The Measles Vaccine

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.

Children should be required to have certain vaccinations in order to help prevent them from contracting life threatening diseases. In the past, thousands of children were paralyzed by polio or killed by diphtheria, but now, thanks to vaccinations, these diseases are no longer a major threat in the United States (“The Success of Vaccines.”) Although many diseases have become less of a threat, there are still those that are still those that pose a danger to people in today’s world. One of these diseases is measles. Measles is a viral disease that kills hundreds of people a

All too often we hear on the news of the devastating effects of a disease that could have been prevented by vaccines, but because of parents refusal to vaccinate their infants and children, public health professionals are now confronted with a health crisis. The importance of vaccinations is to provide children with added protection because of a young, developing immune system. Consequently, vaccines will help in boosting the immune system in recognizing and protecting children from vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, mumps, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough.1 For example, pertussis, a bacterial infection that is preventable by vaccines, has infected 16 million persons worldwide, and causes about 195,000 deaths

Many infectious diseases that once quickly spread and easily killed have been controlled or eradicated due to vaccinations. The efficacy of vaccines in reducing morbidity and mortality, particularly in children, is undeniable. Per the World Health Organization, childhood vaccinations prevent approximately 2-3 million deaths per year worldwide (WHO, 2016). In the United States, the value of immunizations is clearly displayed by comparing pre-vaccine era morbidity/mortality rates to post-vaccine era in regards to vaccine-preventable diseases. For example, prior to the diphtheria vaccine in the 1920’s, 206,000 people annually contracted the disease resulting in 15,520 deaths (History of Vaccines, 2009). However, between 2004 and 2014, only

Despite significant progress in the fight against preventable disease, millions still die needlessly each year. According to UNICEF, originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, a vaccine preventable disease is responsible for 2 million fatal infections worldwide each year. About 75% of these deaths occur in children under five years of age. (N) In more vivid terms, UNICEF notes that vaccine-preventable diseases kill a child every 20 seconds. (D) Due to high rates of childhood vaccination, the United States has experienced a dramatic reduction in such deaths. A comparison of the years 1950 and 2010 clearly illustrates the benefits of vaccinations. During this 60-year period, deaths from diphtheria reduced from 410 to 0, tetanus from 336 to 3, pertussis from 1,118 to 26, and polio from 1,904 to 0. Measles deaths dropped from 468 in 1950 to 0 in 2008, the last year a United States death rate was recorded. It’s not surprising that vaccinations have been touted as one of the top ten health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

We have all heard the old saying a bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. However, now there is research to prove it, at least in work situations . In the podcast, Ira Felps speaks to a professor in the Netherlands, who created an experiment to see what happens to productivity when a bad worker joins a team. Felps separated people into small groups and then gave them a task. One member of the group was an actor, after a short amount of time the rest of the group started behaving like the bad apples as well. The next part of the podcast talked about measles vaccinations. Measles cases are higher than they've been in decades mainly because more parents are nervous and refusing to vaccinate their children. Recently, an unvaccinated 7-year-old boy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claim that immunizations are one of the most successful interventions in public health history (2015). The CDC is qualified to make this statement as research shows the vaccinations have eradicated smallpox and nearly eliminated the polio virus, in addition to diminishing the occurrences of preventable infectious diseases such as measles, diphtheria and whooping cough (2015). However, despite the statistics and research, in 2015, only 71.6% of the children between 19 and 35 months received the combined 7 vaccine series (CDC, 2015). This decline in vaccination rate can have devastating effects not only on the individual child, but also on the community, as a whole. Consequently,

Immunizations were created to keep children and adults healthy and safe. Edward Jenner administered the world’s first vaccination known as the smallpox vaccine, which had killed millions of people over the centuries (). Jenner administered the vaccine on an eight year old boy who he exposed to the fluid of a cowpox blisters, the boy developed a blister which eventually went away. Jenner then exposed the boy to the smallpox disease and the boy did not get sick, this led to the smallpox vaccine and the drastic decline in the smallpox disease. Fast-forward three centuries later and the small pox diseases is eradicated do to people receiving the vaccine. Immunizations are extremely important to the world’s overall health. Babies and children are most vulnerable to disease because they are son young and their organs and bodies are growing at a rapid rate. It is important for children to be immunized against vaccine preventable diseases such as: rubella, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough), and a host of other diseases. High vaccination coverage has significantly reduced vaccine-preventable disease morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially among children (Baggs et. al., 2011). While some people focus on the cons of vaccinations, there are many pros to children receiving vaccinations.

The history of the Vaccines for Children program was a result of the 1989 measles epidemic in the United States. This epidemic resulted in tens of thousands of cases of measles and hundreds of deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). As the Centers for Disease and Prevention investigated this epidemic it was discovered that greater half of the children who had measles had not been vaccinated. In response to that epidemic, “Congress passed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) on August 10, 1993, creating the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). This program became operational October 1, 1994.

Parents need to realize that the risks of not being vaccinated greatly compensate the minimal risks associated with vaccination. Diseases such as measles and mumps are entirely preventable, and if are not prevented can cause permanent disability and death. A little over a decade ago a measles outbreak amongst unvaccinated children in Philadelphia resulted in seven deaths. It is also known that children who become infected with mumps become permanently deaf. What many parents do not realize is that an outbreak can be totally

Throughout history, it has been shown that vaccines make a significant impact on the health of our communities and “administration of these vaccines led to dramatic reduction in the number of cases of, as well as deaths from smallpox, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps and preventable diseases” (Jacobson, 2012, p.36). Generally, those involved in campaigns for and research in these preventable diseases attribute vaccines for children as the main contributing factor to the overall decline in diseases such as measles, mumps, smallpox and pertussis (Jacobson, 2012). In the public health setting, there are many issues that threaten the health and safety of the public, not just in the local community but the nation and world-wide. One such issue, surfacing in public health, is the issue of vaccinations; those who choose to vaccinate, those who choose not to vaccinate and those who do not

Vaccines and the side effects often frighten many individual just at the mere thought of vaccinating their child. Many parents are not clearly informed about what vaccinations are, what it does to protect the human body against different viruses it comes encounter with. For instance, the measles vaccine has been refused by many people and unknowing to them this disease has grave repercussions. Measles is a very contagious disease and can be prevented by the use of vaccine.

An article by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2014, with 667 cases from 27 states reported to CDC 's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). This happened because many people are under the misconception that Vaccines are dangerous to the human body and they believe that the risks of vaccination outweigh the benefits. In my paper I will first highlight how vaccines work, then I will address the common concerns that people have about vaccinations, after which I will explain the benefits of vaccination. This should prove that vaccinating saves lives.

Measles is dangerous virus and there is no medicine that kills measles virus if someone already infected. Therefore, measles prevention is a key to stop measles outbreaks. There are two strategies, but not limited to, prevent the measles outbreaks.

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).