Vaccinating Children Should Be Mandatory Essay

Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like

Everyone in the United States who is not apart of a religious group--in which vaccination will infringe upon their beliefs--should receive vaccinations to ensure the safety of American citizens. For instance, when one schedules an annual physical, he/she may immediately think of vaccines. Young children may whine and teenagers may gripe. “Do I really need a shot mom?” One grumpy teenager or child might ask. The mother, in a typical setting, will say yes. The parent will not reply yes because they wish to hear his/her child complain about a sore arm for the next three days; no, the parent allows the nurse to administer the shot because the vaccine is recommended. In fact, vaccines have been a proven and effective way to protect the human race against diseases. With the intention of preventing diseases, listening to recommendation by qualified physicians and nurses could mean the difference between life and death for other children.

In the 1950s, the polio vaccine was introduced and life in America was forever changed. We vaccinated children against polio and many other diseases and America as a whole became a much healthier place. Soon, parents could quite reasonably expect to have a happy and healthy child. Vaccines were like miracle drugs. Then, in 1998, everything changed. Andrew Wakefield, a physician from the United Kingdom, published a study stating that he had found a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Thus began the dangerous trend of refusing vaccines for children. Although many people believe vaccines to be dangerous, in fact, they are one of the safest medical procedures done.

Immunizations protect children from dangerous diseases, which include: diphtheria, meningitis, tetanus, polio, measles, and the whooping cough (Vaccines, 2015). The controversial debate arose in 1998 concerning a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism by Andrew Wakefield. However, his claims and theories on the matter has been discredited due to his

Pennsylvania like many other states have a list of mandatory vaccinations; if students are going to be publicly active in school they need to get vaccinated. However, unlike West Virginia and Mississippi who only allow medical exemptions, Pennsylvania allows medical and religious exemptions. Therefore, Pennsylvania vaccinations laws require some mandates as well as allow some exemptions. First, Pennsylvania laws do not require parents to vaccinate their children; it is the parents decision. “Children need not be immunized if the parent, guardian or emancipated child objects in writing to the immunization on religious grounds or on the basis of a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief. Medical exemptions are also

One argument is vaccines can cause serious side effects (Plotkin). Anaphylaxis and allergic reactions are not extremely uncommon, and a scientist in the 1990s claimed the MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) vaccine is the leading cause of autism in young children (Vaccines Procon.org). While this is true, there have been copious amounts of research done, and everything has shown that there is no correlation between autism and vaccines (MMR and Autism). In reference to other side effects, the chances of them occurring are very low, and often not as extreme as the side effects of the diseases they protect against. A second reason people believe they should be able to choose whether or not to be vaccinated is vaccines can be against some people’s beliefs. Some religious beliefs prevent people from accepting vaccinations, as well as some people who are vegan or do not eat eggs. These people tend to decline vaccines made from such products (Omer). As for the explanation, many vaccines are offered in ways that do not conflict with beliefs, and for patients who have a conflict with eggs, the CDC still strongly recommends receiving vaccines because the vaccines typically only contain trace amounts of the product (Influenza

Now, as stated above, misinformation fuels the anti-vaccination movement. The largest source of said misinformation is the abundance of zany conspiracy theories that pervade the Internet. Although there are many stories vaccination opponents cling to, the primary source of modern falsehoods is a fraudulent article published in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in The Lancet, a renowned peer-reviewed medical journal. In his article, Wakefield described how his research showed a correlation between the onset of autism symptoms in children and the injection of the mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine. However, as Wakefield was found to have a slew of undeclared conflicts of interest and heavily manipulated results, The Lancet fully retracted his article in 2010, and his medical license was revoked (Douglas et al, 2014). At this point, however, the damage had already been done. The media carelessly circulated stories about Wakefield’s now-discredited article using sensationalist, fear-mongering headlines. The remnants of this massive reporting blunder now float in cyberspace like asteroids, colliding with parents worried about the safety of their children. These “asteroids” often convince naïve parents that childhood vaccinations are dangerous by implementing vicious scare tactics. Needless to say, nobody

Vaccination is a process by which an individual is made immune to a particular pathogen, typically via injection. To understand vaccines, it is best to first understand how the human immune system works. In his book, Immunobiology (2001) Charles Janeway, a notable immunologist, states that there are two arms to the human immune

Since the invention of the vaccine, countless lives benefit from the protection against serious life-threatening diseases. Despite strong integration in modern medicine, an anti-vaccine movement impinges upon concerned parents throughout our country. Even though, vaccinations protect immunity majority of the time, vaccines should not be mandatory in all aspects, as it invades upon parental right, however, the presence of required vaccines in the public schools with limited nonmedical exemptions is a must.

I believe that vaccinations should be mandatory for younger children, so they are safe, reduce the risk of illness, and protect other people from contagious diseases. Children are more likely to get sick from being around other children at school or daycare. I think that all children should be protected. The best way to protect children is to make sure that they are vaccinated and receive yearly check-ups. Vaccines for children are very important to protect children from infections and is a safeguard for children’s health.

What are vaccines exactly? A vaccine is a substance used to arouse the assembly of antibodies and provide immunity against diseases. How do these vaccines work? When a disease germ enters the body, it is an antigen that makes a person sick. If this same germ enters

As a child, everyone remembers having to get shots. My first memorable experience with shots came at age four. I didn’t understand why I needed shots. All I knew was this sharp thing was going to be stuck in my arm and it was going to hurt. Before I got my four year old shots I received my first set of vaccines, vaccines that people are now claiming are dangerous. Research shows that vaccination rates fell. MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) vaccine rates dropped from 93.5% to 90.6%, tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria rates dropped from 87.2% to 85.4% in 2009. (Kluger) Why are vaccination rates dropping so significantly? Pediatrician Dr. Robert Frenck says “Very articulate, very good-looking movie stars or personalities … are giving

We have all raised our eyebrows when the person sitting the row behind us starts coughing, and not just the “soda went down the wrong pipe” cough, but the real, mucus breaking, uncontrollable hacking. Likewise, many of us have also tried to not get too close to the person with the visibly red, irritated nose and the constant sniffling that comes with the absence of a tissue. As a society, we tend to be conscious of the threat of contracting a disease, but regardless of these common concerns, opposition to mandated vaccinations for school-attending children continue to be raised. The effectiveness and overall safety of vaccines have repeatedly been questioned by society (especially when it comes to vaccinating infants and young children), and some studies have possibly even shown the danger of certain vaccinations. However, upon closer examination, it is clear that vaccines have prevented more disease and have improved the overall health of the United States, and consequently, should—with few exceptions—continue to be mandated in our school system.

“If everything is God 's will, then so is the invention of the vaccine, just like the seatbelt.”-Els Borst. This is relevant because if vaccinations were not an effective medical advancement, then they would not have ever been created or used. Vaccinations should be required by governments for the well being of everyone, with the exception of religious obligation. A resistance to vaccine requirements is that some people think vaccinations are propaganda from the government as some sort of money maker or poison. Also, most do not realize that refusing vaccinations for themselves or their children affects more than just that specific person. The key to acceptance of government required vaccinations is good information. People need more information so they know what vaccinations are and what they do. The more educated the general public is on the matter, the more likely they will be willing to support these government mandates.

Imagine two children; one who has been completely vaccinated, and the other has never been vaccinated. Both children fall ill from the same virus, but the child who had been vaccinated fully recovers, while the child who was not passes away due to complications. That child’s life could have been saved if the child received the proper vaccinations. Ever since the invention of the Smallpox vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been an abundance of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccinations and immunizations. It has recently been argued whether laws should be introduced that render some or all vaccines mandatory for all children. Parents, health care specialists, nurses, teachers, and children