The Importance Of Vaccination

“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

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination” (“Should Vaccines Be Required”). If vaccines were never invented, then people would die from many diseases because of the serious symptoms that each disease presents. Every disease is different and presents its own set of symptoms and levels of seriousness. Doctors and medical researchers have not yet discovered cures for these diseases, so being vaccinated as a preventative measure is the safest and smartest thing that a person could do. It is better to be protected from getting a disease than getting it and dealing with it until it either goes away on its own or kills

My first point is that vaccinations save lives. The average life expectancy for an American citizen before the emergence of vaccinations was 30-40 years old. Since the advancement of modern medicine, the life expectancy has nearly doubled, rising to roughly 80 years old. Since 2010, there has been roughly 10,000 to 50,000 cases of whooping cough reported in the United States, many of which cases ended in tragedy. 10-20 babies die each year from whooping cough, a disease that is preventable by vaccine.  Since the 1990s, the mortality rate for children five and under has decreased by 28%. The average mortality rate of children under the age of five has decreased from 90 for every 1,000 births in the 1990s to 65 deaths per every 1,000 births. Despite the huge risks, the small percentage of those not vaccinated can be partially  protected if enough people in their community are

“Vaccines teach your immune system by working in the same way and mimicking a natural infection” (“Vaccines Save Lives…”). If vaccines were brought to a halt due to fear of what could happen by taking them, then as the Centers for Disease Control has stated, “Diseases that are almost unknown would stage a comeback” (“What Would Happen…”). By protecting oneself from infectious diseases, each person is lessening the chances of spreading it to others and lessening the chance for an epidemic (“What Would

There are many arguments that people have developed and built upon that are convincing me of the importance of the vaccinations. The benefits of vaccinations really were shown when “The Centers 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” (Huffington). This is proof right in front of our eyes that vaccinations are working for some children. Something that saves 732,000 lives is a very important asset. Also, I think that it is critical to take into account the 322 million children that were saved from sickness. These 322 million children were kept from getting an illness that could be life threatening or even just uncomfortable. No matter the severity of the sickness there is an importance in the prevention of these diseases. Another intriguing argument for the continued use and importance of vaccines is that “most childhood vaccines are 90%-99% effective in preventing disease” (AAP). With a 90%-99% success rate it shows that it is so important to receive a vaccination because of the dangers of the diseases. In fact the 90%-99% effectiveness has “save[ed] 2.5 million children from preventable diseases every year” (Shot@Life). This direct correlation between these two arguments makes this side of the topic even more compelling. Another statistic that creates a realization that there may be more to vaccinations than we see on the

Vaccines prevent dangerous and contagious diseases and sickness from wiping out an entire population. For those who don't believe in vaccines, they see vaccines as an unnecessary pain. Schools in the U.S. already require certain vaccinations completed before starting school; For those who refuse the shots, they often opt for home school. We as a “Free Country” can’t force citizens to go out of their ways to pay shots a couple times a year. In addition to the fact that we are a free country, we cannot force someone to receive something that you would necessarily die without. A vaccine would only prevent a particular disease, but if you didn’t have the vaccine and you were to contract that disease, treatment would still be able to save you; Meaning without vaccines, technically, you’ll survive. In essence, the mandation of vaccinations by law can cause plenty of problems that could

Eventually, our bodies’ means of fighting disease may conquer, but for others, no such luck would occur. Diseases would spread like wildfire, and cases such as smallpox would still be here, taking the lives of countless. Without vaccinations, it is possible that the somewhat recent mumps outbreak in the NHL would’ve been much more widespread, or even to the level of an epidemic. Vaccinating everyone properly prevents these dangerous scenarios from occurring, and will continue to do so, so long as resources are properly used.

I think it is extremely crucial for everyone to get vaccinated. Diseases can easily travel from one individual to another; hence, those that are not protected are at risk. Vaccines are one convenient and safest preventive care measure available. It is recommended that people get vaccinated from birth through adulthood to provide a lifetime of protection against many diseases. Vaccinations are not only protecting your family, but also help protect others around you and help prevent the spread of these diseases to your friends and loved ones. Although we know the importance in getting vaccinated, many individuals to do as recommended, leaving them needlessly vulnerable to illness and long-term suffering. Vaccines will not give an individual the

The problem today with getting kids vaccinated is a study that was conducted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and 12 other colleagues. In this study that he published, claimed that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine caused behavior regression and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Even though this study was not a controlled one and he chose the results that benefitted his agenda. An example of not being vaccinated comes out of California, Janet D. Stemwedel wrote," . . . it will probably come as no surprise to you that California pertussis is a result of the downturn in vaccination in recent years, nor that this downturn has been driven in large part by parents worried that childhood vaccinations might lead to their kids getting autism, or asthma, or some other chronic diseases"(Stemwedel, 486). Humanity has an obligation to protect oneself and others that can't defend themselves. For example, people that have some sort of reaction to vaccinations and others that have an immune deficiency. Depend on the healthy persons to get vaccinated. In turn, they run less risk of contracting a mutation the virus causing serious health problems even death.

Vaccinations are an incredible innovation, and without them, our world would be quite different. These lifesaving inventions have always been quite controversial, and without knowing what they are fully capable of, some people and governments won't take any further actions to get vaccinations to people who are in need. For example, in India, the government is very detached from the issue, and hasn't invested in the heavily needed vaccines for its people. Especially the children, as one third of the children unvaccinated in the entire world reside in India. Also, Recent events in countries have drastically impacted how many people receive vaccines. As in the Central African Republic, the country has been in a fuming ongoing civil war that has killed over 6,000 people from its upbringing in 2012. People in the Central African Republic have been displaced, and are in desperate need other things, such as food or water. The longer a person goes without a vaccine, the higher the chance is of contracting a disease or virus. In Nigeria alone, “the national data showed less than 30% coverage for all antigens, and this decreased to 12.9% [in] 2003” (NCBI). Vaccines are a significant problem today because people are very uneducated about them.

“Proponents argue that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century. They point out that illnesses, including rubella, diphtheria, and whooping cough, which once killed thousands of infants annually are now prevented by vaccination” (“Vaccines”). Many deaths occur simply because children, along with adults, do not get the required shots needed. Medical treatments are not given to do a person any harm, but to keep a person and environment safe. Kids being vaccinated will give them less of a possibility to obtain a disease that could lead to death. Benefits outweigh any possibility of risking accumulating a disease. When people say that vaccinations are harmful, does not necessarily mean to develop a deadly disease, simply means some small risks. “Vaccines are not entirely harmless, but the small risks are outweighed by the benefits of a disease prevention” (Offit). Indeed flu shots must be tested in order to be able to give anyone the shot. Receiving vaccinations is only meant to help people prevent many illnesses and deaths. Although some small risks could be accumulated, those small risks are very small possibilities of anything happening to anyone. Getting immunized is not a one-time thing; people must follow up on required dates to receive them.

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”).

What is a vaccination? Why are they so important ? A vaccination is a live virus administered into the body to build immunity against deadly diseases. When a child is little and is exposed to a disease their bodies are not strong enough to fight it off and can make them very sick. Before vaccination came into play children would get diseases such as pertussis(whooping cough),polio,diphtheria, and tetanus, all of these being extremely deadly.Why would someone want to give a young child these deadly viruses? Studies have shown that no medicine is perfect but most childhood vaccines produce immunity about 90 - 100% of the time.(vaccines) Before vaccinations were invented people were only living 50-60 years, they now are living 20-25 years longer. How does this protect those who physically can not have vaccinations? Vaccinations protect those who can not be vaccinated, whether is be from a disease they are already fighting, chemo / radiation, and being allergic. All of those being reasons to hope others get their vaccinations. Vaccinations not only protect children from harmful diseases, but also those who can not be vaccinated.

For many years it has been believed that vaccinations are safe. Why are they safe? What do people know about vaccinations that are fact? Do vaccinations build or tear down the immune system? Are the shots supposed to be combined? The diseases that the shot protects you from, are they considered fatal? What is your education on vaccinations? What is your doctor's education on vaccinations? Do you know the ingredients that are in a single vaccination? In 1980 the government was only required to give children 9 vaccinations by the age of six and never more than two shots per visit. As of 2012, children will receive on schedule a minimum of 42 shots by the age of six and many of the shots are combined. I am writing this paper to share that there is not enough information on why vaccinations are needed for your child.

Throughout history, humans have suffered and died from various diseases. From 1346 to 1353, up to 200 million Europeans died from the bubonic plague (Staff 4). The death caused by this Black Death, is nearly equivalent to today’s population of Brazil at 209,288,278 people (“Countries in the world by population” 1). However, since this atrocious pandemic in the Middle Ages, there has never been such a detrimental outbreak due to an extreme improvement of quality of life. Those who are still in close contact with the pathogens for the disease, such as researchers and Peace Corps volunteers are now protected by the plague vaccine as advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“Plague Vaccine” 3). Nevertheless, this vaccine, developed in 1890, is just one of many vaccines that have improved human life. Vaccinations are beneficial because they have saved lives, improved the quality of life, and will prevent future outbreaks of such diseases.