When Good Vaccines Go Bad

After watching The Vaccine War, the main concerns of vaccines are public safety, the aftermath of injecting harmful chemicals into ones’ body and the parents that choose not to vaccinate their children. In the beginning of the documentary, a mother, Jennifer Margulis, states she felt like it was not needed for her newborn child to be vaccinated for a sexual transmitted disease. She feels like the ingredients are scary for a young child to take in with an immature immune system. The other issue is a massive outbreak of disease that could have been prevented. The Center of Disease Control is carefully watching the town that Ms. Margulis lives, Ashland, Oregon, because it’s the least vaccinated places in America due to parents

As parents are refusing to vaccinate their children against these “long-gone” diseases due to the concern for the vaccine’s safety, they are opening the doors for those diseases like polio and measles to devastate the whole American community once again. These parents react this way because they have different realities. For example, every american back when Franklin D Roosevelt was alive knew what polio was and what it was capable of due to the effect that it had on a nation's president. Nowadays, parents are drawn to campaigns on the safety of vaccinations because of celebrities or other personalities that are protesting against vaccinations due to personal negative experience with expressed vaccine. Since many parents nowadays have not had any personal experiences with most vaccine-preventable diseases they are quick to act when, for example, Jenny McCarthy speaks up about the possibility that autism can be caused by today's vaccinations because many americans have had personal experiences with this disease or are more familiar with this disease since it is widely covered in recent media.

Adams says that the vaccine “is absolutely worthless” (445), but doesn’t give supporting evidence for that statement. Allen is even-handed in his approach, citing studies that show the drug seems to be effective, although he expresses doubt about the rush to put it into use. Adams says that it is an “illusion” (447) that the drug is safe, though he doesn’t give examples of it having harmed anyone. Allen only states that there is “no guarantee it won’t provoke a rare side effect” (450). Adams said this mandate was the result of drug companies bribing and influencing the DEA, politicians, and the medical school (447). Allen simply states that the government and parents need to be won over by the drug companies before the mandate is put into effect (450).

Poliomyelitis was a highly infectious disease that spread through many Americans in the early 20th century. As a matter of fact, over 3,000 Americans died of the disease each year. Families were overwhelmingly desperate for doctors to find a cure. When one suffered from polio, they generally experienced painful symptoms which included not only fatigue and muscle weakness, but even death. Therefore, when the polio vaccine was introduced by scientist Jonas Salk in 1953, it greatly contributed to Americans in numerous positive ways. Environmentally, the vaccine saved countless young American lives affected by the disease thus decreasing American mortality rates. Socially, the polio vaccine convenienced families who were either directly afflicted

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.

He knew that Polio caused paralysis, and invaded the nervous system. As a result, he wanted to end the greatest epidemic in America at that time. As he began researching, the president of the March of Dimes Foundation, Basal O’Connor, wanted to help Salk create the Polio vaccination. His goal was to fund Salk to find a cure against Paralytic Poliomyelitis, or Polio. Jonas devoted the next 8 years of his life working to develop the vaccine. He finally was able to create the vaccine, using formaldehyde, or a chemical compound. Salk used the killed Polio virus to immunize without being infected, or becoming infected after the injection. Soon after the vaccine was created, they began to test it on monkeys; and then they tested it on children who already had Polio at the Watson Institute. After that trial was done, the testing spread to volunteers who wanted the vaccine; this included Jonas, his wife, and his family. By 1954, national testing began on children between the ages of 6-9. On April 12, 1955, they were able to conclude that the vaccine was safe and effective. Salk became known as a miracle worker, although he remained selfless. Jonas wanted no major payment, or recognition for the creation of the vaccine. In fact, he credited that the vaccine creation was accomplished due to the help of John Enders, a Harvard researcher. Enders was the man

In a country where health and safety are top priority all across the nation, America has recently had an epidemic. Everyone is worried about the safety concerns about their children getting vaccinated. There are many fears of vaccinations amongst our country, despite the fears, vaccinations are quite safe and the immunization of our youth will keep them healthy for years to come. People worry and protest against vaccinations even though they are heavily regulated before anyone can use them.

In “vaccination isn’t a Matter of Private Choice” the author states their claim that individuals who don’t get vaccinated have the potential harm individuals who are unable to be vaccinated. Furthermore, this particular stakeholders belief is the “rise in outbreaks” would be “preventable through vaccinations,” but not all parties are able to be vaccinated due to medical issues (par.1). However, not everyone shares the same opinion, Jenny Mccarthy and her following believe the opposite. Mccarthy is a stakeholder who feels that vaccinations cause more harm than help, due to her child being autistic. She argues this by saying the vaccines given to her son caused his autism.

With a substantial amount of preventive healthcare advancements behind them, the American medical community turned its attention to the deadly polio virus plaguing America. From 1937 to 1952, known cases of Americans contracting polio skyrocketed from ten thousand to a staggering figure of roughly fifty-seven thousand cases. Of those cases within that time period, approximately one thousand five hundred deaths as a result of polio were recorded. In the year 1953, The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis provided the scientist Dr. Jonas Salk with the tools necessary to research, and develop a working vaccine to combat the devastating polio disease. After much trial and error, Dr. Salk was finally able to create what he felt was a successful polio vaccination, and proceeded to conduct a field test. After resounding success, manufacturing instructions for the Salk vaccine were sent to a series of scientific laboratories for immediate production and administration to American children. The disaster that occurred next will forever be known through American medical history as the Cutter Incident (named so after one of the labs that administered the polio vaccine). This medical crisis sent shockwaves throughout America and the medical community, and numerous lawsuits were filed against Cutter Laboratories, resulting in fewer and fewer labs willing to accept contract work in developing vaccines.

Vaccine are a common topic in todays society, they are used in the medical field everyday and most people have had vaccines. Vaccines are used to prevent specific illnesses that the immune system might not be able to handle if not vaccinated. Most people assume that they are safe, and that they should be used by everyone, but is that really the case? There currently exists a debate over the safety of vaccines, and the possible dangers that they might pose. The debate consists of two sides, the Pro-Vaccine group, and the Anti-Vaccine group. The Pro-Vaccine group believes that vaccines are a good thing, and that we should use them. The Anti-Vaccine group believes that vaccines are a bad thing, and that we should not use them. Each group has their fair share of good points. In the standpoint of who’s winning that could go to the Pro-Vaccine group, they currently have more support in society and most people believe that vaccines are safe. But number do not always mean something is right, the Anti-Vaccine group can not be discredited just because they have less support. The Anti-Vaccine group has their fair share of valid points on the issue. The middle ground in-between these two sides is pretty clear, the option to opt-out of vaccines that might be mandatory, while would be a big win for the Anti-Vaccine group it still has yet to happen. The best solution would be to make vaccines mandatory in a way

Although both writers agree on the dismissal of the mandated HPV vaccines each provides their own logic behind their beliefs. Using a different approach, Allen’s tone and diction in his piece differs of that of Adam’s article. Allen begins with an unbiased opinion on the case and opens his article with a previous case regarding mandated vaccinations, the Hepatitis B vaccine. The case is very similar to that of the HPV Vaccine and Allen uses this as a starting point to build up his reason in his work. Unlike Adams, Allen does not in any way relay to the reader his bias on the government in terms of the vaccines; he remains neutral and refrains from using loaded dialogue to attempt to inform the reader of his point. “It stands to reason that, without a mandatory vaccination, many of the girls who don’t get vaccinated will belong to the same groups that fall through the cracks of the patchy U.S

Their stance against some of the vaccines offered by the government has hit on the credibility of the government to provide quality and reliable health services. Recent statements from the CDC however reassures that they have tested and trialed vaccine and if there was any rise in the safety of vaccine then they cannot be approved by the FDA. This has calmed some of the worry of these vaccines and more children being vaccinated to prevent deadly diseases or even manageable diseases. The government provide laws not to harm people but to save

In 1955, Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, saving thousands of lives. Vaccines gained popularity throughout America, with millions hoping to stop the spread of deadly disease, and increase herd immunity. Recently, many Americans stopped vaccinating themselves and their children based upon articles they had read online that state that vaccines cause autism, epilepsy, and weakened immune systems. Despite scientific medical journal articles that suggest otherwise, parents continue to choose not to vaccinate their children based upon sources that are not considered credible in the scientific community. Thus, the vaccine debate comes down to a debate of credibility, distinguishing science from pseudoscience,

In an October 25, 2004 Newsweek article, researcher Dr. Susan Fisher states, "the infusion of private money is indispensable, but it will never fill the gaps in funding created by federal restrictions." In the same Newsweek article, Nobel Prize winner Dr. Peter Agre argues, "relying on private money is like saying we could open the public schools from 10 to 10:15, but you are welcome to send your kids to private school." History tells us that there are positive advantages to the government's involvement in treating human diseases. Federal funding hastened the development of polio vaccine as well as many other vaccines to prevent communicable diseases. An editorial for the Life Sciences Institute written by Richard Lempert and Jack Dixon in 2001 states, "what is clear is the fact that without federal funding the progress of understanding the properties of stem cells will be much slower." Given the current public opinion surveys on the subject of stem cell research, one may argue that many citizens feel there is a need to accelerate progress rather than impede it.

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.