Vaccinations : The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Parents face many different decisions when raising a child; some decisions are trivial, and others can be controversial. Whether or not to vaccinate a child is one of the most controversial choices. So controversial, in fact, that there is a political conversation of making immunizations a requirement. Many people support the movement of making vaccinations mandatory. Proponents argue that vaccines save lives, vaccine-preventable diseases have not been eradicated, and vaccines protect herd immunity. Many people also disagree with the possibility of required vaccinations. Opponents argue that vaccines cause harm, immunity by vaccinations is inferior to natural immunity, and government policies should not dictate personal medical choices.

As more and more vaccinations are being set in place for our children to receive, the society including parents, caregivers, teachers and even researchers begin to develop fears about whether or not they are truly safe for children. Researchers have argued that vaccinations could potentially be unnecessary for our children. Due to studies that show that the targeted diseases have essentially disappeared. This raises the question of why children are still required to receive large amounts of vaccinations at a young age. Another argument focuses on the financial motives. A statement released talked about the government benefiting trillions of dollars from vaccinations since 1994 (Whitney).

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,

“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

My first point is that vaccinations save lives. The average life expectancy for an American citizen before the emergence of vaccinations was 30-40 years old. Since the advancement of modern medicine, the life expectancy has nearly doubled, rising to roughly 80 years old. Since 2010, there has been roughly 10,000 to 50,000 cases of whooping cough reported in the United States, many of which cases ended in tragedy. 10-20 babies die each year from whooping cough, a disease that is preventable by vaccine.  Since the 1990s, the mortality rate for children five and under has decreased by 28%. The average mortality rate of children under the age of five has decreased from 90 for every 1,000 births in the 1990s to 65 deaths per every 1,000 births. Despite the huge risks, the small percentage of those not vaccinated can be partially  protected if enough people in their community are

There are many arguments that people have developed and built upon that are convincing me of the importance of the vaccinations. The benefits of vaccinations really were shown when “The Centers 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” (Huffington). This is proof right in front of our eyes that vaccinations are working for some children. Something that saves 732,000 lives is a very important asset. Also, I think that it is critical to take into account the 322 million children that were saved from sickness. These 322 million children were kept from getting an illness that could be life threatening or even just uncomfortable. No matter the severity of the sickness there is an importance in the prevention of these diseases. Another intriguing argument for the continued use and importance of vaccines is that “most childhood vaccines are 90%-99% effective in preventing disease” (AAP). With a 90%-99% success rate it shows that it is so important to receive a vaccination because of the dangers of the diseases. In fact the 90%-99% effectiveness has “save[ed] 2.5 million children from preventable diseases every year” (Shot@Life). This direct correlation between these two arguments makes this side of the topic even more compelling. Another statistic that creates a realization that there may be more to vaccinations than we see on the

Diseases and illnesses are studied constantly by doctors and scientists trying to find a cure for them. Plague and disease once ravaged our world killing thousands, with no hope or cure to prevent them from occurring. Today, however, is different. Technology is more advanced than ever, and people are living longer than ever before. Life expectancy in the United States has gone up by more than 30 years in the last decades. It isn’t by luck that many diseases now cease to exist, but through extensive studies, and research. The medical field is at the height of its studies with more people being cured of diseases than ever before. Most of this is to the credit of doctors and scientists developing vaccinations that help the body create antibodies, which help fight away diseases, and give the body immunity. I believe that forced vaccinations in children should be mandatory as they have the potential to prevent life threatening diseases, and save countless lives. Though many are against forced vaccinations and say they can cause mental illnesses or brain damage, this has not been proven. The rewards far out way the slight risk, if risk at all of the vaccination having side effects. The individuals who are not vaccinated are left vulnerable to illness, and can potentially infect those around them as well. Leaving scare of an epidemic, and wide spread of a virus. Forced vaccinations in the United States have been beneficial by preventing young children from contracting certain

Parents have the power to solve the issue but still choose not to. Even if a parent wanted to vaccinate his or her child, it could still become sick because a child that was old enough to receive their vaccinations wasn’t vaccinated. People also argue that the ingredients in vaccines are harmful and toxic. There are toxic ingredients in vaccines, but they are harmless in the amount that is given to the child. In fact, children receive more aluminum from breast milk then they do vaccines. Finally, vaccines save the government copious amounts of money in societal cost. Between 1994 and 2014 the government was estimated to save around 1.38 trillion dollars in societal cost including savings from preventing lost productivity due to disability and early death. Similarly, the Unites States saves about 27 dollars for every one dollar invested in the DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Whooping cough) vaccinations.

I agree great response Sarah! Very informative post. Kayley I agree with you that it's kind of dumb that parents are opting out of vaccinating their children. Vaccinations have been around for a while now and they have helped more than they have harmed. I think some parents are jumping on the fad of not vaccinating their children because in the last few years it has been in the media and there are a few celebrities who are against vaccinating and I feel like they do have some influence on people. I also don't believe vaccinations are linked to problems and people are just looking for a reason why problems happen to their children and feel like they need an explanation and why not blame it on vaccinations.

For many years, there has been a controversy about whether or not vaccinations should be mandated for everyone. In the United States, many diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, and whooping cough used to be extremely common, until vaccinations came around and started preventing these diseases. The main point for vaccines is to prepare a person’s immune system for any possible attack of a disease that comes in the future; a person’s body will be prepared to fight off the disease with the vaccine (“Basics”). Vaccines have the ability to prevent many cases of these diseases in advanced, but there are people who think vaccines are unnatural and should not be required for their children. It is said that immunity in child vaccines are about 90%-100%, which is an increase over the past few years (“Childhood”). Although many Americans believe that vaccines are unsafe and cause autism in children, vaccinations for children should be mandatory because they can save a child’s life, create herd immunity in a community, and they have been proven safe/cost-effective.

This year, CNN posted an article about vaccines being safe. Children should be vaccinated without questions. Vaccines do have caused very few adverse effects but it was only for a tiny fraction of the population. Even though vaccines aren’t 100% risk free, experts are still saying the positive out ways the negative. Thanks to vaccines, most diseases that plagued children for centuries have all but been eliminated. Dr. Carrie Byington states "There were good reasons that these diseases were targeted for vaccine development since they are so life-threatening." (Jen Christensen and Nadia Kounang, CNN) Thanks to vaccines, millions of people are now living longer. In the United States, life expectancy has increased by more than 30 years. Not only that, but infant mortality has decreased from 100 deaths per 1000 to 7

“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.

It used to be that vaccinations were considered a normal part of childhood, right along with loosing teeth and toilet training. However, in recent years vaccinations have become an extremely hot button issue, with many parents actually choosing not to vaccinate their children. The idea seems preposterous considering how many people were left with twisted backs, and withered limbs due to polio, or the amount of deaths as a result of measles. To see someone who has been left in an iron lung from a disease that is now preventable, and still choose not to prevent the disease seems absolutely asinine, and yet many parents are doing just that. Sadly, much of the fear of vaccines stems from Dr. Andrew Wakefield, and his fraudulent research that

Vaccinations have been proven safe for consumer use time and time again, yet people are still wary or hesitant to have their children receive vaccinations. Often times, people who argue against vaccinations are undereducated or miseducated about the real advantages and dangers of vaccinations, and many times these concerns are due to widely spread misconceptions. However, these have been proven wrong by a plethora of reputable pharmaceutical companies. Proven by many , vaccinations prevent epidemics, save money for the nation, and protect the future.

To the world vaccinations are a wonderful thing, but are they really, great for us? Vaccinations have changed from when they first came about in the 1760’s, to now in the 21st century. Vaccinations are the administration of antigenic material to stimulate an individual’s immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate, which is to improve, morbidity from infection. Vaccinations are the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases. But, do we ever stop and ask ourselves, what do vaccines really do for us? Do they protect us? What is in a vaccination? What are the side-effects? Can it cause life threatening diseases or issues for us? It has been known that vaccinations have massive side effects caused by the ingredients, have a connection with autism, and a connection with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as SIDS.