The Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

The choice to vaccinate a child holds much debate in society today. As a person that lives in America, you may feel it is your right to be able to choose what medical needs and necessities you would want for your child or yourself. “The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 29 doses of 9 vaccines (plus a yearly flu shot after six months old) for kids aged 0 to six. No US federal laws mandate vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Even though vaccines are considered extremely safe there are cases where in some people have a type of allergic reaction. Most states offer medical and religious exemptions; and some states allow philosophical exemptions” (Wadman, 2017). This point calls for a lot of debate, both in the scholarly world and among average citizens. Some people claim that such medical conditions, such as autism are the result of over vaccinating or dosing at early ages of development. Reasons on the topic vary, and concerns can end up in long legal disputes. Such disputes have raised the question of vaccine safety, prevention, and government intervention.

Humans, as we are today, can thank many genetic and medical advances for each day lived on this planet. Creatures and humans alike have evolved for many years in many ways. In modern day, vaccinations are the reason why many people are not dying from simple diseases and viruses such as the flu, however, evolution and genetics mean vaccinations are not always needed to enjoy a long and prosperous life.

Whether or not vaccines should be required for children has been a heavy topic for debate especially over the past decade. With ever evolving illnesses seeming to particularly be attracted to children ( Because their immune systems are not capable of fighting off the attacking cells ) the need for action has become more and more apparent. Although there has been a lot of disagreement on the subject of vaccines, The answer is plain and simple. Vaccines need to be required. Not for the good of just the child involved, But the community as a whole.

In 1796, Edward Jenner, a doctor living in Berkeley, England, injected an eight year old with a new concoction made of cow-pox lesions. James Phillips, the young boy, then became immune to the adverse effects of the Smallpox for the remainder of his life. Unaware at the time, Jenner conducted the world’s first vaccination, laying the groundwork for future innovations. Years later, accomplished scientists followed in Jenner’s footsteps, creating vaccines to combat everything from Measles to Polio to Tetanus. Despite the superior benefits of the new revelation, numerous parents still made the decision to not vaccinate their kids. A study conducted by CNN reveals that today, up to twenty eight

Those who are for vaccines focus on the bigger risks. Being vaccinated does come with the risk that you may suffer from side effects, or they may not work. However, vaccinating eliminates the threat of contracting a serious and fatal disease. Choosing which risk you want to take; possibly facing side affects, or suffering from a serious disease, may save your life one day. Vaccines overall have more positive outcomes than negative.

In America, before vaccines, an average of 29,005 people died annually of smallpox, 16,316 died of polio, and 21,053 died of diphtheria. Thanks to vaccines, these diseases are thought to have been eliminated from America, yet people are still unconvinced that vaccines are helpful. However, in order to properly analyze whether vaccines are helpful or harmful, information must be gathered, such as the definition and origin of vaccines, the positive effects of vaccines, and the negative effects of vaccines.

Many wonder if children should have mandatory vaccines. Currently children are not mandated to receive all vaccines, however since schools require that children have certain vaccines are necessary to enroll children in school. Shots like the flu vaccine are not required for enrollment, but they are recommended.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 29 doses of 9 vaccines plus a yearly flu shot after children reach the age of 6 months. No federal law require vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Most states offer medical and religious exemptions. Supporters say that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments as of late. They point out that illnesses, including rubella, flu, smallpox, polio, and whooping cough, are now preventable by vaccination and millions of children’s lives are saved. They say side effects to vaccines are extremely rare.

Worldwide, 1 in 10 infants do not receive any vaccinations; this equates to 12.9 million unprotected, vulnerable, new born babies. To put this into perspective the population of Illinois is approximately 12.8 million. The controversy of governments requiring vaccinations has led to misconceptions about vaccines and their potential risks. Although parents argue that it is their right to choose whether their child should receive vaccinations, they need to be a requirement for all children to ensure safety of the child and the public. Some parents decide not to vaccinate their child due to them believing that they are unsafe and that the side effects of vaccines are worse than the actual disease; however, vaccines are crucial to the safety and well-being of their child's life. Life-saving vaccines have been around for several years, and many major medical organizations deem them safe; vaccines not only protect individuals, but protect “herds;” and as a result of vaccinations many diseases have been nearly or fully eradicated. Some opponents may argue that vaccines can cause life-threatening allergic reactions; however, these reactions are extremely rare and vaccines save exponentially more children than they harm.

Scientific advancements, particularly those in medicine, have greatly benefited humanity. However, as advancements in medicine rise, so do opposition and controversy. One such example of a controversial advancement is the modern vaccine. Vaccines are typically administered through needle injections called vaccinations; these injections contain a weakened form of any one disease. When one receives a vaccination, their immune system gets a chance to “practice” how to fend off the specific disease, so that when the person is exposed to a stronger form of it in a natural environment, their immune system is better prepared to fight it off. The safety of vaccines can be attributed to constant development, testing, and trials done by medical professionals after years— even decades— of research. However, “anti-vaxxers” still challenge the safety of vaccines for a multitude of reasons, with the most popular one being that vaccinations will directly cause the development of autism in children. Despite the fact that medical professionals and scientists have concluded again and again that vaccines are not directly related to the development of autism, the belief still persists. Some believe that vaccines contain dangerous poisons and chemicals that weaken or even destroy the immune system, forcing consumers to purchase antibiotics to feed the greed of pharmaceutical companies. Others believe that vaccines are simply useless for the immune system, and are just used as a scare tactic to

Vaccines have proven throughout the years to be a way to keep families around the world safe from infectious diseases. Recently, millennial parents have lost hope in the effectiveness of vaccines. Parents believe that vaccines can cause harmful side effects to their growing children. One harmful side effect millennial parents believe in is developing autism and sudden infant death syndrome. Vaccines have little to no side effects. It should be required for children to be vaccinated starting at an early age. Vaccines protect against harmful diseases that have caused epidemics and killed thousands. Most of these diseases have be eradicated due to vaccines being readily available. Young children are the most common carriers of diseases due to not having full knowledge of washing hands. If children are required to get vaccines there will be less sickness and overall healthy lives for them, as they grow older.

Vaccines have been engineered to help prevent infectious diseases some specifically for children. Not every parent want to let their children get vaccines and other people believe that these vaccines are vital. This forms the debate on whether or not vaccines should be required for every child.

Why wouldn’t people want to be vaccinated when there is diseases out there that can cause them to be in pain and sometimes it can be fatal?

Vaccines have saved many lives the last couple of decades by the support and advancements in Vaccinology. The effectiveness of vaccines has expanded, leaving 99% of people getting vaccinated to help the epidemic of immunity in Louisiana. The sensitive discussion of whether it should be voluntary or involuntary for parents to have children vaccinated is still controversial today. The parents that refuse to vaccinate their children has started a vaccine war due to opting out of vaccinations for their children. When they decide to opt out of their children receiving vaccination, the children become unprotected and gain ability to spread diseases efficiently. There are many vaccines provided for children to help prevent various diseases throughout their life including Varicella, Tetanus, HepA, FLi and MMR. When parents can protest vaccinations, they are setting up the public to be a disease transmitting environment which could contribute to further problems. Utilitarianism can help us prevent the further problems of disease spreading by making the children get the vaccines because it is best for the greater good. As of today, there are a variety of vaccinations required of children before attending school, Varicella being one of them. Varicella is a vaccine for the chicken pox, which is easily spread among children not vaccinated. When parents withhold their children from vaccines such as Varicella they are at risk for disease exposure, prevent them from attending school and

. Most children today in the United States receive multiple post-natal vaccinations. As such, some parents are concerned about their children being overly vaccinated. Staunch vaccination opponents believe that vaccinations can cause physiological impairment, mental disorders, and even birth defects. This is largely attributed to a broad misunderstanding of two intrinsic properties of vaccines. Vaccines are generally weakened versions of a viral strain. Once the vaccine is exposed to a patient, the patient’s own immune system recognizes so called markers called antigens on the surface of the virus. The immune system promptly initiates a cascade of cellular actions that both result in the virus being destroyed and a prompt increase in the number of immune cells that are engineered to attack that specific virus strain. Opponents to vaccination are likely to oppose vaccines once educated on how vaccines work and how much vaccines have contributed to modern society. In extreme cases, vaccinations can cause severe illnesses, however they are credited with preventing numerous diseases on a global scale. Vaccination should be mandatory because they prevent malignant illnesses from occurring and have been shown eradicate certain diseases.