Vaccination can be defined as a process which most commonly involves, “the insertion of a special material, called a vaccine, into a person’s body, usually by means of a sharp needle.” (Chatterjee, 2013). This active form of immunisation prevents approximately 2.5 million deaths every year, and is said to be the most effective weapon ever developed for the prevention of serious infectious diseases (Barnighausen, Bloom, Cafiero-Fonseca & O’Brien, 2014; Chatterjee, 2013). The anti-vaccination movement opposes the use of and enforcement of vaccines in the community, however does so with a lack of scientific reasoning. As such, it is not reasonable to believe in anti-vaccination. There is no denying that vaccination saves lives through …show more content…
Herd immunity is defined as, “the resistance of a group to invasion and spread of an infectious agent based on the resistance to infection of a high proportion of individual members of the group,” (Doroshenko & Halperin, 2007). Vaccinations have two effects, preventing the infection from developing in individuals, and preventing disease spreading in a vaccinated community. If the majority of a community is vaccinated, it lowers the probability of a disease agent spreading from an infected person to a susceptible one (Doroshenko & Halperin, 2007). This then protects and provides an immunological barrier to members of the community who have weak immune systems, such as babies and the elderly, as well as those who physically cannot be vaccinated due to allergies and other medical reasons. Considering the amount of lives that would be lost without vaccines, it is unreasonable to believe in anti-vaccination.
Vaccines have proven to be an effective way to eradicate disease, both economically and historically through simple and efficient processes, supporting why it is not reasonable to believe in anti-vaccination. Firstly, history clearly demonstrates the success of vaccines and according to Chatterjee (2013), vaccination has been instrumental in the worldwide eradication and control of twelve major infectious diseases, including smallpox, diphtheria, tetanus and measles. After the introduction of the
The most dangerous diseases of our nation have been streaked out by widespread protection or immunity. This widespread protection has been the effect of an immense vaccination which is also called an immunization that introduces vaccines into the body. In this textbook, it mentions that a vaccine is “a preparation of killed, inactivated, or attenuated microorganisms or toxoids to induce artificially acquired active immunity.” (Tortora 487). Like anything else, there are many individuals who disagree with the common immunity or vaccination in general. These people base themselves off weak and false studies, which they then take and go further to spread their bias misled beliefs. These individuals do all of this without looking at the history,
“Why should I get vaccinated? It is just a waste of time and money. I never got vaccinated before and never will.” That’s what one of my colleagues said when he was asked to get vaccinated during the outbreak of SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, few years ago in Mongolia. Then, I had reasoned him that disease comes all of a sudden and it is more serious than he thinks. As reported on CDC, Centers for Disease Control, 40 percent of all American parents were refusing one or more vaccines for their children (Willrich 3). So it is clearly one of the most significant public health issues today. There are lots of people who hold the belief against vaccination because of several reasons. Even though there is a public notion that vaccine
“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.
In summary, there is no contest between the science community and the anti-vaccinations movement. Any fact brought up by the anti-vaccine movement may be discredited by reviewing credible research. So why do so many parents not believe that vaccines are safe? One reason may be in the increase in the cases of autism. The number of cases in California has grown by seven to eight fold since 1990 (UC Davis). However, currently there is only speculation for the increase. In an article by Maria Cone for Scientific American, Cone mentions new research connecting autism to environmental factors such as household chemicals. "It's time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California,”
originate from a medical professionals mishandling of a study. This impacts the reputation of the whole medical community. Discovering
When it comes to anti-vaxxers, I think child abuse. Fear-mongers and false prophets have come forward to preach about the evils of vaccination and all the harm it is doing to children. When in reality it is hurting our children by not vaccination them. Anti-vaxxers use a shock and awe approach, with no credible evidence, they parade around autistic children and claim that their brain abnormality is caused by the MMR vaccine. All evidence that has come forward to support this has been debunked. According to the World Health Organization, in the article “10 facts on immunization” “Over 1 million infants and young children die every year from pneumococcal disease and rotavirus diarrhea … these deaths can be prevented through vaccination”.
The intended purpose of this presentation is to provide facts and scientific research that persuades the audience members regarding the use of vaccinations. My intention is that the audience will support the use of vaccinations and consider the facts before making decisions that affect the entire community. My central idea is that inaccurate data exists with regards to vaccination; instead, that vaccinations should be viewed as essential for protection of society, both from extreme illness as well as life threatening, and sometimes fatal, diseases.
“Prevention is better than cure.” This common statement could not relate any better than it does with the controversy surrounding the morality, effectiveness, and safety of childhood immunizations. The major argument is whether or not laws should be established to declare vaccination mandatory for all children. “The US food and Drug administration (FDA) regulates all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness,” (ProCon.org, 2012) therefor there should not be any reason to risk the health of any child. Vaccinating our children not only ensures their safety but also that of their future to come.
Should children’s health be at risk for the greater good of community health? The news today is full of tragic stories about complications of vaccine use and there have been injuries from the beginning of vaccine use due to incomplete data on the side effects. The injuries have also brought about changes in the way vaccines are manufactured. The Georgia State Government requires citizens to receive vaccines in order to attend day care, go to school, and work at certain jobs and each state has its own mandates as well. The only way to get around the vaccine is to claim religious or medical exception. For either of these exceptions, one has to have a notarized affidavit for religious exception or a
Anti-Vaccination, it is a dangerous movement that recently began and is killing hundreds of innocent children. Certain vaccinations should be mandatory for the health and safety of our children and communities because parents who do not vaccinate their children not only put themselves at risk, but other innocent children.
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
To the average individual, the word ‘vaccination’ means to prevent illness. Vaccinations have many advantages; they allow us to be less susceptible to a variety of illnesses and diseases. Many individuals believe that vaccinations should not be mandatory. However, the benefits from vaccinations greatly outweigh the risks from side effects. The judgments are factual and ethical and are supported by testing and research findings from multiple sources.
The Center for Disease Control describes vaccines as the greatest development in public health since clean drinking water. For several decades, vaccines have saved countless lives and helped eradicate some fatal diseases. The push to do away with vaccines will not only endanger our youth, but our society as a whole. Vaccination is needed to maintain a healthy balance within our country. Vaccines provide the immunity that comes from a natural infection without the consequences of a natural infection. Vaccinations save an ever-growing amount of lives every year. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination (“Vaccine ProCon”).
In contrast, a positive aspect of many people having vaccinations is herd immunity. Herd immunity is the occurrence where a large proportion of a specific population is vaccinated to provide them immunity, and as a result, it also gives some protection to the people of the population who have and yet developed immunity. This happens as the a large group of vaccinated individuals are protected from a virus and creates difficulty for the it to spread because there is only a small percentage of the population left that could be infected by the disease. It is a very crucial aspect of immunity for the community as the people who cannot receive vaccinations (i.e. people with weak immune systems, very young children and patients who are too ill)