The Epidemic Of The Vaccine

The new trend of parents not having their children vaccinated for measles is causing harm to the child and contributing to future outbreaks of the disease.

Mandatory vaccination continues to be a contentious subject in the United States, even though extensive evidence proves inoculation prevents certain diseases. According to A. Plotkin & L. Plotkin (2011), the evolution of the first vaccine commenced in the 1700’s when a physician named Edwards Jenner discovered that cowpox protected individuals from one of the deadliest diseases termed smallpox. The precise virus Jenner used is unclear; however, it was espoused in the extermination of smallpox worldwide. The researchers further explained, the unearthing of the subsequent vaccine known as chicken cholera occurred approximately 80 years later by Louise Pasteur. Ever since, copious vaccines such as rabies, yellow fever, varicella, pneumococcal, mumps and recently HPV have been introduced.

Unvaccinated people can cause outbreaks of viruses that have been eradicated. In late 2014 a measles outbreak occurred when an unvaccinated child who was a carrier of the disease visited Disneyland. This caused 173 people from seventeen different states to contract the virus that was eradicated from the United States in 2002. In order for measles to be under control 94-99% of the population must be vaccinated. With the recent trend of not vaccinating, measles, along with other once eradicated, or nearly eradicated diseases are making a come-back.

Eradication is the concept that a disease is entirely eliminated in a region. (Carter n.d.) Only one infectious disease to date, smallpox, has been categorized as eradicated worldwide (CDC 2010). How did this eradication occur? From 1958 to 1965 all fifty states enacted legislation mandating school age children receive the smallpox vaccine (College of Philadelphia). Consequently, by 1971, no smallpox cases had been reported in the United States for 20 years. The last known smallpox case in the world was in Somalia in 1977 (CDC 2010). Even though small pox is the only listed eradicated disease, the Carter Foundation has listed six other diseases as having the potential to be eradicated: lymphatic filariasis (Elephantiasis),

Wolfson stated in his interview “Measles is not a big deal.” Measles outbreak in the United States has increased tremendously since parents refuse to have their children vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a report, “Measles Cases and Outbreaks,” that shows how the measles cases have been increase nationwide.

In late 2014, 146 children were confirmed to have contracted measles from a single source- a single infected person, who contracted the virus overseas, and then went to a public place effectively allowing the transmission of the pathogen to other people who were at the same amusement park the same day as them. This strain of infection was confirmed to identical to the same outbreak occurring in the Philippines, resulting in 21,420 confirmed cases and 110 deaths. (Zipprich J, 2015)All of the case from the amusement park could have been prevented if there had been more stringent requirements in vaccination enforcement and scheduling. This is just one such example of a potentially deadly outbreak occurring from the result of poor vaccination

During the 19th century, despite clear evidence of protection against smallpox by immunization with cowpox, there was a strong anti-vaccination movement that resulted in ongoing smallpox outbreaks and unnecessary deaths (Poland & Jacobson, 2011). Between the 1940s and the early 1980s, anti-vaccine thinking was less prevalent. The reason for this was because of a number of trends. There was an increase in vaccine science, discovery, and production. There was also an increase in public awareness of widespread outbreaks of infectious diseases. With

The concept of vaccines, basically exposure to a disease to trick the body into forming immunity, has been controversial from its beginnings. The history of vaccines began in 1796 with Edward Jenner, a doctor from England, who performed the first immunization (Alexandra, Markel, 2005). Edward Jenner showed that a certain level of immunity could be accomplished by dosing patients with cowpox, which is a close relative of smallpox (Alexandra, Markel, 2005). He then tried, without success, to infect that same

The discovery all began in 1796 when Edward Jenner decided to test a local theory that if a person contracted cowpox they were immune to smallpox. Cowpox is a very similar disease, but is generally found in animals. It can however be contracted by farmers and others close to the sick animal. “Jenner extracted pus from a cowpox scab and inserted it into an incision on the arm of an eight-year-old boy. Although the child contracted a mild virus, he recovered quickly, developing antibodies that built up his immunity to both cowpox and smallpox” (The Feverish Roots). From that he shared his findings and vaccinations were born and are still used today. With the use of vaccinations there comes great benefits. “In a 2005 study on the economic impact of routine childhood immunization in the United States, researchers estimated that for every dollar spent, the vaccination program saved more than $5 in direct costs and approximately $11 in additional costs to society” (Vaccines). Instead of putting people through lots of trouble and hard times when they get ill. It is easier and better for society to be protected by having everyone vaccinated in the first place. “Vaccines protect not only yourself but also others around you” (Vaccines). Because of vaccinations the following illnesses have been completely eliminated if not all then at a large

It was Edward Jenner’s challenges and work lead to what is now called the Smallpox Vaccine. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that people started to accept the idea of vaccines and utilize them as a form of preventative treatment. Vaccines were vastly different from variolation in many ways. We were able to get all the benefits that were associated with variolation with out the side effects that were connected with them. Second hand diseases had the capability of being spread from person to person through variolation. This in turn produced a fear for second hand diseases that could arise from variolation. This problem was also found with vaccines, which, will be discussed later on. However, vaccinations didn’t mean we had lifelong immunity to the disease we still need to be revaccinated. Strands from the vaccine need to be shipped in order for other countries to use reap the positive benefits (Fenner ea. atl.,

In fact, life-threatening diseases still exist. There have been outbreak cases in the past two years which started in an unvaccinated community, demonstrating it is highly important to vaccinate and that disease is still around. In 2013, the United States experienced eleven outbreaks with twenty or more cases. In 2014, the United States experienced twenty-three measles outbreaks, including 383 cases, which by the way occurred among the unvaccinated community of Amish people in Ohio (Measles). In 2015, again the US experienced one of its largest measles outbreak which started at Disneyland (Measles). The outbreak started through a traveler which then spread it to surrounding people (Measles). A majority of these people who caught the disease were unvaccinated and had no immunity built to defend off the virus. Diseases, such as the measles, has not yet been eradicated and still persists in countries around the world. People who travel abroad bring the disease back and put unvaccinated people in danger. Disease still exists and in order to prevent from catching anything, a person must be

I found it interesting that you mentioned the importance of vaccination since they are often overlooked and can cause public controversy. It would be nice to stop a disease than to treat it after it happens. This way, your body will be trained and will be able to protect itself if ever these diseases strike back.

“I would love to believe the huge response to vaccination would prevent another outbreak, just like I would like to thing measles could be eradicated worldwide. It can happen, but there are populations who refuse (vaccination), whether it's a fear of the west, an anti-government sentiment, or loss of their own public health systems,” said McFadden, adding, “If we could overcome it worldwide, we could see measles never come back

Now, many once-forgotten diseases are reappearing. TIME Magazine reported that “In 2014, the U.S. experienced a major outbreak of measles that totaled 383 cases and was primarily spreading among an unvaccinated Amish community in Ohio.” (Measles Outbreak) The number of cases of these diseases is going up when it can be easily prevented. Worldwide, “Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.” (World Health

According to my research, in 1796 Dr. Edward Jenner developed a vaccine for smallpox disease however during this time only cows were infected. This vaccine came from the cowpox virus. In 1809, the state of Massachusetts became the first to mandate the smallpox vaccinations then in 1879 a group of Anti-Vaccination of America was formed and their belief is that no one should be forced to vaccination. They believed that the vaccine was spreading the disease instead of preventing it. In 1986