Introduction: Vaccines are attributed to saving millions of lives in the United States, yet many parents refuse to protect their child from potentially dangerous diseases. With the accessibility of technology, it is easy to see how the anti-vaccine movement can persuade parents, but many find out the hard way the lack of evidence to support this trend. By understanding the sole purpose and statistical evidence supporting the effectiveness of vaccines, one can conclude our world is a much better place because of vaccines. Therefore, because vaccines are safe and effective, it is crucial for all children to be immunized.
I. To begin, the purpose of a vaccine is to build up a child’s immune system and is a safer method compared to “natural immunization”.
A. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website, last updated on May 19, twenty – fourteen, vaccines include extremely weak disease-causing antigens. However, these antigens are effective enough to make the immune system aware of a foreign invader and as a result, the body builds up immunity by creating antibodies (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Warrant: So, if the body comes in contact with a specific illness, for example, the measles, since the body has been exposed to a similar foreign invader via vaccine, the body is well equipped to fight it off.
B. However, some anti-vaccine parents may argue that it is better for a child to become immunized by catching a
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.
Parents,who think that they don't have to vaccinate because children around people who are vaccinated, are committing child abuse. Vaccines only protect the people who are vaccinated. When people don't vaccinate not only are they leaving themselves open to disease, but they are completely ignoring the fact that vaccines don't end the chance for vaccinated people to get sick. "If the decision to refuse vaccination only affected the individual, then refusal would be permissible, but refusing vaccination puts others in harm's way...People who refuse to vaccinate take advantage of the large majority of people who do vaccinate, free-riding off of their immunity" (Merino). Immunity can build up over time. By definition, child abuse is, “Child abuse
On the side of defending vaccinations, many people, as well as myself, stand firm in our beliefs, that vaccinations are good. The fact of the matter is there wouldn’t be such thing as vaccinations if they didn’t work. I believe a lot of the troubles come from the Autism scare, which I do understand is a frightening thought for a lot of parents, but with countless studies conducted and all pointing to a negative correlation of the two, I think its time to stop using that as an excuse, with Steven Salzberg a writer for Forbes saying, “Most of the anti-vax crowd have no scientific training or expertise, which might explain (but doesn’t excuse) their complete ignorance of the science. Over the past 15 years, dozens of studies involving hundreds of thousands of people have shown convincingly that neither vaccines nor any of the ingredients in them are linked to autism. Vaccines are not only safe, but they are perhaps the greatest public health success in the history of civilization” (Forbes 2015). It is due to the many people who believe they are smarter than science and medical research that we are having the measles and whooping cough scares that are occurring today. Without the use of vaccines many of the diseases that were under control, or completely depleted are now slowly starting to reappear. Measles being the biggest offender, with it said to have been fully eradicated in 2000, we had over 600 cases of measles in 2014. For all of the measles cases you read about, as
Throughout the world, approximately three million people die from vaccine-preventable diseases each year; half of the people who die are children who are less than five years of age (Offit, 2014). When a person dies from a disease that has an available vaccine, that death could have been prevented. Parents do not vaccinate their children for an abundance of reasons. Although they feel that they are protecting their children, they are actually exposing them to countless life-threatening diseases. People who are not vaccinated cause problems within society, and unless there is a medical reason as to why a person cannot be vaccinated, vaccinations should be mandatory.
Today, people do not really know how a vaccine works. For many illnesses, a person becomes immune once their body has fought off the infection. This is because the body can now fight the infection without suffering from
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.
In the world today, we are exposed to all kinds of germs and disease, these germs and disease can cause all kind of harm on to humans. Throughout history there has been epidemic of deadly viruses all around the world. As a species, we have developed a way to prevent disease and viruses though vaccines or immunizations. The Idea of Vaccine have bee a major challenged to public health over the last century. But like any type of medication, there are going to be both pros and cons. Recently there has been cause for concern for vaccination children. The concern steams from the belief if vaccines are safe today. There are also a great number of wonderful aspects to vaccines. The Question today is whether vaccines are safe and if they way they are researched are the most effective. This paper will be looking at the 21st Century Cure Act and how it could change the way vaccines are creates and provided to the public.
The issue of whether or not children should be vaccinated against disease is a recent controversial topic that has dominated social media. While vaccines are proven to be effective in the prevention of many diseases, some parents have concerns about side effects and risks that make them object to their child receiving vaccines. There are cases of children dying from vaccines, a study that suggest certain vaccines can cause autism, and concerns that the substances within vaccines are harmful. On the other side, a number of diseases have been eradicated because of vaccination, immunocompromised people are safer surrounded by vaccinated people, and vaccines are required to be thoroughly tested before being made available. While both sides present
The diffusion of various diseases has been a conflict to individuals. The moment someone is born, he or she can or might catch a disease. In the past years, it has been a dissension to people, whether the use of vaccine would benefit. Vaccines terminate diseases that tragically ended the lives of many. It seems hereditary principle for parents to get their children into vaccination. But, these vaccinations can prevent diseases such as smallpox, polio, measles, and more. Vaccinations can alleviate illnesses that each individual can get into. It is just mandatory for children to get vaccinated.
Vaccinations have been around for years and recently they have been a big topic of conversation. The big decision that parents are dealing with now is, is it healthy and should they vaccinate their young children or not. Some diseases have become so common over the years that choosing not to get vaccinated is a risk to natural infection, which is a form of immunity against the diseases (Merino-2). It is not believed that any of the vaccines offered are absolutely harmless to your immune system, however, vaccinations are recommended to protect people from diseases and to help prevent having outbreaks within the society.
The controversy concerning the vaccination for children has been a debate for many parents. Many have chosen not to vaccinate their children. In most cases the decision is made, simply out of ignorance or lack of knowledge. The problem is that many parents are unaware of what a vaccine is and how it works. Vaccines are like a training course for the immune system. They prepare the body to fight disease without exposing it to disease symptoms. When your child becomes infected, his/her body relies on the immune system to fight the invader. White blood cells activate and begin making proteins called antibodies that locate the infectious agent and
Pro-vaccine parents and doctors use research conducted on vaccinations to support their reasoning for why vaccines are safe for children and do not cause developmental problems. There needs to be a better response because of the “rise of the anti vaccination movement,reduced incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases, increased consumerism and interest in alternative therapies, public health workers will be increasingly compelled to respond to community concerns about vaccines” (Leask and McInTyre, 4701). They believe the debate against vaccines are “fueled by parents’ fears that vaccines are not safe for every child…Some worry that the measles vaccine causes autism – a theory that has been thoroughly discredited by numerous scientific studies” and that these are not legitimate reasons for the fear and rejection of vaccines (Foxhall, 1). Those who are pro vaccines also note that “Opposition to vaccination occurs through organized lobbying to ups of mainly parents or individual spokespersons who medical or scientific background lends credibility to their claims” (Leask and McIntyre, 1).This side of the argument for vaccines does not have as much media attention because it has been the accepted way of child healthcare for many people. We know that vaccines do help children stay healthy from very deadly diseases. Our rate of these deadly diseases occurring has decreased because the health care field has been able to find ways to keep us all healthy through vaccines. The wonderful thing about having the majority of the population in the United States vaccinated is that it protects young children or very sick children who cannot get vaccinated yet from contracting a disease. Those individuals who are not getting vaccinated can still be kept safe because everyone else is getting vaccinated, which is known as the herd affect.
Over the year 2014, there were 1,737 reported cases of hospitalization, disability, deaths or life-threatening illness because of vaccinations. You might think that that’s a lot but let’s compare that to the 2,701 children who were affected in the year 2009. Childhood vaccines are a growing problem all around the world. The purpose of this essay is to let you know the benefits and risks of childhood vaccines, along with why some parents say “no.”
Childhood vaccines protect children from a multiplicity of diseases from diphtheria, to measles to whooping cough. Vaccines eradicate disease and prevent illness and death this has been proven throughout the years. The question facing many new mothers today is, do the benefits of vaccines outweigh the negatives? Those pro immunization will say that the risk of not immunizing your child far outweighs the risks of immunizing your child. The strongest argument on pro vaccination is in regards to “herd” immunity. Herd immunity is a trend where the rate of disease drops among the no vaccinated population due to vaccination. (Armstrong et al., 2007) The vulnerable population, those who cannot be vaccinated, have protection. The vaccinated is protecting the unvaccinated, and there is a low threat to an outbreak. An increase in refusing vaccines jeopardizes herd humanity. Thus immunizations are not necessarily for on self, but for protection of others the “herd”. Even