Vaccination: A Necessary Precaution Essay

Introduction: Public health achievements in the areas of vaccinations to prevent disease, disease prevention and control, laws to limit the consumption of tobacco, maternal and infant health, and cardiovascular disease are achievements on their own. With public health, improvements in one area often have an effect on a different area of public health. Improvements in vaccinations, for example, will improve maternal and infant health as a reduced number of mothers and infants will fall ill from diseases preventable by vaccination. In addition, vaccinations control the spread of infectious disease, and reduce the incidence rate of the disease in a population.

Myth 1- The fact that we have better hygiene and revolutionized our ways of sanitation will simply make diseases die off. Ultimately, the idea of vaccination is not necessary.

In today’s day and age, many health concerns that were not common years back, are increasingly rising. It is known that 20 million people are diagnosed with measles a year. But what if we could mostly prevent measles? We can, it’s called vaccinations. Doctors today offer vaccinations to their patients, to prevent diseases like measles. But why do so many people refuse them? The answer isn’t totally clear, however if children did get those vaccinations, they would be so much safer. The government should require all children to be vaccinated because kids do not get to live their normal lives with a disease, there are too many risks without it, and the disease could be contagious to other students.

An American scientist at Cornell University once said, “Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history” (Sagan). Vaccination, a result of the technological prosperity, had been practiced for centuries to counteract, if not stop, all kinds of diseases. It had been a way of preventing major illnesses to spread from one person to another. Vaccines are inactivated or attenuated viruses that helps the body develop a strong immunity against detrimental diseases. It helps strengthens the population’s health and prevent them from having illnesses. Despite these advantageous benefits of vaccination, there is still an immense and great ongoing debate as to whether vaccinations should be optional or mandatory. Although others believe that vaccines should not be non-obligatory, it is safer and preeminent to conclude that they should be required. It is justified to have mandatory vaccinations for they prevent extremely lethal illnesses, create a life-long immunity and protection against all kinds of diseases, do not possess major life-threatening side effects, and preclude possible epidemics.

America is known to be the land of the free. Free to worship ones religion without persecution, free to practice ones customs without judgment, and free to achieve ones dreams without restriction. The question is; where does this freedom reach its limits? What if our freedom of choice negatively impacts another person? The recent outbreak of the measles at Disneyland in California in January 2015 questions the limits of freedom in the US. A total of “51 measles cases linked to Disneyland” were reported in the outbreak (Ellis, et al). The outbreak was “spread among those who had not been vaccinated against the virus. Overall, 82% of those infected in this outbreak were not vaccinated, either because they're too young or because they elected not to be” (Ellis, et al). Some parents choose not to vaccinate their children with MMR vaccine that prevents against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella because they believe that the vaccine may be more of a dangerous than the disease. However, the choice not to vaccinate not only affects the susceptible child but also

Vaccination has been a method of defense against infection since the first smallpox vaccine was created in 1796. This vaccine paved the way for the future of infection protection that is current day vaccination. Vaccines are used to prevent pathogenic disease in many individuals worldwide and are thought to be one of the most effective infection protection methods available. They are highly regarded in the scientific community for their safety, efficacy, ability to work cohesively with the immune system to prevent disease, and ability to protect individuals and the community. Vaccines produce immunity through injection, mouth, or aerosol and ultimately protect individuals who have been vaccinated from disease. Because vaccines have become a part of traditional healthcare, they are covered under many insurance programs and are generally readily accessible in the community as a key player in the maintenance of public health.

Before vaccines were discovered, millions life were taken due to various childhood diseases, including mumps, rubella, polio and measles. Therefore the discovery of vaccine was such a breakthrough in the medical field at the time. Not only did it help to cure simple diseases, such as cold, it also helps to eliminate some fetal infectious diseases, such as rubella and polio. However, for some mothers, they choose not to vaccinate their child simply because of the erroneous information and fear that were spread among mothers.

“The practice of variation in China can be documented to the seventeenth century, and be traced back to the sixteenth century (Plotkin 5). The practice in China carried into Europe in the seventeenth century and expanded. The seventeenth and eighteenth century were a crucial time in the creation of vaccines to prevent diseases. The first step of the innovation came from “inoculation.” Centuries ago, it had been observed that those who were infected by the smallpox disease and lived were never affected again. The practice of inoculation, which is defined as artificial introduction of a disease into the body. In the late seventeenth century, inoculations were being performed in the Turkish empire. The method of inoculation appeared to work, but was also dangerous. The inoculation started with the collection of pus from a mildly infected person. The pus was then dripped and rubbed into a scratch made by a needle in an unaffected person’s arm. The Turkish empire is to credit for the spread of the new medicinal knowledge. Lady Mary, the wife of Britain’s ambassador, pushed for the inoculation. She wrote to her friend that, “I am going to tell you a thing that will make you wish yourself here. The smallpox, so fatal and so general among us, is here entirely harmless…” (Marrin 36). Her words described the breakthrough of preventative disease control. She described it as,” …the old woman comes with a nutshell

The debate about vaccines has been going on since the development of the first vaccine. By understanding how Dr. Jenner developed the first vaccine and how vaccines have impacted society as a whole, one can gain insight into their importance. Vaccine safety concerns are on the rise, but researchers are attempting to ease worries by providing facts and clarity on the subject of vaccines. Knowing the facts about vaccines is important for one to recognize misinformation and poor logic as well as the misinterpretation of existing information about health concerns associated with vaccines. Because of these health and safety concerns, many parents question the benefits of vaccines.

Vaccination, also known as immunisation, involves the process in which an individual is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease through the administration of a vaccine. Vaccines do this by stimulating the body’s own immune system to protect that individual against a particular disease. The discussion of vaccinations is a subject that awakens very strong opinions, stirring up heated debate on their reliability, efficacy, and safety.

For many centuries, smallpox killed millions of people. In the United States, we no longer have to worry about this infectious disease because Dr. Edward Jenner created a vaccination to prevent people from catching this disease. According to John B. Blake, the author of Benjamin Waterhouse and the introduction of Vaccination, In July of 1800, Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse whom was Harvard’s first professor of the Theory and practice of Physic, introduced the practice of vaccination against smallpox in the United States. Although Waterhouse didn’t create a vaccination he figured out how to administer the vaccination for millions of people. By the end of the 19th century, several vaccinations had been developed. Of course smallpox was the first to be developed in the United States, but during this time rabies, plague, and

There have been many complaints and worries about immunization programs; that vaccinations don’t work or that they give out possible negative side effects. Recently the use of vaccines has been going downhill because of those thoughts. If just one person goes around saying that a vaccine made them sick then other people believe it and stop getting vaccines. However, there have been studies that show that vaccines actually have helped throughout the years with different epidemics and diseases.

In response to the first question, I do not believe that the solution to the negative impact on public health caused by the movement of people, food and manufactured goods lies in reducing these flows. While that may help, it doesn’t seem to be a feasible option. Human population is ever increasing and people will always be on the move to find jobs and a better way of life. Also, in many lands we have become accustomed to having fruits and vegetables out of season or not native to our areas. Even the increasing trends towards protectionism have not stemmed the tide of migration. That being the case, we need to look at alternative methods for lowering the spread of global disease.

Vaccinations have become a big controversy and interest in society. Should I get vaccinated? Should I not? Should my kids be vaccinated? What’s in the shots? Harmful or not? Many questions and demanding answers have been asked. You can be for it or against it. Each side has their own view on the vaccines. Vaccinations are freedom of choice. There are benefits and side effects for each side. In this paper I will be explaining points of views and statistics on each vaccine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. In the end you will hear my take on this controversy.

To or to not vaccinate your children? Seems to be the question a lot of parents are debating. With such a big decision, it is encouraged to become educated with the principles of vaccinations, the safety of vaccinations with both sides of the debate, and the time frame that children receive vaccinations from birth to 18 years of age. Immunity. What is it? Why is it so important? And what does it do for us?