The Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

As the CDC states, “The most common side effects are mild. On the other hand, many vaccine-preventable disease symptoms can be serious, or even deadly.”(CDC 2016) Vaccination also helps to prevent disease from spreading and sometimes have caused them to be eradicated entirely such as; small pox, which is no longer vaccinated for. Another common concern is that the large amount of vaccines given to young children will overwhelm their immune systems but, in fact, children’s immune systems are bombarded by different germs every day and successfully fight them off. With that said vaccines are even weaker than these commonly encountered germs in that they are weakened or dead and should not cause any serous reaction. Though, in the event of a serious reaction doctors and staff are informed on how to easily deal with them and prevent future complications. Another issue that has plagued the medical community is that, “Some people believe that naturally acquired immunity—immunity from having the disease itself—is better than the immunity provided by vaccines. However, natural infections can cause severe complications and be deadly.” (CDC 2013) Even though there are large amounts of evidence for vaccines and strict safety precautions some people don’t want to vaccinate their

Tetanus is also known as lockjaw causes painful tightening of the muscles all over the body, with 2 out of 10 cases leading to death. As for Diphtheria, many people have heard of this disease, however, few can attest to its effect on an individual. Diphtheria causes copious layers of mucus in the throat that leads to breathing problems, failure of the heart and even death. “The mortality rate in 1921 was very high it resulted in more than 15,000 deaths, but since the vaccine era only 15 cases have been reported worldwide since 2004” (Vaccine and Immunizations 2014).( See image on page 6 for visual) Now let’s get to the side effects of this vaccine: Fever, redness and swelling were vaccine was given and soreness and tenderness at the vaccine site. However, there are a few more serious reactions: seizures 1 out if 14,000, non-stop crying for more than 3 hours 1 out of 1,000 and high fever over 1 out of 16,000. (“Vaccine Information Statements”2016”). Keep in mind these reactions are very uncommon. According to the CDC in 2014 a total of 1,737 deaths accrued from the vaccines. If you think about it that is significantly lower than over 15,000 deaths caused by Diphtheria alone. If the well-being of a child is not enough to convince you that vaccines are beneficial, the money saved from an extended hospital stay will.

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.

This article discusses the much debated concept of whether vaccines are correlated to causing autism. The controversy began in 1998 when a MMR vaccine – used to fight measles, mumps and rubella in children – was linked by a fraudulent research paper to disorders related to autism (Bearman 2010). As a result of the claims of the paper, there was a sharp drop in vaccination rates where the research was first originally reported – in the UK and in Ireland (Bearman 2010). As a result, there was a significant increase in the occurrence of measles and mumps, resulting in significant casualties as well as significant permanent injuries (Bearman 2010). Subsequently, a variety of research institutions have undergone significant testing of this “hypothesis” and have concluded there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Vaccinations have been extremely important in the United States of America for as long as they have been around. The first vaccination was in the year of 1796, when Edward Jenner created the first smallpox vaccination. A vaccine, also known as an immunization is a “biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease,” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 3). The American Academy of Pediatrics states that "most childhood vaccines are 90%-99% effective in preventing disease,” and that "Vaccines Save 2.5 million children from diseases every single year." There are 10 vaccines that are critical for human health, and below each vaccine is laid out on what the vaccine is, the risks, and how they repel diseases.

Vaccines are one of the most debated topics in today’s society. Ever since the first smallpox vaccine there has been controversy over the ethics and safety of it. However, vaccines have helped people in many ways when it comes to their health. But, are they actually harmful? Are we being lied to, or is all this just a scare?

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.

Health related reactions to vaccines are extremely rare, the most common reaction is an allergic reaction and even that is one per several hundred thousand.

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.

Millions of people get vaccinated every year and many of them do not know of all of the controversy that has been surrounding vaccines in recent years. A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease. So in clearer words a vaccine is putting a small amount of the disease into the body. This small amount of disease will help teach the body how to fight off a larger amount of disease (Markel and Alexandra 612). Vaccines have helped to save many lives, but because of safety hazards they have also failed to save many. Many people believe that vaccines could be the greatest invention of all time, but other people think they are unsafe for the body. Vaccines have dangerous chemicals in them that

Live mice brains, aborted human fetus cells, canine fetus cells, and beef extract are just a few disturbing items one may find in a vaccine ingredient list (“Vaccines ProCon”). These irksome items are accompanied by harmful chemicals such as thimerosal and formaldehyde, both of which, can be toxic towards humans when exposed in copious amounts and can even trigger leukemia and brain cancer; leading an individual to death. Likewise, the ingredient lists alone should be enough to make any pro-vaccine individual or vegan alike, distance themselves from a cold, metal needle.

Vaccinations are injections of weak or dead germs of a disease. The body of the recipient is tricked into making antibodies against the disease, therefore building up their immunity to the sickness (Gard, 18). Immunizations are nothing new; the immunization method was first discovered in the late 1700’s when smallpox was an epidemic. A doctor named Edward Jenner noticed that when people caught the very similar but less deadly cowpox, they rarely contracted the smallpox disease (“History of Anti-Vaccination Movements”). Jenner infected a boy with cowpox, and then weeks later with smallpox. As expected, the boy did not catch the smallpox disease. Now, Over 200 years later, vaccines are widely accepted and even required for kids to attend school (unless the child has an exemption.) Richard Hoffman, a chief medical officer, even stated, "Vaccines remain the most effective tool we have for preventing disease and improving public health." (Gard, 18). However, despite the mass support, many parents don’t believe in vaccinations. These beliefs are based on speculative risks of autism, schizophrenia, ADD, and other disorders and diseases. Since commonly vaccinated diseases can be very dangerous and even deadly but the theorized ineffectiveness lead to other devastating consequences, the decision to vaccinate a child is a serious one. While a majority of people support that vaccinations have nearly ,eradicated illnesses, others believe that vaccines have negative consequences that

Vaccines are safe, and one of the greatest developments in the 20th century that improves our health and longevity. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends 9 vaccines that are covered in 29 doses, but there is no federal law that mandates vaccinations. There is a large debate over the morality of forcing people to vaccinate. Many people do not fully understand what a vaccine is, and this may cause some confusion and evasion. A vaccine protects and prepares a body for exposure to a particular disease. This allows the body to develop an immunity to that disease and to build a resistance if contracted in its lifetime. This paper will provide sufficient evidence that shows the development and research spent creating vaccines as well as the impact they provide to society. First, explaining what vaccinations are as well as their benefits to the body. Then, the large impact that they can have when administered universally to improve the overall health of humans. Finally, explaining what the side effects are, in comparison to contracting a disease that can occur in humans. The government should step in and mandate vaccinations because they shouldn’t be optional. Vaccines offer protection and should be mandatory since they provide a significant impact for better health.

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.

Everyone wants to be a good parent to their child. So, what are ways to keep your child safe? According to World Health Organization immunization prevent up to 2-3 million deaths per year (Tedros) and there are many things that parents can do to protect their child. One way to protect them is to get them vaccinated. Children’s vaccines are extremely beneficial because vaccines prevent infection, they decrease the spread of disease and they do not cause harm like people may think.