The Pros And Cons Of The MMR Vaccine

Therefore, anyone entering the area has a high probability of contracting the virus through the respiratory system or even by touching a surface contaminated with the droplets and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes ("Transmission of Measles," 2015).  The risk factors are high for a Measles outbreak in a community in that an anti-vaccination movement has become popular among some parents who believe that vaccinations can be bad for their children.  Statistics show that most of the non-vaccinated children that become exposed to the virus will more than likely acquire the virus (Ross, 2015).

For years there has been public controversies over the advancements in science and all of the health risks that have been around, but now the use of the media has certainly boosted the amount of confusion throughout the public. Frightening stories regarding the progressions of science have been appearing online and in print. One particular example of this issue was the MMR vaccine debate. The MMR vaccine is an immunization vaccine which fights against rubella, measles, and mumps. During the 1990’s the media played a huge role in the decisions parents made regarding whether or not they allowed their children to get vaccinated. The media portrayed the MMR vaccine as having a possible link between autism. Which left the public worried about the MMR vaccine and having conflicting views and feelings towards the safety of vaccinations. In the MMR vaccine debate scientist and the media played two different roles which helped citizens make decisions regarding vaccination.

Anyone that has not been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine is at risk for contracting measles. Other risk factors are vitamin A deficiency and traveling to third world countries. Coming in contact with someone that has this disease can increase your risk as well.

Every person that has not been vaccinated by the MMR is at risk of contracting the disease. In the CDC’s vigilance to keep the United States free of measles, it has listed several key challenges. They are the following:

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.

Research done by the Centres for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) has shown that the MMR vaccine, or the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, is 93% effective against measles after one dosage, and 97% effective after two doses. Moreover, the Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is shown to be 98% effective after two doses, and the hepatitis B vaccine is shown to be over 90% effective in infants, children and adults alike. Despite the fact that the aforementioned vaccines aren’t 100 percent effective, their high success rates still prove that vaccines are extremely effective, thus making them essential to maintaining children’s

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.

Positive- One positive aspect of the MMR vaccination program is that the vaccine is effective in a large majority of people and only needs two doses for complete immunisation. Roughly 64 out of 100 people will be protected against mumps, 90 out of 100 people will be protected against measles and 95 out of 100 people will be protected against rubella when receiving the first dose of MMR. This high success rate makes the vaccine program efficient and people may be more willing to receive the vaccine knowing it will work.

But the most serious risks, such as severe allergic reactions, are rarer than the diseases vaccines protect against. Other people argue that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, in particular, might cause autism. The authors refute these ideas by saying that studies have shown that there is no link between the two. Their conclusion is “To counteract the fears and misperceptions associated with vaccine campaigns, the research community and governmental agencies need to be proactive with regard to continued vaccine education, guiding public perception with rigorous scientific research on vaccine safety and emphasizing the importance of vaccination in preventing unwanted and potentially lethal infectious

Data has suggested that the MMR vaccination is not associated with the increased risk of pervasive developmental disorders. No increased risk of autism has been after following the exposure to wild measles as well as vaccinations with monovalent measles, and Urabe or Jeryl-Lynn variants of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. This fat there is no evidence that points to the onset of autistic symptoms or of regression is actually related to measles, mumps and rubella vaccination. Data does not support the association between MMR and

Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash, and can lead to pneumonia, hospitalization, or death. The infection can leave permanent damage to the brain and lungs. There is no antiviral medication for measles so it is easier to prevent it than to treat it. In 2016, the US had 70 confirmed cases of measles, mostly in unvaccinated people, and there were 73 confirmed cases of measles in unvaccinated children in Minnesota June 2017 alone (Howard, 2017, ¶2-3). Kristen Ehresmann, the director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control Division at the State Department of Health said, “Many of the cases could have been prevented if people had gotten vaccinated” (Ehresmann,2017, ¶4). At least 8,250 people were exposed to the measles, mostly in schools, daycares, and healthcare facilities. There were a total of 21 hospitalizations (Howard, 2017, ¶6). A situation where vaccines did stop an outbreak was in 2005 when an 18-month-old Amish girl contracted polio and spread the disease to four other children who were too young to be vaccinated, but because the community had their vaccines, the herd immunity prevented a massive outbreak (Vaccine ProCon, 2018,

Although it is very important to immunise against this disease, the vaccine does have side-effects, and no vaccine is completely safe. The Measles vaccine is given as part of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. The common and less severe side effects are; fever; mild rash; temporary pain or stiffness of joints,

In 1963 the Noble Peace Prize winning virologist John F. Enders finally licensed his vaccine for measles. Prior to this vaccine the United States alone reported 4 million cases of the measles each year. With more scientific discoveries the measles vaccine today has evolved to include immunity against rubella and mumps along with protecting millions against illness each year. However, vaccination is a word surrounded by controversy in today’s parenting world and the Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR) can be distinguished as possibly the most controversial vaccine of our time. Controversial because of the fear that many have that it causes autism along with other hazards. This fear has clouded

As time progressed, scientific innovations have led to the development of vaccines for various types of infectious diseases. Diseases that were once feared by the American public such as smallpox, whooping cough, and polio have now become rare. Smallpox has even been eradicated with the last naturally occurring case presenting itself in 1980. Vaccines were once welcomed with open arms by the citizens of the United States, but that all changed in the late 1990s when Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his collegues published a report the linked the MMR vaccine to autism. The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubuella) vaccine is usually administered to children 12 months and

Vaccines; a more than spectacular development of science which has prevented countless numbers of diseases by giving one’s body an immunity to a microorganism by stimulating the body’s immune system and giving it the ability to recognize the pathogen as it enters the body to be more easily and readily destroyed. Autism, on the other hand, has not yet been fully linked back to a specific cause or reason. Because of this uncertainty, disgruntled parents have chosen to believe ideas with no scientific backing behind them besides what discredited scientist Wakefield said in a paper linking the MMR vaccine to autism along with some celebrities following Jenny McCarthy’s Anti-Vaccination Movement.