Should Vaccination Be Given to Children

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Parents with infants and young children have been tussling with this proverbial question for several decades now. With the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web, parents have been bombarded with a plethora of information about pros and cons of vaccines from all kinds of sources, some creditable, and some are not. To the non-scientific community, these conflicting information can create problems in the decision making process; thus, forcing parents to make the wrong choices and putting their offspring and others at risk. However, this article will attempt to address the importance of vaccinations, how vaccines work, why we should vaccinate, and why parents should not be afraid to vaccinate their offspring.

We must not forget how catastrophic disease was in the 17th century. Many people, especially children died early deaths because their bodies just could not fight those diseases. We live in a time and age where vaccines are available to help us fight off diseases that once killed so many. I truly believe that vaccines are essential in maintaining health in human populations. “The number of young children who are not fully vaccinated for preventable diseases has been steadily increasing over the last decade” (Daniel A. Salmon)”. With so many more parents claiming nonmedical exemptions, from what was once routine vaccinations, they are not only leaving their children vulnerable to diseases, but everyone that the unvaccinated child comes in contact with; From the classmates and teachers of these children, as well as other people and children in their community. Vaccines are necessary, and the risks of not being vaccinated far outweigh the small risks associated with vaccination. Preventable diseases can cause permanent disability and death. There has been no correlation between vaccines and developmental disorders such as autism. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “most childhood vaccines are 90-99% effective in preventing disease” (Vaccines ProCon.org)”. Vaccines are beneficial for everyone’s protection. Child Vaccinations should be mandatory.

Throughout the years, there have been many serious diseases that plagued the world, a number of which have been eradicated through the widespread administration of vaccinations. In the 1950s, the number of polio cases in the United States was at 58,000, and in 1988, this disease had affected 350,000 people (11 Facts About Polio). Because polio mainly affects children under the age of five, it became very important to parents that something was done to cure and protect their children. When the polio vaccine was created, doctors were able to administer it to people across America, eventually erasing the virus from the country. While the majority of parents in the United States agree that vaccinations should be mandatory for children (excluding certain children with medical conditions preventing vaccination), there are a growing number of parents choosing to take a stand against these rules. Vaccinations are important because when they are administered, the child becomes protected against the diseases, resulting in fewer cases of contraction. In order to protect the children and adults of the United States from many potentially life-threatening illnesses, vaccinations should be mandatory for every able-bodied child.

There is much debate and controversy about child vaccinations being safe or not. Parents wonder should they get

To Vaccinate or not to vaccinate, has been a question many parents in America have been asking themselves for years. Some parents believe that it is their right to decide if their children will be vaccinated; while some states believe that all children should be vaccinated. There are logical and illogical reasons for this argument. There should be a federal law that requires parents to vaccinate their children because it will lower the number of deaths, benefit those children who have lower immune systems, and it can get rid of some diseases all together in the future.

Childhood vaccinations have not been a topic of controversy until recent times. Due to the recent outbreaks of diseases that were thought to be eliminated, people are now investigating vaccinations. State representatives and Congressional people have even gotten on the bandwagon to emphasize the importance of vaccinations. Many states already require children to be vaccinated before entering school, but states allow religious, medical, or personal exemptions. Getting rid of these exemptions would be beneficial to not only parents and children, but also to members of society. Having children vaccinated at a young age when the immune system can respond correctly to vaccines will benefit the future health of children. Children are more at danger at a younger age to catch infectious diseases. Vaccines are a safe way to prevent the child from getting sick. “Proponents say that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century”

Diseases and illnesses are studied constantly by doctors and scientists trying to find a cure for them. Plague and disease once ravaged our world killing thousands, with no hope or cure to prevent them from occurring. Today, however, is different. Technology is more advanced than ever, and people are living longer than ever before. Life expectancy in the United States has gone up by more than 30 years in the last decades. It isn’t by luck that many diseases now cease to exist, but through extensive studies, and research. The medical field is at the height of its studies with more people being cured of diseases than ever before. Most of this is to the credit of doctors and scientists developing vaccinations that help the body create antibodies, which help fight away diseases, and give the body immunity. I believe that forced vaccinations in children should be mandatory as they have the potential to prevent life threatening diseases, and save countless lives. Though many are against forced vaccinations and say they can cause mental illnesses or brain damage, this has not been proven. The rewards far out way the slight risk, if risk at all of the vaccination having side effects. The individuals who are not vaccinated are left vulnerable to illness, and can potentially infect those around them as well. Leaving scare of an epidemic, and wide spread of a virus. Forced vaccinations in the United States have been beneficial by preventing young children from contracting certain

In the United States, the law states that vaccinations are required for children entering school unless they have a valid reason that prevents them from receiving the vaccinations. Starting when children are born, they begin the regimen of vaccinations that continue throughout their adolescent years and adulthood. Each year children receive a variation of shots to protect them from the illnesses they will encounter in the world, especially once they attend school. The most common reasons parents forego getting their children vaccinated are religious beliefs, medical exemptions, and personal beliefs. Due to the rising number of parents declining to get their children vaccinated, the number of outbreaks of preventable diseases has increased. The question is now should parents/guardians be forced to vaccinate their children?

“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).

Often debated, with strong convictions on each side, timely immunizations for children do more good then harm. Over the last few years, a phenomenon has come to our door steps. It used to be that all parents would immunize their children, without fail, because doctors told them to. In the past, the only non-immunized children were the children with health deficiencies. These children depended on the “herd” mentality. However, times are changing and parents are choosing to not immunize their children mainly based on these reasons: the possibility of them getting autism, parental lack of education about immunizations and lastly they believe that the illnesses that children are being immunized against are gone and immunizations are no longer needed.

For many years, there has been a controversy about whether or not vaccinations should be mandated for everyone. In the United States, many diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, and whooping cough used to be extremely common, until vaccinations came around and started preventing these diseases. The main point for vaccines is to prepare a person’s immune system for any possible attack of a disease that comes in the future; a person’s body will be prepared to fight off the disease with the vaccine (“Basics”). Vaccines have the ability to prevent many cases of these diseases in advanced, but there are people who think vaccines are unnatural and should not be required for their children. It is said that immunity in child vaccines are about 90%-100%, which is an increase over the past few years (“Childhood”). Although many Americans believe that vaccines are unsafe and cause autism in children, vaccinations for children should be mandatory because they can save a child’s life, create herd immunity in a community, and they have been proven safe/cost-effective.

Vaccinations should be mandatory for children because the benefits outweigh the side effects, they decrease the likely hood of a disease outbreak, and saves children 's lives. However, it is possible that this type of law could set a president for the government to start making other medical decisions for its citizens.

Over the years, there has been much controversy surrounding the subject of childhood vaccinations. With differing opinions, many are in favor about childhood vaccinations being required for children. Children vaccinations have been proven to be an effective means of preventing serious effects, including fatalities, from childhood illnesses yet there is still controversy over whether the risk of side effects from the vaccines outweighs the risk of contracting diseases. The belief behind mandatory vaccinations has been linked to people wanting vaccinations to be required for children because it will prevent the spread of childhood diseases, but there are still questions and concerns around why childhood vaccinations should be required. Questions surrounding this topic are: why should vaccines be required, are there any serious risks involved in vaccinating your child, and should children be turned away from school if they do not have vaccinations? There is also the question of should these vaccinations be mandatory or should this solely be a choice that the parents of the child should make? In order for us to be able to take our stance on the subject, we need to examine the answers to the question.

Furthermore, there are beneficial reasons for embracing vaccinations for one’s children. Children are especially vulnerable to disease because their immune systems have not yet developed, and getting a serious illness can have

The number of individuals who are unvaccinated or infected in the United States has increased (Sun). Vaccines recommended for children are crucial and result in fewer health risks and greater healthy lifestyles. Proponents agree that vaccines are safe and effective, while opponents disagree and believe that vaccines create more negative outcomes than positive ("Should Any Vaccines..."). Opponents attempt to influence and persuade the majority of individuals to stray away from their viewpoints relating to the encouragement of vaccinating children. The rising percentage of children and parents who reject immunization and protest safe vaccines indicate less triumph for sufficient immunization for the population. There are many detrimental risks that affect unvaccinated children, and supporting childhood vaccinations profoundly benefits each parent and child.