Free Essay

Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

In:

Submitted By luckyforlaura
Words 939
Pages 4
To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

Many parents stress over the choice of deciding whether or not to vaccinate their children. The reason why deciding to vaccinate children is so difficult is due to the wide range of myths and side effects that are connected with vaccinations. Myths spread to parents all over the United States that the diseases don’t even exist anymore, rumors of vaccinations weakening a child’s immune system, and the risk of a child becoming autistic due to thimerisol in vaccinations. Side effects also scare parents out of getting their children vaccinated like brain damage, seizures, or allergic reactions, but then parents are pulled back to the thought of the possibility of their child catching a very serious life threatening disease. Vaccines improve immunity to a disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-ridden microorganism or a weakened form of a microbe. Vaccines do not guarantee complete protection from a disease, and many people are beginning to question the effectiveness of vaccines. Parents wonder if vaccinations really help in the prevention of illnesses. Although vaccinations can bring adverse effects, it is necessary to provide oneself with the protection against various diseases. This is why schools make it mandatory for children to have their up to date immunizations before entering school. I know there are some cases that gets waived for religious reasons. When children aren’t vaccinated, they are left defenseless against diseases like Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox (that can lead to shingles), Polio, Pertussis (whooping cough), and Rubella just to name the ones we hear about more often. All these diseases have the ability to easily kill, and if it weren’t for the vaccines protecting many children in the United States, the spread of these diseases would travel rapidly. There are a lot of people that do not recommend or get vaccinations for children because they think it is unnecessary to vaccinate for a disease that is no longer around. Because of the many advances in both the medical and technological industry, vaccinations have the potential to protect a child against more diseases than ever before. Diseases that once killed thousands of children have now been eliminated and are close to extinction -mainly because of the efficient use of vaccines. Vaccinations have the ability to save lives, as most vaccines are 90 to 99 percent effective in preventing disease. It is estimated that vaccines save about 2.5 million children from preventable diseases every year, which equals to about 285 children an hour. Vaccinations are also proven to be safe by major medical organizations, and it is very unlikely for any sort of disease or reaction to come from them. Although vaccines may provide discomfort and tenderness, this is minimal compared to the pain of diseases that vaccines prevent. Immunization to diseases protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and even eliminated many diseases that once disabled and killed those just a few generations ago. Smallpox, for example, once resulted in the death of 29,004 individuals yearly. Because of the smallpox vaccination the disease was eradicated worldwide and children no longer need to be vaccinated against it. If the United States, as a nation, continues widespread vaccination, parents in the future may be able to trust that some of the disease of today will no longer be a danger to their children.

Vaccinations are considered to be the greatest health development of the 20th century. Because of advancements in medicine, vaccinations are becoming a widespread medium in the prevention of disease. They have provided the eradication and immunity to many deadly diseases such as smallpox, polio and rubella. Although there is no law that mandates the vaccination of children, they are necessary to prevent the infliction of disease and harm. By making the decision to vaccinate their children, a parent has the potential to save their lives.

Vaccinations are considered to be the greatest health development of the 20th century. Because of advancements in medicine, vaccinations are becoming a widespread medium in the prevention of disease. They have provided the eradication and immunity to many deadly diseases such as smallpox, polio and rubella. Although there is no law that mandates the vaccination of children, they are necessary to prevent the infliction of disease and harm. By making the decision to vaccinate their children, a parent has the potential to save their lives. I stand firmly in believing that getting my children the recommended vaccinations for their age or what grade they are going into is the right thing. I do not believe the myths, I never have. I also do not feel there is enough evidence to show that autism is linked to vaccines. These vaccines are not only protecting my children but they are protection children around them including family and school. Today’s society with some many people moving to the United States from countries that do not vaccinate is scary, I feel more confident knowing my children are protected so if there were to be an outbreak they would either not be effected at all or only have a small case or whatever was spread.

References

www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vacc-timeline.htm www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html "Making Sense out of Vaccination Statistics." Vaccine.com. Sanofi Pasteur, 02 July
2014. Web. 18 July 2014.

"Leaving the Anti-Vaccine Movement - Voices For Vaccines." Voices For Vaccines.
Np. nd. Web. 20 July 2014.

"What Are the Reasons to Vaccinate My Baby?" Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 08 July 2013. Web. 18
July 2014.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

...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

Premium Essay

Vaccinate

...In today’s society parents have a choice if they want to send their children to public school or 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...

Words: 2021 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Reasons Not To Vaccinate Children

...measles. Now parents are starting not to vaccinate their children because they fear the vaccines. When vaccines were first introduced people went to get them right away because they knew the terrible results those diseases can bring. Now those diseases are gone, and parents do not know what they can do to a child. Although some may argue that vaccinating babies and young children is a bad idea, it is actually good because it protects others, prevents outbreaks, and they are not harmful to most children. Vaccines have been around for a while. The word vaccine...

Words: 1249 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Don't Wiat, Vaccinate

...Don’t Wait, Vaccinate! In the recent few years, researchers, doctors, and parents have been having a huge debate on whether or not children should be required to have all of the vaccines suggested by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Many parents refuse to have their child(ren) fully vaccinated because they fear that the child may suffer from a mental disability such as autism. Parents make that decision because they are only looking at the risks for their own child’s health, but the don’t keep in mind the health of the people that are constantly around their children. There have been too many deaths from vaccine preventable diseases. “Since the 25th anniversary of HIV, there have been about 2.1 million deaths from vaccine preventable diseases; 1.4 million of those deaths were children under the age of five-years-old. This is a very alarming statistic, and something needs to be done to help lower these numbers. It needs to be required that parents have their juveniles vaccinated because without their immunizations they are putting their child’s health at risk, and also the people who are around them, on a daily basis. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective inventions in the medical field (Colgrove), and the cost is just going to get even larger as more research is done. All of the different vaccines have helped reduce the number of deadly infections and diseases people can get. Most, if not all, health care providers recommend that health care workers, frequent...

Words: 2474 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay On Vaccinate Animals

...Animal Care Do you know what animals need to have a long lasting, good life? You can learn how to give your pet a healthy lifestyle with basic information. Animals need vaccinations! “You need to vaccinate your pet, If the number of pets protected by vaccines drops our animal companions could be at risk from an outbreak of infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted to humans” (“Vaccinating your pet”). “Fleas can be a problem even in the most spotless home or on the cleanest pet”. If you do not vaccinate your pet there’s not only a risk for your pet, but for yourself. You can catch everything that your animal has; wether it be: fleas, ringworm, worms, rabies, pink eye, ext. There’s no limit to the illnesses your pet can get. So to keep yourself and your pet safe; you need to vaccinate! Preventing fleas is fairly simple. You go into any local store and purchase a flea treatment. While fleas are easy to prevent, they are very difficult to get rid of. Getting rid of fleas is like getting rid of that crazy aunt that nobody likes. Almost impossible! Or at least, it takes a very long time. Flea treatment doesn’t cost that much either, and you need to put this treatment on every single one of your pets at least once a month. The happier home you will have! You should spay and...

Words: 800 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Should Parents Be Required to Vaccinate Their Children

...Chatham Chris Bishop Engl 1302 October 10, 2015 Should parents be required to vaccinate their children? Back in the 1990’s, people started becoming worried after many years about the mercury in the vaccines their kids were receiving. Then, in 1996, a former British surgeon and medical researcher, Dr. Andrew Wakefield put out a now disproved study linking the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease (Ferric C. Fang). Before his study was disproved, it was a major argument for anti vaxers to cite. The investigation into his study began in 2004 and it wasn’t until 2010 that it was disproved and withdrawn. In that time, many people with autistic children began to believe that this study showed why their kids were disabled. Wakefield's study and his claim that the MMR vaccine might cause autism, led to a decline in vaccination rates in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, which caused a rise in measles and mumps. During this time, from 2004 to now, his continued warnings against the vaccine have contributed to a climate of distrust of all vaccines and the reemergence of other previously controlled diseases (Gregory A. Poland). So the question begs, should parents be required to vaccinate their children. One position on legally requiring vaccines is that it is a complete violation of our civil rights. This is usually the position of people who do not want to vaccinate their kids. The people at the National Vaccine Information Center are very upset...

Words: 1128 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay On Vaccinate Children

...You would have to home school them. They would have to find a hospital and insurance that would take them, and if your child is not treated because they are sick they could have a chronic disease that would need the care and you would have to spend money for a longer term. If you got the shots it could all be avoided. Although these are great reasons to vaccinate, could vaccinating your child not be a good idea? Parents do believe that there isn't anyone that know their child like they do and doctors aren't always right. One argument is that pharmacys protect the vaccines and give them false information just make money. That the vaccines have damaging chemicals in them, such as mercury and uranium, and they would make your boby worse off than it already is. Causing the vaccines to be unsafe and giving you medical problems, such as chronic illnesses like ADHD and Autism, or mental health issues like depression or anxiety. There have been vaccines that have been removed from the market. Rotavirus and Lyme Diesease, and some of the countries don't even use vaccinations like Australia, Japan, and...

Words: 606 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Should Vaccinate Children Safe

...Over the past decade, vaccines have been unjustly tossed into the national spotlight. All of a sudden, people are questioning the modern miracle of science and medicine. First, it is important to clear the air. Vaccines are safe. Vaccines are necessary. People should absolutely vaccinate their children unless their kids are either too young or allergic to the ingredients. The effects of not vaccinating children are profound. Despite the scientific consensus that people should vaccinate their children, an increasing number of people are refusing to do so. It is important to examine how vaccines work. First of all, vaccines work by stimulating the body's immune system to better combat some of the most dangerous infections. The immune system produces antibodies when exposed to an invader. These antibodies persist for long periods of time and help to fight off an infection if the body sees the infection a second time. Unfortunately, these antibodies don't help much during the first infection. This is where much of the damage is done. Therefore, medical research invented vaccines. These take weakened infections or proteins from infectious diseases called antigens. It is important to note these vaccine components do not cause any deadly infections. They are merely portions of the infection or a weakened form of the infection. These vaccines train the body to fight off the infection if...

Words: 572 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Explain Why I Want To Vaccinate My Ferret

...Why do I want to vaccinate my ferret? Distemper: is an airborne virus that is almost always 100% fatal to unvaccinated ferrets. Your ferret can be exposed when you come into contact with contaminated grass or animals. The incubation period can be up to 10 days long, so quarantine of new pets entering the home is highly advised. - Signs: vary from anorexia, fever, and serious nasal discharge. This discharge can progress to brown encrusted material which eventually encompasses the lips, nose, chin and eyes. Secondary bacterial infections can develop such as pneumonia and black tarry stools indicating possible ulcers. End stage infection results in complications such as hyperexcitability, salvation, muscular tremors, and convulsions. Death can occur within 12-30 days - Diagnosis: based on clinical signs;...

Words: 464 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Child Advocacy Letter

...that parents need to vaccinate their children in order for them to be able to attend public schools. These types of laws have been passed before but this particular bill closes California’s vaccine exemption loophole. There are many that argue that vaccines contain mercury or that mercury can cause autism, these claims are said to not have any convincing evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal (mercury) in vaccines. But there are other harmful ingredients in vaccines such as mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, human/animal serum albumin, sorbitol, gelatin, sodium chloride, egg protein, phenoxyethanol, aluminum phosphate, MSG, etc. These ingredients can cause disorders, brain damage, they poses risks of infection from synthetic growth hormones, BSE infectivity, low blood pressure, arthritis and lumps, shortness of breath, chest pain, skin reactions, they can be highly toxic for; nervous systems, kidneys, and the liver, etc. In an article I read it states myths and facts of how vaccines don’t cause autism but the article doesn’t state the other harmful side effects/ ingredients that vaccines contain. In this particular article “Vaccines & Senate Bill 227: Fact vs. Myth” it states that this bill being passed will not force parents to vaccinate their children, but where does that leave a taxpaying parent to take their children if they are not allowed to take their children to attend school. It forces parents into a corner, if parents do not vaccinate their children, they...

Words: 488 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Vaccines

...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 answered all children should be required to be vaccinated. 52% also replied, when children are not vaccinated, they should not be able to attend public schools. This is due to the safety of the children (“To Vaccinate”)....

Words: 1128 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Arguments Against Vaccination

...greatly improved the quality of life in modern civilization, and has nearly eradicated many deadly diseases. Children are vaccinated to prevent many illnesses in their early years and these vaccinations are carried out according to a set schedule through a child’s physician. These immunizations are a requirement for entrance to public school. This requirement is in place as a safe guard to protect the population from outbreak. There are many reasons for which parents are hesitant to vaccinate their child. Although there are some reasons that parents have for resisting...

Words: 501 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Vaccinating Children Research Paper

...utterly stumped. About an hour before the Sabbath ended, before I could start actually writing this paper, a friend was over and she told me she was not planning to vaccinate her children. Her reasoning was that her mother had an adverse reaction to some vaccination, and she doesn't want to risk it with herself or her kids. I disagreed with her and told her she should not use this minimal amount of information to make such a drastic decision. There was a high possibility that her mother had simply had an adverse reaction it to this specific vaccination, and would be okay with other ones. The chances that she herself would have the same reaction was not great enough to justify not getting any vaccinations! Not vaccinating her children was absurd! And just like that, I had my topic....

Words: 489 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Vaccinating Children Outline

...Caitlin Darby Missouri State University   Vaccinating Children Thesis 1) Vaccinating children helps stop the spread of diseases in the community. 2) Children should be vaccinated in order to stop the spread of diseases in the community. Introduction In the past many people have died from many diseases and illnesses. Today, our modern medicine can treat almost every disease out there. For example, the Bubonic Plague once killed millions of humans around the world. Once antibiotics were created to counter this disease, the mortality rate was lowered significantly. There has been a big war in this country for many years. It causes friction between families, husband and wives, and even doctors and patients. This war is on whether a parent should vaccinate their children or not. There are parents who believe that vaccinating their children may cause them harm mentally or physically. In fact, not vaccinating your children can cause outbreaks of diseases that can be fatal to them or the community around them. Body (History) I. There are some parents against vaccinating their children as they believe harm can come from it. A. Some parents believe autism and vaccinations are linked together. 1. A couple years ago there was an article saying that vaccinations caused autism. 2. Pretty soon the paper was discredited and the scientific journal it was in redacted it. 3. Even though it was redacted and proven untrue parents still use this as an argument against vaccinating their children. B. Some...

Words: 919 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Vaccine Debate

...last ten years or so, there has been a debate on childhood vaccinations. This debate all started from the acquisition that vaccines cause autism. Since the debate, many parents have been skeptical on whether or not they will get their children vaccinated. From the negative comments that are going around from highly respected people new parents doubt vaccines importance to the world. Parents are concerned, which they should be, about if vaccines are beneficial or harmful to their kid’s health? Some claim that vaccinations are needless and unsafe. With the misleading information in parent’s ears they are stuck with the big question. Should I vaccinate my child? Since this vaccine debate, “about 40 percent of American parents today has chosen to delay certain vaccines or outright refuse to allow their children’s physicians to vaccinate their children with one or more of the recommended or mandated vaccines” (Largent). As the rates of being vaccinated go down, it is putting not only that child in danger but also the whole community. Diseases that were once gone are on the rise.” A 2013 study published in the journal Pediatrics reports that California’s worst whooping-cough outbreak, which infected more than 9,000 people (Rothstein)”. Also “the CDC reports that from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2014, 54 people in the U.S. have reported being infected with measles” (Sifferlin). The issue with the decrease in vaccination rates is it disturbs herd immunity. Herd immunity is having...

Words: 1559 - Pages: 7