or bacteria and create antibodies that remember the pathogen should it reenter the body at a later time.

Throughout history there have been years and years of sickness and illness that we don’t have today. Many would argue that we have been saved by vaccines. Saved from Polio, Chicken Pox, Cholera, Measles, and more--but have we really? According to Owen (2013), “…only smallpox and the little known animal disease rinderpest have been successfully wiped out.”

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.

Unfortunately, many diseases kill millions of children every year. These pathogens, whether bacteria or viruses can invade the body, increase rapidly, and deny the body vital resources to function properly. Consequently, children are more susceptible to becoming ill because of their developing immune system. In what capacity would children be able to be protected by the repulsions of these pathogens? The answer is by vaccinations. After much research and findings, it has been proven that vaccines help to prevent diseases, saves lives, and kept the spread of diseases at an all-time low. However, in recent years, there has been a rise in parents against vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. Thus, the term vaccine hesitancy is gaining recognition. According to Professor Elizabeth Miller (2015), there is an interrelationship between those who are accepting of vaccines and the ones who refuse them and it is not beneficial to characterize either as “anti-vaxxers” (p. 2). If the risks of a child receiving vaccines do not outweigh the benefits of being vaccinated and therefore vaccines should be made mandatory.

Many wonder if children should have mandatory vaccines. Currently children are not mandated to receive all vaccines, however since schools require that children have certain vaccines are necessary to enroll children in school. Shots like the flu vaccine are not required for enrollment, but they are recommended.

Everyone wants to be a good parent to their child. So, what are ways to keep your child safe? According to World Health Organization immunization prevent up to 2-3 million deaths per year (Tedros) and there are many things that parents can do to protect their child. One way to protect them is to get them vaccinated. Children’s vaccines are extremely beneficial because vaccines prevent infection, they decrease the spread of disease and they do not cause harm like people may think.

Vaccines should be mandated to all children unless medical means prevent you from that. When it comes to the topic of vaccinations, there always seems to be controversy when it comes to the side effects, and whether they are important for the wellbeing of a child. Being vaccinated can be a scary thing, but they are to help prevent diseases, and some of the diseases can even be fatal.

“In 1953, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended 16 doses of 4 vaccines by age 6. In 1983, it was 23 doses of 7 vaccines by age 6. Today, the CDC recommends 69 doses of 14 vaccines by age 18, with 50 doses given by age 6” (qtd. in Loe Fisher). The purpose of a vaccine is to prevent or ultimately eliminate a disease. And it makes sense to assume that if one increases the vaccination rate, those receiving it should be healthier. However, this is not the case. Chairman of the World Mercury Project (WMP) and author of the book “Thimerosal”, Robert F. Kennedy Jr states, “children of the United States are the most vaccinated population in the world, however, they are most chronically ill demographic to ever exist” (qtd. in Bollinger 36). Over the years, the vaccine schedule has risen, and perfectly correlating with this are the numbers of chronic illnesses. If there were no risks involved with the current vaccine schedule, then this would not be such a controversial issue. There are mounting concerns associated with the current vaccine schedule that include doctors not being educated and informed on the ingredients of a vaccine or what an adverse reaction might look like. An examination of components of vaccines and the hepatitis B vaccine in particular, are crucial in understanding why vaccines are a concern. Finally, conflicts of interest are evident within the CDC, and not enough studies are being conducted to determine their safety.

If you are a parent you probably remember having to get your child shots before they could go to public school. Do you know what are in these vaccines? It seams even if you don't want your child to get shots you are pressured into it because other parents do it so willingly. Vaccines should be a choice not a requirement, because they can cause what they are made to prevent, cause new illnesses, and they have been found to contain foreign substances that are harmful to your body.

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 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.

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?