Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

Between 1924 and 2013, vaccinations prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Bailey). Vaccinating is “the process by which pathogenic cells are injected into a healthy person in an attempt to cause the body to develop antibodies to a particular virus or bacterium—successful creation of antibodies is referred to as immunity to the disease caused by the particular pathogen” (Introduction to Should Vaccinations be Mandatory). Popular conflicts regarding vaccination include the worry that this form of immunization isn’t natural, the idea that vaccination schedule for children in the U.S. takes away parents’ rights to make decisions for their children, and the concern that vaccinations aren’t safe for all children. Most doctors and scientists advocate for vaccinations in the name of herd immunity, protection against foreign diseases and prevention against pockets of disease outbreaks. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children in the United States for who they are deemed safe and effective.

“Why should I get vaccinated? It is just a waste of time and money. I never got vaccinated before and never will.” That’s what one of my colleagues said when he was asked to get vaccinated during the outbreak of SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, few years ago in Mongolia. Then, I had reasoned him that disease comes all of a sudden and it is more serious than he thinks. As reported on CDC, Centers for Disease Control, 40 percent of all American parents were refusing one or more vaccines for their children (Willrich 3). So it is clearly one of the most significant public health issues today. There are lots of people who hold the belief against vaccination because of several reasons. Even though there is a public notion that vaccine

Recently an anti-vaccination movement has sparked a worldwide discussion about both the safety of vaccines and the responsibility of people to vaccinate. Recent outbreaks of preventable diseases have caused both fear and anger from people on both sides of the issue. These same outbreaks have also served to cause significant political tension between those against vaccines, who do not want their right to choose compromised, and many proponents of vaccines, who are calling for mandatory vaccinations.

“In 2011 alone, 1.5 million children died [worldwide] from diseases preventable by currently recommended vaccines” (“Immunization” 2). The magnitude of this tragedy is in part caused by the fact that some of those children simply weren’t reached by organizations like UNICEF, which aim to vaccinate children (“Immunization” 2). However, there are other reasons for the recent deaths and epidemics—such as the whooping cough epidemic of 2012, with 48,000 cases nationally in the United States—involving vaccine preventable diseases (McClay 1).

A huge decrease from 1994-2004, but the number of cases has dramatically increases directly caused by the decrease in immunizations (Chang 1). Statistically showing the increase in contracting diseases has raised due to the decrease of immunizations. “Extinct” diseases are coming back due to the lack of immunizations. “Millions of Americans believe it is perfectly alright to put other people at risk of death and misery. These people are your friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens who refuse to have themselves or their children vaccinated against preventable infectious diseases.” “One person’s decision to not be immunized can cause others to become sick, which is endangering the public and their rights” (Welch 2). People we know are putting our own lives at risk and parents shouldn’t deny their child the right to be healthy by not vaccinating

The world has many problems. Society has trouble finding adequate protection against the elements, each other, and many other adversities. We cannot fix every problem. We fail to completely survive natural disasters, catastrophes, and even basic problems. We can’t even feed ourselves. However, there is one major problem that mankind is beginning to solve. Vaccines are changing the world. They are becoming vital to our well-being. Vaccinations should mandatorily be administered to all children, especially those in our school system.

Vaccines have decreased the mortality and suffering caused by infectious diseases. People who refuse to vaccinate take advantage of the large majority of people who do vaccinate, free-riding off of their immunity. As more people refuse vaccination, herd immunity starts to fail and this puts everyone at risk.” A great amount of people in the world who accept refusal of vaccinations as a right. Believing vaccinations pose danger and seem unsafe, some parents choose not to vaccinate their children. They do not realize if their children do not get vaccinated they may acquire an infectious disease that may not only make them sick, but could potentially kill them; also, it could infect other family members or other people in the community, and consequently produce an outbreak of the

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.

Growing up, vaccinations were a normal part of childhood along with a loose tooth and a scraped knee. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinations will prevent more than 21 million hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths among children born in the last 20 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). However, in recent years, vaccinations have become a controversial issue among parents, with many choosing not to vaccinate their children. This dangerous trend has emerged largely due to a discredited link between vaccines and Autism, and caused a resurgence of several life-threatening diseases which had been all but eradicated. With the safety of all people in mind, as well as easing the financial strain on our health care system from treating preventable diseases, vaccines for children should be mandatory.

Vaccinations have been proven to reduce the population from being affected by deadly diseases; however people are fearful of it and believe that it should not given. How can we possibly condone this? I’m here to explain why vaccinations are an ethical need, how they benefit the future of the world and their importance in decreasing serious illnesses and death.

Each year, more than 10 million vaccines are given to children under the age of 1, thus preventing approximately thirty three thousand deaths each year due to disease. (Center for Disease Control, 2012) I believe that the symptoms and complications from these diseases, if contracted, are far worse than the chance of a slight adverse reaction at the injection site. And the fact that some of these diseases have been nearly eradicated, prove the need to continue widespread inoculations. If people stop immunizing their children, these diseases could make a comeback, and unlike a hundred years ago when poor travel conditions limited the size of the outbreaks, today these diseases could spread very quickly throughout the world and devastate some third-world countries where medical services are limited. Dr. David Tayloe, a past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, made the following statement during an April 2009 interview: “For viral illnesses such as polio and measles, we do not have antibiotics, and therefore, the vaccine is absolutely essential”.

The debate on the safety of vaccines affects every household, whether they are for or against them. Most doctors and public health officials find the idea of a parent not getting their children vaccinated immoral and potentially catastrophic (Cronin, 2007). Not receiving immunizations puts others who cannot get vaccinated at risk. Although America’s disease rate has dropped, other countries may have higher numbers of unvaccinated vaccines, showing that polio or smallpox can be spread through traveling to foreign countries or from foreigners themselves (Cronin,

Vaccinations help keep the risk of illness down in many ways. For example, when children attend school, they are required to have certain shots before entering. If every child is vaccinated properly, the rate of sick children will decrease. Many people travel a lot. Research shows that we shouldn’t be vaccinated against diseases that aren’t in our country. However, they are wrong because if people are traveling with their children to another country, they are more than likely to bring a disease back home. If we are already vaccinated prior to the incident, it will help reduce the chances of other children becoming ill. If we can help keep our children safe, we should do so by any means necessary.

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”).

Since this vaccine debate, “about 40 percent of American parents today has chosen to delay certain vaccines or outright refuse to allow their children’s physicians to vaccinate their children with one or more of the recommended or mandated vaccines” (Largent). As the rates of being vaccinated go down, it is putting not only that child in danger but also the whole community. Diseases that were once gone are on the rise.” A 2013 study published in the journal Pediatrics reports that California’s worst whooping-cough outbreak, which infected more than 9,000 people (Rothstein)”. Also “the CDC reports that from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2014, 54 people in the U.S. have reported being infected with measles” (Sifferlin).