Vaccine Literature Review

Herd immunity exists when the maximum amount of people are vaccinated, reducing the risk of infection for people at serious risk (i.e. immunocompromised adults, chemotherapy patients, or newborns). When fewer people are unvaccinated, a disease has fewer hosts to spread to. At this point, most states allow vaccination exemption for religious or “moral” conflicts in addition to medical reasons. People who exempt vaccines

The most commonly cited reason why parents decide to not vaccinate their children is due to their belief that vaccines cause harm11. In a survey that looked at risk perception with vaccines, researches found that while 94% of individuals surveyed had vaccinated or plan on vaccinating their children, only 23% of participants had no concerns about the vaccines16. This reiterates the point that even though there are high rates of vaccination in the United States,

“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.

According to the CDC (2014) vaccinations are one of the best ways to put an end to the serious effects of certain diseases, some that can be deadly. Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are not just gambling with their child’s life, they are also gambling with the lives of others. It is always better to prevent a disease than to have to treat it after it occurs. People with weakened immune systems are not as strong such as pregnant women, newborns, cancer patients, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive people, transplant recipients, and the elderly are also affected by the choice not to vaccinate.

There is a culture among us, in life and in healthcare, that seems to be growing rapidly. Many parents are choosing to not vaccinate their kids against potentially fatal or life-altering illnesses. But, why? What is the reasoning for something that could be so detrimental to the well-being of their child(ren)?

There are a huge number of vaccines that most children receive before they turn the age of four. A variety of those vaccines are: three doses of DTAP, Hepatitis B, and two doses of Hepatitis A. If children do not take these vaccinations it could be life threatening for the youngling, and could also be fatal. These are just a few of the diseases that vaccinations protect against, and the health of our community. So if vaccinations are hugely beneficial, why would parents not want their children to take the vaccinations?

Although some people believe that vaccinations are not the best choice for them or their children, many negative effects can be seen when people choose against vaccines. Paul A. Offit in Deadly Choices: How the Anti-vaccine Movement Threatens Us All, saying “We’ve reached a tipping point. Children are suffering and dying because some parents are more frightened by vaccines than by the disease they prevent” (191). Since the anti-vaccination movement began people have been believing that vaccines are unhealthy, when in reality vaccines are protecting people from the unhealthy diseases. This movement has lead to an increase in outbreaks of preventable diseases throughout the United States. Figure 3 is a list of the “notifiable diseases”, which are diseases that must be reported to the government authorities. This figure shows how diseases such as measles and tuberculosis had a high number of cases before the introduction of vaccinations. Although it is good that the number of

Another reason why many parents are hestatinate to vaccinate their children is because of controversy that related vaccinations to autism. The number of recommended vaccinations in babies is increasing, and so is the number of children with disabilities and chronic disease. To parents this is very alarming because they want their children to be as healthy as possible, and one of the main reasons why they do not support mandatory vaccines. The majority of vaccines contain mercury-based preservatives, and when a high amount of mercury is injected into the brain it can possibly cause problems, such as autism, for children. When parents of young children hear this, and then see the statistics for the rate of autism increasing, it makes them

Vaccinations have strongly integrated into modern medicine, where several generations have grown up without being exposed to epidemics of many dangerous even deadly diseases. However, during the recent decade an anti-vaccine movement has emerged, powered by individuals claiming the negative effects vaccines are causing children. The two sides of the controversial debate between physicians and parents beliefs regarding the vaccination of children, and the potential effect of the reduction in the number of vaccinated people. It is considered an asymmetrical conversation, where on one side there are doctors, epidemiologists, pharmacologists and social scientists, and on the other side there are parents, writers, and activists who believe to speak with authority of individual experience against vaccinations. While many individuals believe that getting their children vaccinated is a must to prevent harmful diseases such as measles and whooping cough, others believe that vaccines are one of the leading causes to many uprising disorders such as autism and other neurological problems. This essay explains the different reasons parents are rejecting certain vaccinations for their children. By the time a child is 6 years old, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention provides a recommended set of vaccinations for every child. These vaccinations minimize the risk of spreading for virus

Vaccination has strongly integrated into modern medicine, and several generations have grown up without being exposed to epidemics of rubella, whooping cough, measles, etc. However, during the recent decade an anti-vaccine movement has emerged, powered by the complaints and claims of parents in on the internet and videos associated with the supposed specific effects of vaccines. Many mothers choose not to immunize their kids, or refuse from certain vaccinations.

The refusal of vaccinations is simply when a person does not take their child to get shots that could prevent diseases such as Hib, polio, hepatitis B, whooping cough, and several others. There are many reasons why parents skip the vaccinations. Religion is a major one. Vaccines have evolved from the cell lines of an aborted fetus. It is because of the opposition of abortion that these religious organizations feel the need to refuse vaccines. Yet, the abortions did not take place solely on the purpose of creating vaccines. In the published journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy, John Grabenstein stated, “In a moral sense, benefiting from a vaccine with historical ties to an abortion that need not be repeated is akin to benefiting from an organ

“In a 2006 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that between 1991 and 2004, the percentage of children whose parents had chosen to opt out of vaccines increased by 6 percent a year” (Offit). Choosing not to vaccinate your children due to personal beliefs and religious reasons puts others at risk who cannot be vaccinated, herd immunity is not preserved, and you can spread other diseases that would not spread if you got a vaccination. However, with education, incentives for getting vaccinated and peer pressure from other parents, parents would start vaccinating their

When children who have been vaccinated do contract a disease, despite being vaccinated against it, they usually have milder symptoms with less serious complications than an un-vaccinated child that gets the same disease. It is true that some children who receive vaccinations may still become ill when exposed to other disease-ridden children. Research shows that 70-90% of the entire population must be vaccinated to attain “herd immunity”, “the resistance of a group to attack by a disease to which a large proportion of the members are immune.” (Farlex, 2012) When herd immunity is accomplished the spread of the disease can be averted throughout. If all parents were to take proper responsibilities and keep their children’s immunizations up-to-date, herd immunity would be achieved against all 16 of the major life threatening diseases.

The controversy concerning children receiving vaccinations has been a debate for several parents. As defined by who.int, a vaccine is a biological agent used to prevent serious illnesses and diseases like measles, smallpox, hepatitis, influenza, and tuberculosis by injecting a weakened infectious organism into the human body. When vaccines are given, the human body produces antibodies against the foreign substance, creating a defense mechanism for immunity to occur. Parenting decisions based on vaccinations are a sensitive matter in a child’s life. Many parents who are in favor of vaccines is because they care about their children’s health during the first years of their lives. There are parents who fully trust and admire doctors for their efforts in contributing to preventative health care. However, some parents delay vaccinations because they are genuinely concerned about severe allergic reactions and/or long-term side effects. Other parents completely refuse vaccinations because they are unable to afford it or hold personal, moral, and/or religious beliefs. Disease prevention is important to the public health because it protects both those who receive it and those they come in contact with.

Some parents have a reservation about vaccinations with their children. Some of the reasons may be due to not understanding why immunizations are an essential need and how they can save lives. There have been advances in medical science that now assist in protection from diseases when patients are immunized. Parents need to understand that certain diseases have killed many individuals in the past and some diseases have been completely eradicated such as polio due to immunizations and smallpox immunization is another example of eradication a disease across the world (Viswanathan et al, 2012).