The Heart Of A Heart Transplant

Vaccinations have been actively used for over 200 years now and have been effective for over 200 years as well. Western medicine’s introduction to the practice is said to have occurred within the eighteenth century, when a traveling British aristocrat, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, reported her observations of Turkish children being injected with pus from smallpox victims. Although this practice seemed quite harsh, most of these children would contract only a mild version of the illness. In return, these recipients would retain a lifelong immunity to this terrible disease (World of Microbiology & Immunology). Similarly, in the United States, a Puritan minister by the name of Cotton Mather learned about inoculation from his African slave, Onesimus. Onesimus claimed that he was inoculated with smallpox pus and never caught the tragic disease (Williams). This type of medicinal treatment was initially rejected by most Western practitioners. They felt it was a dangerous and barbarous practice, but vaccination gained a tremendous amount of support at the turn of the nineteenth century when English physician Edward Jenner created a new smallpox vaccine derived from the relatively mild cowpox virus (Riedel). There’s no doubt that history has shown the positive outcomes of immunization and continued to show them as technology and medicine progressed.

Vaccines change over time as science makes advancements and diseases processes evolve and emerge. Around 400 BC, Hippocrates recognized the now preventable diseases, such as diphtheria and mumps (Immunization Act Coalition, 2015). The first effort to immunize dates back to the 1100’s when children were inoculated with scabs from individuals who recently had small pox, with a technique coined as variolation. Then in 1796, Edward Jenner successfully created the first small pox vaccine (Immunization Act Coalition, 2015).

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.

What are vaccines? The Immunization Partnership, in a lighter tone, claims that “vaccines perform a Jedi mind trick on your body.” (TIP Talk!, N.p.) For example, the influenza vaccine contains dead flu virus cells to teach our body how to fight off the flu when a human is exposed to it. This makes it so our body can successfully, or lessen the effects, of the flu if attained. As of 2016, according to Monica with the Pew research center, “Only three states – Mississippi, West Virginia and now California – do not allow religious or personal exemptions to vaccines.” (Anderson, N.p.) The first vaccine was around 1879. It was created by a man known as Louis Pasteur. In a chart provided by Immunize.org, “1879- Louis Pasteur created the first live attenuated bacterial vaccine (chicken cholera)” (Vaccine Timeline, N.p.)

Childhood vaccinations in the United States has become a very controversial issue over the years whether it should be the parents’ rights or the governments right to require them. There are specific immunization schedules, all are important but the most important ones are the ones received during our childhood. Immunizations received during childhood have eradicated diseases such as measles and polio, they prevent outbreaks, contribute to the “herd” immunity and implications of future generations. Although, there are individuals who are against vaccinating their children due to not being properly educated on the safety of vaccines and believing in fallacious claims such as vaccination cause Autism and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Vaccinations are important for all ages but during childhood they are the most critical to the health of all individuals around the United States and the world. Childhood vaccinations are crucial to everyone, and it is important that children receive all scheduled immunizations.

In today’s society, the parents have a right to refuse or discontinue treatment. However, when parental decisions are not in the best interest of the child and potentially dangerous to the child’s health, health care practitioners have a responsibility to advocate for the child and challenge those decisions, as is the case with vaccinations.

The first vaccinations were made by an Edward Jenner, who made a vaccine for smallpox; The disease was later eradicated because of the precautions of the vaccine. Although it is not mandated by the US, it is still strongly advised. People who are for vaccinations say that, “vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century. They point out

Since the early 1800’s vaccinations have been significant factors in eliminating many contagious diseases and, for the most part, have been an accepted part of preventative medicine in our nation. Veritably eradicating often fatal diseases such as smallpox, polio, and cholera, vaccinations have been vital in contributing to a healthier and more disease free world.

Each year, vaccines save between 6 and 9 million lives around the world including the lives of 3 million children (Emily Lee, Lindsay Rosenthal, Gabriel Scheffler, 2013). This statistic has been greatly influenced by the introduction of vaccine mandates in the United States. All 50 states have the requirement that children receive vaccinations to attend public schools. This being said, almost all of them allow parents to not have their children vaccinated for a variety of reasons from religious to philosophical. This number of exemptions is growing at an alarming rate. “Children with exemptions from school immunization requirements are at increased for measles and pertussis and can infect others who are too young to be vaccinated, cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, or were vaccinated but did not have a sufficient immunologic response” (Omer, Salmon, Orenstein, DeHart, & Halsey, 2009, p. 1981). Allowing children that are not vaccinated

Historically, vaccination was launch in the United States at the 19th century. Mandatory vaccination laws were first enacted in the early nineteenth century; with Massachusetts enacting the first such law in 1809. As a result, other states enacted similar legislation. Because the number of the incidences had decreased, vaccination become widely accepted as effective tool for protecting people from the smallpox by the middle of the 19th century. In 1850s,”irregular physician, the advocate of unorthodox medical theories,” (3) makes people abandon the vaccination, so

Ethical concerns regarding pediatric vaccinations span several viewpoints including clinicians, policymakers and parents. A parent’s concern is to protect their children. Parents want to know more about how vaccines work - the risks and side effects, vaccine ingredients, and vaccine safety - before deciding to vaccinate a child. The responsibility of the medical professional is to protect the public while preserving the rights of the patient. The ethical issues concerning childhood immunization in the United States affect policy development and clinical practice. The question of whether to vaccinate or not is a hotly debated question. The proponents of vaccinations hold that without them horrible diseases would once again plague society and are required for the public good while opponents say vaccinations are personal and should therefore be decided individually. The ethical considerations of vaccinations provide complicated views.

In human history, people had a long history in conquered the deadly virus. The minute a new baby is born, an injection is shot at his/hers arm, and it is the symbol of vaccination. The progress of vaccination could trace back to 1979. Edward Jenner, a scientist, who firstly infected people by cowpox (a viral disease that used to inoculate humans against smallpox) and successfully saved 530 millions of lives from the smallpox. Today vaccinations are available for variety forms of life threatening diseases such as: smallpox, polio, yellow fever, influenza, measles and so on. The research and development of vaccine makes a significant contribution to public health, however, recently big waves of anti-vaccination parades and comments sweep across

In 1796, Edward Jenner created a vaccine developed from the cowpox virus. He then gave this vaccine to a 13-year-old boy who was suffering from smallpox. The boy became immune to the smallpox disease and Jenner was named the founding father of vaccinations. After his discovery, vaccines were later created for Cholera, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Polio (“A Brief History”).

First, in 1796, a doctor named Edward Jenner performed the very first vaccination. “Taking pus from a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand, Jenner inoculated an eight-year-old boy, James Phipps. Six weeks later Jenner variolated two sites on Phipps ' arm with smallpox, yet the boy was unaffected by this as well as subsequent exposures” (Minna & Markel, 2005)& (Cave, 2008). The first vaccination allowed people to recognize that it was beneficial for their health. It provided the base for the rest of the variations of vaccinations to come. Vaccinations began with the notion that it is rooted in the science of immunology. Throughout history, there have been many variations of this first vaccine for things such as small pox, mumps, malaria and guinea worm. (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, n.d.)

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