The Problem Of Anti Vaccination

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.

The first supportive argument of mandating vaccines is that vaccines save lives. In their article “A Mandatory HPV Vaccine Will Save Lives” (2010), Ellen M. Daley and Robert J. McDermott argue the importance of mandating the human papillomavirus, HPV, vaccine. They first note one of the most well-known successful vaccinations: the polio vaccine. Created in 1955 and revamped in 1962 by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, the vaccine was first introduced when polio infections were over 16,000 cases and 1,900 deaths a year, and initially lowered the infection rate to less than 1,000 cases per year after 1955 (Daley and McDermott par. 2). This fact provides evidence that the first vaccine significantly reduced the number of

According to the Center’s of Disease Control and Prevention (2012), there are no federal requirements for childhood immunizations. While the CDC (2012) provides recommendations, each state sets their own rules and exemptions for schools and childcare attendance. On June 30, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown of California made history by eliminating the exemption from immunizations due to personal beliefs for children in public or private schools; however, medical exemptions initiated by a DO or MD will still be allowed (Royce, 2015; California Department of Public Health, 2015a). In 2013-2014, there were nearly 17000 personal belief vaccination exemptions in California (Almasy, 2015). Throughout the history of vaccinations very strong opinions for or against immunizations have existed,

Recently, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Vaccination Bill SB 277. This bill no longer has exceptions based on religious or personal-beliefs, and it requires every single child to have the proper vaccinations in order to be allowed into a public or private school. So if parents truly do not want their child to be vaccinated they would have to homeschool them instead. This bill was influenced by the recent outbreak of measles that started at Disneyland and spread very quickly and caused the infection of one hundred and fifty people. California, Mississippi, and West Virginia are the three states that no longer allow non-medical exemptions. This new law goes into effect on July 1, 2016.

In recent years there has been a movement against giving vaccines to children, that now has nearly 40% of parents in the United States following along. But it is due to these vaccines that most children today have never experienced diseases such as polio or the measles such as their grandparents have. Since they have not seen these diseases, parents feel it is unnecessary to vaccinate them for fear of developing the possible side effects or because of reports they cause autism. However, these vaccines are critical for eradicating these deadly infectious diseases, and are vitally needed to keep them under control. Which makes it absolutely necessary that children who wish to attend school have mandatory vaccinations against diseases such as polio and measles, without exception. Therefor this paper will show the benefits of getting vaccinated far out weigh the risks such as potentially saving your child 's life, protecting your families, and saving your family time and money from enduring prolonged hospital stays. That the risks of getting the diseases such disfigurement, paralysis, even death, or the very serious threat posed to people with medical exemptions like those who are immunocompromised are worse than the side effects of the vaccines. And yes, vaccines do have side effects, but not one of them is autism, and there is ample scientific evidence to back it up. It is vital to everyone that the current laws for mandatory vaccination of school age

When the Polio outbreak was thriving in 1953, Jonas Salk wasn’t just lying around. He was tiredly working on the improvement of the Polio vaccine (Fact Check). The previous vaccine was unreliable and unaffective. It led some patients to be infected with Polio and die

In April, California’s State Legislature moved forward a bill that would make it mandatory for children enrolled in public schools to be vaccinated, regardless of religious or personal beliefs. If the parents still do not want to vaccinate their children than they must homeschool them. In return, this sparked a huge debate on whether or not the bill should be passed. Just like almost anything there are pros and cons for parents vaccinating their child(ren). Some of the pros being: vaccines can save children’s lives; they protect the communities that children live in;

originate from a medical professionals mishandling of a study. This impacts the reputation of the whole medical community. Discovering

Polio had already killed 3,000 people at its peak rate in 1952; sadly, it had already paralyzed thousands of more people (Soylent 1)On April 12, 1955 the polio vaccine developed by Salk was allowed to be used by the public after it had been tested with 1.8 million children (Biography 1). The vaccine had drastically reduced the number of polio cases in children by 90%; 57,000 cases were recorded in 1952 and less than one thousand cases a decade later (Soylent 1). In addition, Jonas Salk later established his own institution for research named Salk Center for Biological Studies in 1963. The institution “remains one of the world's most prestigious facilities for research into AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's

Millions of lives have been saved thanks to a global effort to vaccinate for deadly diseases. Peter Yeo reports “Immunizations have saved more children than any other medical intervention in the last 50 years” (Reforming the U.N. 118). Yet, a new trend for parents is opting out of vaccinating their children for personal beliefs or religious exemptions. Although, the majority of Americans believe vaccines protect children, and conclusive evidence has proven vaccines can prevent the spread of deadly diseases. Still, a few parents believe vaccinating children is not essential for their health, additionally, they believe an increase in mandatory vaccines has insufficient scientific research to prevent serious medical side effects.

“Prevention is better than cure.” This common statement could not relate any better than it does with the controversy surrounding the morality, effectiveness, and safety of childhood immunizations. The major argument is whether or not laws should be established to declare vaccination mandatory for all children. “The US food and Drug administration (FDA) regulates all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness,” (ProCon.org, 2012) therefor there should not be any reason to risk the health of any child. Vaccinating our children not only ensures their safety but also that of their future to come.

In 1976, Dr. Jonah Salk, creator of the killed-virus vaccine used in the 1950s, testified that the live-virus vaccine (used almost exclusively from the 1960s-2000s in the U.S.) was the “principle if not sole cause” of all reported polio cases since 1961 in the United States.

Jonas salk invented the IPV vaccine. He was born October 28, 1914 to Russian parents. His parents had no education but wanted him to be successful so they encouraged him to work hard. “In 1939 he received a Medical Degree from New York University College of Medicine. In 1942 he joined one of his professors at the University of Michigan School of Public Health” (Petersen, Jennifer B). Jonas and his professor developed vaccine for influenza, which was Salk’s first invention. Then he traveled to Pittsburgh and became a Professor. There, he also became head of the virus research lab. He worked on a vaccine there. He used the killed virus to prevent people from contracting it. On July 2, 1952 he vaccinated 42 children who did not have polio and his trials succeeded. On April 12, 1955 Salk vaccinate 1.8 million children and right after he announced that his trial were effective and that the vaccine works (Petersen, Jennifer B).

Dr. Jonas Salk was an American medical researcher, physician, and virologist who developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine. Before this vaccine was created, polio vaccines usually contained live, weakened forms of the virus, but Salk developed a vaccine that contained an inactivated, dead form of polio, the first of its kind. Until the Salk vaccine was introduced on April 12, 1955, polio was considered the most frightening health problem in the United Sates. Just 3 years before the vaccine was released, almost 58,000 cases were reported, with 3,145 deaths and 21,269 paralyzed. Most of the victims were children, leaving them scarred for the rest of their lives, which, depending on how bad they were affected, wasn’t long. Because

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).