...Modern medicine provides people with the ability to protect themselves from the world’s most fatal diseases. Merely a century ago, it was not uncommon for a child to die as a result of diseases such as polio, pertussis, and tuberculosis. Today, it is highly unlikely for a person to contract these diseases, let alone die from them. However, refusal of vaccinations has been increasing throughout the years due to the anti-vaccination movement. This movement declares mandatory vaccines unconstitutional and vaccinations overall as the cause of autism. Unfortunately, the anti-vaccination movement is becoming increasingly popular due to individuals’ unfounded fears and imagined consequences associated with the idea of purposely inserting a disease into one’s body. However, despite one’s beliefs, vaccines are essential not only to a person’s well-being, but to the health of those around them. Mandatory vaccinations do not cause autism; rather, they save lives while upholding values of...
Words: 1426 - Pages: 6
...some parents see vaccination as a medical necessity others see it as endangering their children. This is one of the main problems that first time mother face. Example when I became a mother I was confused when I was asked about vaccinating my child. Like many people I did not fully understand the benefits and side effect of vaccination so I only agreed because I was told it was good for my child. On the other hand, I did my own research online and majority of what I came across talks about why not to vaccinate your child. Studies as show that vaccination prevent childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough and chicken pox. While some may say that vaccination is the best way to protect our children some will also argue that injecting chemicals to our children is not safe. Over the years I have come across many people that believe that vaccinating their child was the cause of their children autism and other behavior problems. Working on the autism units in a mental hospital for children we often come across patients that are strongly against vaccination and sometimes medications because it is believe that adding what was not created in the body to the body is dangerous and only makes their child worst. Some parents believe that refusing to vaccinate their child is their chose (which it is) and that it only affects their child; sadly, it is not true since vaccination are based on herd immunity meaning that in order for the vaccination to be affective a...
Words: 679 - Pages: 3
...fever and a red rash on the skin, typically occurring in childhood. This infectious disease can be prevented by getting a vaccine. A vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases. In the past 50 years, vaccinations have saved more lives worldwide than any other medical product or procedure. The intriguing story of vaccination goes all the way back to ancient Greece. Ever since the invention of the first vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been plenty of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination and immunization. Parents should be required to vaccinate their children. Throughout this essay, the focus will be on the health of the children, the falsifying data about vaccinations, and the benefits of them. Every parent’s biggest concern is the health of their children. As a parent, you make informed choices about your child’s health and safety every day. The health of any child depends heavily on if they receive vaccinations. The children that receive these vaccinations tend to be more resistant to some diseases than those who do not. Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction primarily due to safe and effective vaccines. When asked in a survey, 60% of the sample...
Words: 1128 - Pages: 5
...medicine provides people with the ability to protect themselves from the world’s most fatal diseases. Merely a century ago, it was not uncommon for a child to die as a result of diseases such as polio, pertussis, and tuberculosis. Today it is highly unlikely for a person to contract these diseases, let alone die from them. However, refusal of vaccinations has been increasing throughout the years. This is due to individual’s unfounded fears and imagined consequences associated with the idea of purposely inserting a disease into one’s body. Despite one’s beliefs, vaccines are essential not only to a person’s well-being, but to the health of those around them. Mandatory vaccinations do not cause autism; rather, they save lives while also...
Words: 1545 - Pages: 7
...Exploratory Essay To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate Vaccines were brought to the United States by Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse in 1800. (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia) Dr. Waterhouse pushed for public vaccinations to eradicate the small pox epidemic through community immunity. “Community immunity” or “herd immunity” is where a significant percentage of the population is immune to a disease, either through vaccination or prior illness, so the spread of the disease is unlikely. ( National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases). Since 1800, many vaccines have been developed including the polio vaccine by Dr. Salk in 1954. With massive polio vaccinations since 1954, eradication of the disease was declared in 1994 in the Americas. However nowadays there are many groups that believe vaccines are doing more harm than good. A recent perceived rise in autism rates and the push for more vaccines during infancy has caused some parents and researchers to believe there is a relationship between the vaccines and autism. Out of concern for safety of their children, some parents are choosing not to vaccinate or alter the government recommended vaccination schedule. Many doctors agree with government schedules for vaccinations and relate them to the elimination and reduction of diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, pertussis and more. This essay will explore the positions of parents, researchers and physicians regarding vaccines against disease. Most parents evaluate...
Words: 1435 - Pages: 6
...77% of American kindergarteners are up to date with their vaccinations. (Park, 2008) This percentage makes Americans the most vaccinated group of people in the world. The number of shots required for school age children has doubled since 1980; today’s children will receive up to 28 injections for 11 to 15 diseases by the time they go to kindergarten. Many of these mandatory vaccinations are not safe because of the toxic chemicals, the multiple doses that they are administered in, and the neurological disorders, such as autism, that the immunizations may be causing. One main concern for many parents is the amount of injections that infants and young children are receiving at once. It is very common for the doctor’s office to administer three or even four different vaccinations in one visit. Many doctors and nurses share the concern that it is unhealthy for our children to receive so many shots at one time. One survey taken in Minnesota found that between 60 and 70 percent of the pediatricians, nurses, and parents they asked, felt uncomfortable giving a child more than two vaccinations in one office visit. (Madlon-Kay & Harper, 1994) The simultaneous injections can cause more severe side effects for the child and also increases the level of mercury that the child is exposed to because of the multiple doses. One the same line as simultaneous injections is combined injections. These are multiple vaccinations administered with one shot. One example of a combined injection...
Words: 1314 - Pages: 6
...got vaccinated. It was very painful and I cried. Many people may have an experience like me. However vaccinations help us not to suffer from a certain health problem and lead to an advantageous response to infection. We have had many inoculations decades such as polio, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, etc. As a person of South Korea, I have had many vaccinations. It plays an important role in living healthy. Therefore, I think that all nations should be mandatory vaccinations because it would protect individual and the nation’s health. According to Health Affairs, a journal about healthcare and health policy, a vaccine was attempted for the first time by Edward Jenner who was a doctor from the United Kingdom in 1796. During this time, smallpox spread throughout the UK. Meanwhile Jenner discovered that ranch workers milking cows everyday didn’t catch well the disease. There was a disease, cowpox that is similar to smallpox but a weaker form. When a person contracted cowpox, he or she could endure well than a person who caught smallpox and wasn’t stricken with smallpox anymore. Inspired by this realization Jenner invented the smallpox vaccine after some experiments using cowpox virus. Since then the term ‘vaccine’ began to be used by Louis Pasteur who has been called “microbial father”....
Words: 974 - Pages: 4
...Mandatory Vaccinations As each year passes, and a new one quickly approaches, our world gets more advanced in every way. Our technology becomes faster, smarter, and quicker and with that, our medical strides become bigger and better. Currently, with the help of technology and years of prior research, our medical resources have flourished and with it, the debate over mandatory vaccinations and how they may or may not affect our children. We've been so caught up in the action of being able to choose for ourselves what course we take for our children when it comes to vaccinations, that we have made secondary the consequences of what this choice actually entails. Vaccinations help to protect and prevent the innocent young and the surrounding vulnerable community members from infection, while helping to significantly reduce the risk of outbreaks to people who may be exposed to these potentially deadly illnesses and therefore should be mandatory. Vaccinations should be mandatory because they help keep our school age children safe. Currently, the requirement for entering all public schools is that your child must be vaccinated first. This is a requirement within all fifty states, as marked by the Center for Disease Control. If your child doesn't get vaccinated, they can't start their first day of school. The Food and Drug Administration regulates and licenses all of the vaccines required for children to ensure both "safety and effectiveness." Given our history before vaccines, outbreaks...
Words: 975 - Pages: 4
... Today’s vaccinations are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to ensure their effectiveness and safety to the general public. Currently there are no federal laws which mandates vaccination, but there is a vaccination requirement per state for children entering school. The chart below details which vaccines are mandated for public school by several states: Children who are not vaccinated have a greater chance of death than children who received the required vaccinations. The safety of vaccinations is in questioned by many, asking if they are safe for children to receive. They are safe and should be required for children since those vaccinations help prevent illnesses, lower the risk for some diseases and it might even cause financial growth. There are several advantages of receiving the recommended vaccines. One advantage is that they are designed to put foreign antigens into the body so the body will produce antibodies to fight it off. The body will produce two types of immune responses when an antigen is introduced in order to ensure total immunity from the disease. Vaccines ensure that children get immunity from diseases instead of contracting them. Having immunity is a major advantage against any disease. There is less complications and it decreases the chance for Pneumonia, stroke, and Herpic Neuralgia. ("How Do Vaccines Work To Protect People From Disease?", 2014) Parents should consider the benefits of getting their child vaccinated...
Words: 2003 - Pages: 9
...Administration (FDA) regulate all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness. No federal laws mandating vaccination exist, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations (exemptions allowed) for children entering public schools (ProCon.org, 2013). Children who are not vaccinated have a higher death rate than children who have obtained vaccinations. There are many arguments as to whether vaccinations are safe for children to receive. Vaccines should be a requirement for children because they help prevent diseases, minimize the risks for some disease and increase economic benefits. Vaccines are designed to put foreign antigens into the body so the body will produce antibodies to fight it off. When an antigen is introduced into the body and an antigen-antibody formation is produced, an immune response is stimulated. The body produces two types of immune response to ensure maximum immunity from disease. Vaccines provide children with the opportunity to receive immunity against the disease rather than actually contracting disease. The advantage of just having immunity against the disease is the fact that there will be fewer complications. Fewer complications leads to a decreased risk of stroke, heart disease, post herpetic neuralgia and pneumonia (Nazarko, 2013). Vaccines are very essential in preventing many diseases and the possibility of death. There are certain vaccinations that were not available many years ago. As a result, numerous people died from diseases that were common...
Words: 1989 - Pages: 8
...Vaccinations protect from nasty diseases, but the antiimmunisation voice is getting louder. Introduction Whilst some, or all of us, hate getting needles jabbed in us, it is sometimes necessary so we don’t get sick, or worse, die. There are terrible diseases i.e. Rubella, Polio, Whooping Cough, out there which we try to avoid. Vaccinations may help prevent getting them. Though we get immunised, we still need to be careful in making a well informed decision on behalf of this we love and care about. It is still possible to contract the disease we were vaccinated against, as in the case of chicken pox, where a person can come down with a slight case of it. We will look at the pros and cons of the immunisation debate and understand the benefit of proper decision making when deciding to get immunised. Body It is thought that vaccinations can help stop, and even get rid of, nasty diseases. It is reported that “Polio, for example, was eliminated in the United States by 1979 after widespread vaccination efforts” - as quoted from historyofvaccines.org. But while some people vaccinate their children, others do not. (Research from the National Health Performance Authority has found 77,000 Australian children are not fully immunised. As reported by Amy Simmons for ABC News. April 2013) In numerous parts of the world, it is thought that people need vaccines to stop the spread of disease. While some countries aren’t plagued with deadly diseases, there are some countries that...
Words: 1956 - Pages: 8
...The U.S. Government on Mandatory Vaccination What are vaccines? Vaccines contain a mixture of sugars, proteins, and certain chemicals that all serve a purpose in neutralizing the severely weakened or dead virus within. They are substances that are typically injected subcutaneously under the skin to trigger a bodily response. This response activates the creation of antibodies against the foreign compounds, which then leads to immunization from the desired disease. Although the modern story of vaccination began with Edward Jenner’s approach of introducing already infected material to a healthy subject to protect against smallpox, the idea dates as far back as 1000 B.C. in China. Before agreeing to the label of vaccination, it was generally termed inoculation. It was Jenner’s 1796 research that became the base for which smallpox ultimately became eradicated in the United States. Today we strive to advance our understanding of vaccinations to build a future free from diseases such as HIV, malaria, dengue, and RSV. Today, the government and its schools hold considerable responsibility in the control of preventable diseases. The initial mandatory vaccination laws were passed by Massachusetts in the early 1850’s. The vaccine law transpired because of the new mandatory school attendance law. It was passed in order to keep the growing number of school students safe from disease, and to halt the advancement of smallpox. Vaccines were never collectively respected though. The...
Words: 1829 - Pages: 8
...not to vaccinate your children. As a mother, it’s not something I ever gave much thought to, it was always just a part of the upbringing of my children that I would have them fully vaccinated, so I decided to do a little research on the pros and cons of childhood vaccinations. The first website that I chose to look at was Australian Vaccinaton-Skeptics Network www.avn.org,au This website has been up and running since 1994, and provides links to the latest news stories in regards to vaccinations, however, I found the latest news story they provided was from 30/01/2014. They are a membership run organisation who campaign for better research, better safety and support for people who have been negatively affected by vaccine use. I found that this site was aimed at being ‘pro-choice’. They gave information about making an informed choice when it came to vaccinations. They provided detailed information about a wide range of vaccinations, such as HPV, Influenza, Polio and Meningitis. www.avn.org/vaccination-information/ I also found that vaccinations are not compulsory in Australia, something that I was not aware of, and that you can have your doctor sign a ‘conscientious objection form’ in order to be exempt and still be entitled to government benefits and child care rebates. They also provide a wide range of external links in order to gain further information. They gave a list of government links, natural health links and vaccine safety links. This particular website was based...
Words: 1148 - Pages: 5
...risk it? Preventive care is the biggest milestone of the medical world, and vaccination represents one of the most important strategies in the prevention of disease in adults but more importantly children. The choices parents make to immunizations is a questionable debate. For example small pox has been globally eradicated, while diseases such as, polio are virtually nonexistent. Other life-threatening conditions such as measles have been dramatically curtailed to the point where families no longer fear the drastic effects of it. But in the recent outbreak of the measles in Disneyland, one would question if parents are still getting their children vaccinated for the measles. Dr. Andrew Wakefield wrote a research paper in 1998 on how vaccinations specifically measles and MMR could give a child autism, since then the speculations have increased and parents are worrisome. This is where one is at a stance, to vaccinate or not. Measles and other what once were eradicated diseases should be a requirement since scientists have now shown there are no correlations with autism, prevent the disease from spreading to others, and humanity would benefit as a whole. The recent outbreak in the US of the measles have taken parents are taking more towards social media and reading on some ‘news’ of how some vaccinations can cause diseases one of the most common autism. The news went around that the measles vaccination could give the risk of autism, and was even credited by some doctors who later...
Words: 893 - Pages: 4
...private school. Which public school is determined by what district or zip code you live in. Private schools are stricter were parents have to pay tuition and sometimes the child has to go through an interview to attend the school. The schools focus on the child’s health record and determine if the child has been given the proper vaccines. The parental rights are then questioned if the child is not up to date with their vaccinations. The schools then let the parents know that their child will not be allowed to attend school until their child has the proper vaccinations determining what is right for your child. Neither the government nor a school system should be making decisions on if your child should be allowed to attend school based on vaccinations, because vaccinations are not 100% effective. Parents should be allowed to send their children to public schools unvaccinated because they pose no threat to the children that are vaccinated. Vaccinations to enroll in school seem to be ill-advised and have no true basis. One cannot help but wonder how an unvaccinated child can actually affect a vaccinated child, if the vaccination is serving its true purpose. However, since the 1980s, as stated by Stay “the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with state legislatures to require every child to provide proof of immunization in order to enroll and stay in public or private school, and began to see reductions in measles cases within four or five years. By 2000...
Words: 2021 - Pages: 9
