Vaccines Is A Old As The Vaccination

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,

In today’s society, we believe that everything is up for debate, and that every topic can be opinionated. We like to have the power to make our own choices regardless of facts, just because we feel the pressure of being told what to do. We are lazy to learn the truth, but yet we are ready to choose sides and strongly argue about it. We see it every day on the news, in politics, sports, social media, online forums, school, etc. In his article, “Not Up for Debate: The Science Behind Vaccination”, published in September of 2015, Professor Aaron E. Carroll argues that the issue with vaccinations is more than just choosing to do it or not. Carroll jumps right into his discussion of the “Not up for debate” regarding people’s claims tying vaccines to autism, the choice not to, and officials backing them up. He explains how this argument stems from incorrect information, inadequate studies and research, and poor education about the facts and data about the vaccines, which leads to the stubborn belief that vaccinations should be banned.

However, Jenner’s invention became a common practice only a few years after he released it to the public, and according to The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia, “By 1890 smallpox had virtually been eradicated from Britain.” (“Jenner, Edward (1749-1823)”) From the information about the first vaccination, we can see that vaccinations have been proven to eliminate deadly diseases, whether they receive opposition or not. Without immunizations, we would be overcome with diseases, such as smallpox, polio, and measles.

According to Jake Johnson in his critically acclaimed essay, Vaccines: Made for the Vulnerable, Given to the Weak-Minded, the key to societal progress is a healthy population. In the midst of a recent trend in boycotting essential vaccinations, Mr. Johnson presents a ridiculous proposal that encapsulates the exaggerated mindset of the Americans who are skeptical of vaccines. With a satirical approach through sarcasm and irony, paired with ridiculous interpretations of facts, Mr. Johnson urges the American population to recognize the benefits of vaccinations, and receive them as responsible citizens.

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

The term “herd immunity” became a common phrase as the debate surrounding mandating vaccines continues to grow. The modern vaccination debate often appears to focus on the effectiveness of vaccines as many media sources affirmed or denounced a potential correlation between autism and vaccines. Although these stories about autism and vaccines became headlines, the history of mandating vaccines addresses the authority of the government to distinguish between individual concerns and the common good. The current now ultimately focuses on examining the authority of the government to distinguish between individual concerns and the common good rather than the effectiveness of vaccines.

The current issue I have selected to discuss is vaccinations. In particular, I will be addressing the anti-vaccination movement that has gained popularity in recent years and the contributing biases that influenced its emergence. One event stands out at as a major contributing factor to the growth of the anti-vaccination movement, the 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield that was published by the English medical journal, Lancet. This study claimed to show a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. Even though it was just one small study, the media picked it up and it became hugely publicized.

When most people are asked who is more reliable about vaccinations a doctor or a former Playboy bunny there answer usually should be a doctor. However, in 2007 that was not the case when Playboy bunny, Jenny Mccarthy, a woman with a self-called “mommy instinct” told the media her son’s Autism was caused by the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella or MMR vaccine. This resulted in the anti-vaccination movement that is still present today. The movement caused parents to begin to question vaccines and soon some began to refuse to get their children vaccinated. The result of this refusal is a deadly one, as more illness is spread even to children who are vaccinated and the only way to prevent this is for required vaccinations. The media’s promotion of the

The debate around vaccination has been raging on for many years now and it’s a strongly polarizing one at that. With many parents (and even some quack doctors) taking a stance against vaccinations, it has once again become a heated topic in light of the recent outbreaks (the major one being that at Disneyland, California). Herd immunity is becoming a lesser option as fewer and fewer children are being vaccinated. While there have been laws proposed to counter this problem, it is not the solution. Proponents of the anti-vaccine movements over the years have come up with various concerns about vaccinations. The biggest one being autism. Sensationalist and rumour-driven journalism has created a false-positive correlation in the minds of parents between the increased amounts of required childhood vaccinations and recent increase in cases of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Andrew Wakefield was the first to draw a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism in 1998. But it soon became evident that he had falsified his evidence, and his “research” was retracted. Wakefield was subsequently banned from practicing medicine in the United Kingdom (his home country), for “serious professional misconduct”, but the damage had already been done. The vaccine-autism hypothesis became the forerunner in the anti-vaccine argument and has been for years now. To add fuel to the fire, it gained main stream attention when celebrity Jenny McCarthy publically blamed vaccination for the cause of her son’s

Scientific reasoning is important in modern society as it has been responsible for saving the lives of millions of people from preventable diseases, afflictions and viruses by creating an immunity to potential life-threatening illnesses. As with all scientific evidence, many misinformed people will draw conclusions from the data that best serve personal interests, ultimately ignoring decades of research proving vaccines to be safe and effective.

May 14th, 1769, over two-hundred years ago Edward Jenner, a country doctor, came up with a theory that would later on be a benefit towards our population. Edward took an eight-year-old boy and scratched him with a fluid filled blister from a cow. As a blister popped up on his skin, Edward concluded it was cowpox. He later treated the young boy with a vaccine for smallpox, that resulted in no disease. The vaccine was deemed a success and led doctors to embrace Edwards approach. Since then there has been a decline in cases that involve the disease (History.com). It has been nearly two centuries later and vaccinations is a very controversial topic in American society to this day. In order to prevent and avoid spreadable diseases, people of

More than ever vaccines are met with a high suspicions and very little education on the realities of vaccination success.

One of the greatest products that humans have ever created are vaccines. Vaccines are created to protect us from infectious and life threaten diseases. In today’s world, vaccines play a major role in enhancing our immunity and expanding our life span. The use of vaccines can be found in Chinese ancient medicine, where early Chinese doctor used an early version of smallpox vaccine to inoculate their citizens. This method of early vaccination moved from Asia through European and Africa continent. It wasn’t until in the late 1700’s when Edward Jenner discovered how to manipulate small pox and turn it into a vaccine and thus creating an immunity for millions of people. Jenner’s early use of the small pox vaccination lead to many more vaccines such as Hep B, MMR and the all-important polio which has completed wipe the disease from many develop countries. Although vaccines have played a crucial role in our human growth and development, there are people who still refuse to give vaccines to their children. Many debates and controversies have popped up in recent concerning vaccines and how much and how often they are received.

Scientific advancements, particularly those in medicine, have greatly benefited humanity. However, as advancements in medicine rise, so do opposition and controversy. One such example of a controversial advancement is the modern vaccine. Vaccines are typically administered through needle injections called vaccinations; these injections contain a weakened form of any one disease. When one receives a vaccination, their immune system gets a chance to “practice” how to fend off the specific disease, so that when the person is exposed to a stronger form of it in a natural environment, their immune system is better prepared to fight it off. The safety of vaccines can be attributed to constant development, testing, and trials done by medical professionals after years— even decades— of research. However, “anti-vaxxers” still challenge the safety of vaccines for a multitude of reasons, with the most popular one being that vaccinations will directly cause the development of autism in children. Despite the fact that medical professionals and scientists have concluded again and again that vaccines are not directly related to the development of autism, the belief still persists. Some believe that vaccines contain dangerous poisons and chemicals that weaken or even destroy the immune system, forcing consumers to purchase antibiotics to feed the greed of pharmaceutical companies. Others believe that vaccines are simply useless for the immune system, and are just used as a scare tactic to

There are two types of individuals that look at vaccinations as either dangerous and unnecessary or as effective and beneficial to society. However, the majority of vaccinations are vital in keeping children and individuals within society healthy and are able to continue thriving in a safe and healthy environment. Vaccines have increased the lifespan of human beings by 30 years and have largely eradicated certain diseases, like smallpox and polio that once took lives. History can show effectiveness of vaccines and the improvements over the years, however many in the United States feel that vaccinating children should be a choice and not a requirement. Some individuals believe that children’s immune systems can deal with infections naturally, and that injecting children with a vaccine may cause side effects or may speculate that vaccinations can trigger autism. There have been multiple research studies that denies that vaccinations have caused autism which will be discussed further in the paper, and will discuss different ways of how parents are trying to find a reason to avoid vaccinations. Individuals over the years have found ways to eliminate vaccinations from their children’s day to day lives through documented religious, philosophical, or health reasons. The US federal laws mandates vaccinations however, there is no written law that states vaccinations are required before children are enrolled into public schools. Yet, it is vital to