To Immunize or Not to Immunize

To Vaccinate or not to vaccinate, has been a question many parents in America have been asking themselves for years. Some parents believe that it is their right to decide if their children will be vaccinated; while some states believe that all children should be vaccinated. There are logical and illogical reasons for this argument. There should be a federal law that requires parents to vaccinate their children because it will lower the number of deaths, benefit those children who have lower immune systems, and it can get rid of some diseases all together in the future.

According to the CDC (2014) vaccinations are one of the best ways to put an end to the serious effects of certain diseases, some that can be deadly. Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are not just gambling with their child’s life, they are also gambling with the lives of others. It is always better to prevent a disease than to have to treat it after it occurs. People with weakened immune systems are not as strong such as pregnant women, newborns, cancer patients, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive people, transplant recipients, and the elderly are also affected by the choice not to vaccinate.

In the United States, the law states that vaccinations are required for children entering school unless they have a valid reason that prevents them from receiving the vaccinations. Starting when children are born, they begin the regimen of vaccinations that continue throughout their adolescent years and adulthood. Each year children receive a variation of shots to protect them from the illnesses they will encounter in the world, especially once they attend school. The most common reasons parents forego getting their children vaccinated are religious beliefs, medical exemptions, and personal beliefs. Due to the rising number of parents declining to get their children vaccinated, the number of outbreaks of preventable diseases has increased. The question is now should parents/guardians be forced to vaccinate their children?

Would you ever take away a prime defense from your child? Some parents are doing so without even knowing it. Per Glanz and Daley, “Last year 10 children died in California in the worst whooping cough outbreak to sweep the state since 1947.” (Daley, Glanz, N.p.) These are illnesses that are preventable with vaccinations. Childhood vaccinations are key for the protection of children, the people around them and the prevention of widespread disease.

Diseases will always travel throughout the world and it will continue to affect children severely if they are not vaccinated. One source known as Benefits from Immunization During the Vaccines for Children Program Era pointed out that the number of children born each year can be prevented, “Approximately 4 million children are born in the United States each year, each of whom is vulnerable to vaccine-preventable pathogens that continue to circulate” (Whitney, Zhou, Singleton and Schuchat 4). The number of children born each year can have an enormous impact on society, there can be a massive epidemic. People do not want their child to be exposed to these deadly infectious disease, especially if they are preventable.

As a mother it is my instinct to keep my daughter safe, therefore I feel like all parents should be required to vaccinate their children. I don’t believe we should have a choice. Vaccines have gotten rid of so many deadly diseases, if it wasn’t for them we could still have the black plague or small pox killing off our

Vaccinations have been widely discussed and debated about whether or not people should vaccinate their children. “Childhood vaccines offer protection from serious or potentially fatal diseases” (The Mayo Clinic, 2014)”. Vaccinations prevent diseases that can affect a child with symptoms of a cold or in some cases, the disease can be much more serious and can cause disability and death. The problem is that parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children against them. With choosing against vaccinating a child becoming a common occurrence, diseases that have been eradicated from the United States, are now starting to show back up in society. If there are no strict requirements on vaccinations, then diseases that have been dormant for decades from the U.S. will become into an epidemic. There are many reasons why parents state that they choose not to vaccinate their children. Some include religion, philosophical, and the possible connection to autism. These reasons have been proven to not be strong enough against the threat of the serious disease that vaccinations protect against. There are new regulations going into place, making it an educational and training process to the parents if they choose to not vaccinate their children. In addition to this, there are laws and regulations regarding who is liable in these situations. A child could possibly sue their parents or a third party could sue because they or someone in their family was affected from an infected

Often debated, with strong convictions on each side, timely immunizations for children do more good then harm. Over the last few years, a phenomenon has come to our door steps. It used to be that all parents would immunize their children, without fail, because doctors told them to. In the past, the only non-immunized children were the children with health deficiencies. These children depended on the “herd” mentality. However, times are changing and parents are choosing to not immunize their children mainly based on these reasons: the possibility of them getting autism, parental lack of education about immunizations and lastly they believe that the illnesses that children are being immunized against are gone and immunizations are no longer needed.

As parents do everything within their power to keep their children safe there needs to be an outcry from the community regarding immunizations. Due to the fact that no medical procedure or vaccination has a one hundred percent guarantee those parents decision to not vaccinate their children not only effect other children but the entire general population. There is no need for an outbreak of preventable disease or for people to be sick due to someone else’s ignorance. When lives are able to be spared they should

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

Immunization is very important to the safety and health of everyone, especially children. Whether on not to vaccinate is the big question here. The only reasonable choice to make is to vaccinate. Immunization is not bad; moreover, the choice to not receive shots is dangerous. The choice to vaccinate your child could be a choice of either life or death. Vaccines are safer and easier than many people think. Immunization can protect from loss of time and money due to hospitalization, and can save future generations. Becoming educated on vaccinations and how they work will save lives one day.

Parents all across the United States have an issue with vaccinations for their children. Parents as of today do not have the option whether or not to immunize their children. These vaccinations are potentially harmful for children, but they also help and prevent life threatening illnesses. Parents should be allowed to choose to vaccinate their children because at times, the vaccine might harm the child, and because the parents simply just have right.

The risks involved in not immunizing children is that the child will not be protected against serious illnesses and diseases. One of the reasons people choose not to immunize is that they are afraid it will traumatize or hurt their child, but it's one or two injection pricks, opposed to a life time of multiple blood draws and lumbar punctures (spinal taps) every time their child gets a rash or fever. If a child is not immunized they would need to be tested every time for the diseases every time they got sick. Another reason people choose against immunizations is a lack of health care. Though this is not so much choosing against the immunizations, it is more they do not have the resources to choose immunizations. But here in the United States children especially do not go without at least the basic health care. The United States is behind many countries on health care but we are also not a third world country. We do have access to great health care and we make it available to those in need. We have Medicaid, WIC (Womens, Infants, Childrens), we have free clinics and many more resources to make sure children are protected.

Immunisations and vaccinations are cautionary practises that uses the body’s natural defence mechanism, also known as the immune response to become immune to various diseases and infections. A vaccination is just receiving a vaccine, whereas an immunisation is receiving a vaccine but also becoming immune to the disease by being vaccinated. The way this is done is by injecting a patient with a small / diluted or weakened dose of the disease or virus. The dose is small and weak enough to allow the body to create antibodies that fight the disease, without the patient actually being infected and suffering the symptoms of the disease. With the immune response put into effect, the body has created distinct antibodies for a certain disease that

“Proponents argue that vaccination is safe and one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century. They point out that illnesses, including rubella, diphtheria, and whooping cough, which once killed thousands of infants annually are now prevented by vaccination” (“Vaccines”). Many deaths occur simply because children, along with adults, do not get the required shots needed. Medical treatments are not given to do a person any harm, but to keep a person and environment safe. Kids being vaccinated will give them less of a possibility to obtain a disease that could lead to death. Benefits outweigh any possibility of risking accumulating a disease. When people say that vaccinations are harmful, does not necessarily mean to develop a deadly disease, simply means some small risks. “Vaccines are not entirely harmless, but the small risks are outweighed by the benefits of a disease prevention” (Offit). Indeed flu shots must be tested in order to be able to give anyone the shot. Receiving vaccinations is only meant to help people prevent many illnesses and deaths. Although some small risks could be accumulated, those small risks are very small possibilities of anything happening to anyone. Getting immunized is not a one-time thing; people must follow up on required dates to receive them.