The Vaccine War: Media Theory Essay

The argument encompassing whether or not parents should vaccinate their children is ongoing. It is a very interesting matter to learn about and I possess some strong feelings about the case. This issue interests me because there are parents who don’t have their children vaccinated, and there are parents who do have them vaccinated. But all these parents share one particular quality: they all would like for their kids to be safe.

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.

Unfortunately, little progress has been made since then, as reports from 2015 show only 72.2 percent of U.S. children are fully vaccinated (KFF, 2017). Healthy People 2020 recommends a national goal of 80 percent to maintain herd immunity (Child Trends Databank, 2015). Despite the life-saving importance of immunization, these stagnant rates show that many mothers of U.S. children do not adhere to vaccination recommendations. These critics and skeptics of vaccines are a part of the anti-vaccination movement. Originating upon the discovery of the first vaccine in 1796, this movement has progressed for hundreds of years. Currently, through media and prominent anti-vax social figures, the public can easily be relayed messages of vaccine controversies rather than scientific facts. Falsehoods include perceived low risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases, “overloading” the child’s immune system, mercury in vaccines, reports of negative reactions after vaccination, and the infamously popular myth that vaccines cause autism (Mittenzwei, Morrison, & Williams,

Recently an anti-vaccination movement has sparked a worldwide discussion about both the safety of vaccines and the responsibility of people to vaccinate. Recent outbreaks of preventable diseases have caused both fear and anger from people on both sides of the issue. These same outbreaks have also served to cause significant political tension between those against vaccines, who do not want their right to choose compromised, and many proponents of vaccines, who are calling for mandatory vaccinations.

Controversy concerning the risks of vaccinations will always exist. As is the nature of a preventative intervention, it is difficult to rationalize giving a completely healthy child an injection that is known to have varying degrees of sides affects5. Additionally, these injections are to provide immunity to children for diseases that have an extremely low risk of circulating within a population. Since these vaccines have been able to protect so many individuals from experiencing these dangerous infections, most parents do not even have personal experiences regarding the impact of these diseases. As such, many parents do not see the vaccine-preventable disease as a threat to their child. This often causes parents to not fully understand the risk their child has for contracting a disease and the subsequent danger of a vaccine-preventable disease infection verses the potential side effect of a vaccine which is normally only mild to moderate discomfort for their child15.

“Sustaining high vaccination coverage among school-age children is vital to prevent outbreaks and avoid reestablishment of diseases that have been eliminated in the United States” (Zangger, 2017). Most of the articles found, stated a variety of issues involved with noncompliant parental decisions made about not vaccinating their children. Of these issues, to my attention, the main problem with compliance of vaccines comes from the lack of knowledge about adverse effects and contraindications. What parents are missing is the fact that these childhood diseases are totally preventable diseases. We also are seeing a lot of parents choose to use an alternative vaccination schedule (AVS) instead of what is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that leads to the same kind of issue (Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine and council on the community, 2011). The studies show that parents have an increased likelihood of refusing to vaccinate due to the lack of education provided on the subject itself.

Throughout the article, Hendrix evaluates the possible arguments of parents who turn down opportunities to vaccinate their children and later discusses methods to evoke better communication. For example, Hendrix states, “Some parents do invoke the herd immunity argument as a reason not to vaccinate, suggesting that it is unnecessary that they expose their child to the risk of side effects from vaccination if everyone else is vaccinated to a level that prevents the spread of illnesses” (2). While her stance calls for policymakers and health officials to consider the reasoning behind parental opposition to vaccinations, she also refutes

In a country where health and safety are top priority all across the nation, America has recently had an epidemic. Everyone is worried about the safety concerns about their children getting vaccinated. There are many fears of vaccinations amongst our country, despite the fears, vaccinations are quite safe and the immunization of our youth will keep them healthy for years to come. People worry and protest against vaccinations even though they are heavily regulated before anyone can use them.

Vaccinations have had a huge influence on enhancing the health of kids across the country, yet every year, regardless of the health department’s efforts, the number of parents opting out of vaccinating their children continually rises. This essay explores various articles, journals and facts about vaccinations in an attempt to convince the audience that this is a serious enough issue that warrants their immediate attention. The vaccination prevents dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases. One of the most effective ways for a parent to protect their child is to have them immunized. The vaccination does not only protect the individual child but also aides in the protection of the community in which the child lives. Opponents of vaccinations,

A public safety issue that is this huge has many interested parties but the main three are parents, medical professionals and the federal government. Parents have a strong interest in this issue because of their natural concern for the safety of their children. It’s a parent’s responsibility to make the best decisions they can with the information they have, in regards to the health of their children. Medical professionals also have a strong connection to this issue for several reasons. First, the growth of the anti-vaccination movement can be pinpointed to

A recent controversy has been, whether parents should or should not be permitted to opt their children out of required vaccinations. Parents should not be able to opt out of required vaccinations because they are beneficial and can cause serious risks if not taken. In “Refusing Vaccinations Puts Others At Risk”, Ronald Bailey remarks that parents are putting others at risk by not vaccinating their children. In the article “The Return of Measles”, Seth Mnookin stated as well, that by opting out of vaccinations, others can be put in jeopardy. Although there is also another side of this controversy with people who believe parents have a right to opt their children out of vaccinations. In an excerpt from “Vaccinations and Free Will”. Jeffrey A. Singer implies that people cannot be forced to have their child receive a vaccination. Finally, in “The Science is Not Settled”, Sandy Reider claims that vaccinations cause further harm than good. While Reider and Singer claim that parents should be able to opt out, it is clear that parents should not be able to opt out because it places others around them in danger.

Many parents stress over the choice of deciding whether or not to vaccinate their children. The reason why deciding to vaccinate children is so difficult is due to the wide range of myths and side effects that are connected with vaccinations. Myths spread to parents all over the United States that the diseases don’t even exist anymore, rumors of vaccinations weakening a child’s immune system, and the risk of a child becoming autistic due to thimerisol in vaccinations. Side effects also scare parents out of getting their children vaccinated like brain damage, seizures, or allergic reactions, but then parents are pulled back to the thought of the possibility of

This topic is extremely significant to my audience because a growing number of parents do not vaccinate their children due to fear of side effects. Parents today have lost confidence in in the vaccination industry as a consequence of sensationalism brought about by false evidence published and the celebrities that latched onto that claim. Sadly, some people have taken to considering the strong opinions and may not research vaccinations before making decisions

Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. Vaccinations have been used since the 18th century to cure various deadly diseases, from smallpox to the influenza virus. On a global level, vaccination is one of the few cost-effective medical measures that result in universal benefit. Yet there have always been those opposed to vaccinations because of possible side effects. With the increase in technology and the ability to share ideas in modern society the anti vaccine movement has flourished making the eradication of disease and safety of the public a difficult task. The anti-vaccine movement in the United States is one which brings about a very serious issue of safety. Vaccinations are put in place to protect people; they are administered by trained professionals who weigh the costs and benefits of vaccines. Yet there are still people out there who refuse to be vaccinated out of fear and therefore decide for themselves the effectiveness of vaccines. In order to ensure a safe society the public needs to be educated about vaccine in order to make a truly informed decision.

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