Vaccination Barriers

Although the negative claims behind anti-immunization stances are deceptive and discredited, some parents find it difficult to accept that vaccines are necessary and safe. Many of these reasons are due to personal or religious beliefs that have persuaded parents to bypass immunizations for their children. Consequently, health officials are seeing disquieting rises of diseases that are easily preventable. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported hundreds of measles cases in the United States in 2011, the largest number in 15 years (Ben-Joseph, Elana). Essentially, almost all of these cases were in individuals who had not received a vaccine shot. Also found in the article was that a great amount of the quarrel over the shots comes from a 1998 study that tried to connect autism to a type of vaccine that defends against measles. However, there has been no scientific evidence that a vaccine or a combination of any of the shots induces autism. Undoubtedly, the doctor that wrote the article, calling vaccines a “deliberate fraud” ,lost his license for not submitting any evidence of his claim and causing people to neglect shots for that year. Sadly, due to that article, 1 in 4 parents still believe that vaccines are

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,

​Over the past decade, the concern among parents regarding the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations has become a concern in the United States and other countries around the world. A survey of physicians showed that 89% of the physicians who were surveyed reported at least one refusal of childhood vaccinations by parents each month (Gowda & Dempsey, 2013). Other researchers have noted that as many as 77% of parents have concerned about one or more of the childhood vaccinations that are recommended for children (McKee & Bohannon, 2016). However, organizations such as the World Health Organization (2017) note that not only are childhood vaccinations safe, the reduction in children receiving childhood vaccinations has brought back diseases such as measles that had been completely wiped out in the United States. It is clear that there are opposing viewpoints about childhood vaccinations that need to be understood and examined to determine which side has a better argument.

“As healthy as my lifestyle seemed, I contracted measles, mumps, rubella, a type of viral meningitis, scarlatina, whooping cough, yearly tonsillitis, and chickenpox, some of which are vaccine preventable” (Parker 1). This quote by vaccine advocate Amy Parker, a woman who was not vaccinated as a child, shows just a glimpse into the life of an unvaccinated individual. Parents who do not vaccinate their children claim many different reasons for their decision. Three of the most popular reasons are: religious grounds, health problems as a result from vaccines, and the belief that the illnesses are rare. Each of these reasons can be proven as nonessential in the anti-vaccine argument.

Vaccinations are something that is none around the world. It is supported in many countries but in others it is not. In the United States there is a constant controversy as to whether to vaccinate or not. Most parents in our society opt for the vaccination process to protect their children in any way they can. Although, many parents do not see it that way. The controversy of childhood vaccination spans back more than just a few years it goes back as far as the 18th century (Nelson) but the fact of the matter is childhood vaccinations have very few side effects, there have been very few lines between autism and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Vaccines”; Shea, Diekema), and when children come in to contact with diseases they are not vaccinated for it can cause nationwide pandemic (Nelson; “Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?”).

To prepare for their five- (and soon to be five) year-olds for the first day of school, parents may lay out clothes the night before, pack backpacks and steel themselves for teary goodbyes. They’re also supposed to have made sure their kids are up to date on all state-required vaccinations. But about six percent of the state’s half million kindergarteners won’t have all their shots when they file into class. These undervaccinated students, who in some schools make up to more than half of the entering class, are different from children whose parents who excuse them entirely from vaccinations due to medical issues or personal beliefs. These undervaccinated children can attend school on a “conditional” basis — with the promise to get fully vaccinated soon.

Most parents believes “that vaccination may actually be causing chronic health problems.”( “The Vaccine Controversy.” http://www.know-vaccines.org/?page_id=456.)

A person’s health can be one of the most important aspects in their life. When thinking about what can help one to remain healthy, vaccinations come to mind. Vaccinations, to many people, are a necessity to remain healthy. I know when I was younger I hated to get a shot, but when I think about it today I am glad my parents made me get them. My mother was a nurse, so she knew the importance of vaccinations. Unfortunately, in todays’ society some parents think vaccinations can be more harmful then helpful, therefore refusing to vaccinate their children. The articles “How Vaccines Protect Us All” by Harrison Wein and “Beliefs About Childhood Vaccinations is the United States: Political Ideology, False Consensus, and the Illusion of Uniqueness” by Mitchell Rabinowitz, Lauren Latella, Chadly Stern, and John Jost both talk about vaccinations as the main point. While both of the articles talk about the importance of vaccinations and how they should be required, the first article by Harrison Wein talks more about how vaccinations protect the community and the second article by Rabinowitz et al. talks about how parents have the control of their children’s vaccinations. However, both articles prove readers to believe vaccinations can help keep children safe and healthy.

The discovery of vaccines prevented the spread of infectious diseases around the world. Vaccines control the spread of diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, smallpox, and the flu. In addition, vaccines increase the overall health of not only individuals, but of populations. Although these benefits prove effective on the world wide scale, the requirement of vaccinations of children to enter the public school system remains a current public health concern. Some argue that vaccines are dangerous for children and can lead to adverse effects. Others assert that the enforcement of requiring children to be vaccinated before entering schools protects the health of those attending school. These views create a challenge amongst parents who must

Some of the most important things in life is our health and family. Individuals cherish their family and try to provide the best life afforded to them. When their family’s safety or health is in jeopardy, the individuals will try to protect and ensure the proper measures are taken to safeguard their recovery to a healthy state. When this effects the child, the parents will do anything to ensure these beliefs by any means necessary. This can be a productive attitude, but also can be destructive to the parent’s goal of maintaining the child’s safety and health. In addition, this also evokes ethical dilemmas in pediatric health care. One dilemma that has been on the rise in the last decade, is parents refuting vaccinations for their children from reports of a link to vaccines causing autism. From December 2014 to February 2015 a 110 individuals acquired measles associated to the Disney Land® theme park. During the outbreak, 49% of the victims were unvaccinated and the rest were in different stages in the MMR vaccination process (i.e., only received one to two doses) (Zipprich, J., Winter, K., Hacker, J., Xia, D., Watt, J., & Harriman, K., 2015).

The debate over whether or not parents should be able to refuse vaccinations for their children has become extremely heated during recent years due to reports of vaccinations being linked to Autism and other developmental and learning disabilities (autism, ADD, ADHD). Currently, there is no federal mandate for vaccination of children. However, each of the 50 states require that all children are vaccinated in order to attend public school. While some states provide exemptions from vaccinations for religious and medical reasons, many parents who refuse to vaccinate their children do not meet these criteria for exemption. Parents on the opposing side of this argument believe that due to research linking vaccinations with autism, A.D.H.D, and A.D.D. that children are better off avoiding these detrimental side effect by allowing their immune systems to fight off viruses naturally. Parents who see vaccines from this viewpoint believe that the harm caused by exposing their children to the questionable components of vaccines is greater than the possible risk of the infection. However, the proponents in this argument see things from a different angle. Proponents view unvaccinated children as risks to the rest of the population as they may spread the infection to others without ever becoming infected. Pro-vaccine parents view vaccinations as life changing medical advancements that have eradicated countless possible cases of infection, and saved just as many lives. While they

“My new born child was born. He was completely healthy and he was happy. He was on track; he was walking, learning to talk and interactive with the people around him. He was at his one-year check up and it was time for his next round of shots. Without question, his shots were given, weeks later he was diagnosed with autism.” There are endless stories of this exact circumstance. Vaccines have transformed into a part of american culture and new born children are rapidly being brought to these practices without their parents even questioning what is being injected into their newborns wholesome bodies. This affair must be addressed for the sake of poor innocent children developing chronic diseases from vicious vaccines. Deciding not to vaccinate a child can save potential that may be lost every time a child is vaccinated, instead parents should trust in their own child 's immune system to fulfill the duties it was made to do without the need of vaccines.

The uptake of immunisation for children is highly influenced by parental choice, beliefs, religious cultural and ethical considerations. They usually argue that vaccines are unsafe and ineffective and that the diseases they are given to prevent are mild and uncommon; they mistrust their health professionals, disagree with Government and officially-endorsed vaccine research but trust media and non-official information sources.

The goal of this paper is to examine why so many people have chosen not to vaccinate themselves and/ or their children. In the research I have done over this topic, the general consensus over vaccines seems to be in support of them. However, one source I examined had to do with many of the reasons that people decide that vaccines are not for them. In Claire McCarthy 's article, The Top 7 Reasons Parents Tell Me They Don 't Want to Vaccinate, there are a wide array of reasons behind people not getting or making sure there family is vaccinated. Some of these reasons include the belief that they are nothing but a conspiracy to many believing it causes autism. The reasons in this article will be the stepping stones to this paper, and I will examine why people believe the way they do regarding vaccines.

Despite vaccinations being credited for the control and elimination of several childhood diseases, there are still many critics who raise concerns about the necessity of vaccination. In a national study of parents performed in 2000, 19% indicated they had “concerns about vaccines” whereas in a subsequent survey performed in 2009 this number had risen to 50%. There has also been a rise in non-medical vaccine exemptions that has occurred over the last several years. In a 2010 national survey of physicians, 89% of respondents reported at least one vaccine refusal by a parent each month (Dempsey & Gowda, 2013). Opposers argue that making school vaccination mandatory is against their right to make personal medical decisions. They feel that the government has no place to force parents to vaccinate their children if the parents decide it is not in their child’s best interest. Many parents are disagreeable about the multiple vaccinations received at one time, which results in possible pain and discomfort for the child. Another argument against vaccination is the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Critics are concerned about the unknown risks vaccines pose to children. Some parents noted their child acquiring a “high fever” or beginning to “act different” after the administration of a vaccine. There is a belief that there is a connection between the measles vaccination and autism. Another theory is that the influenza