...Issue Proposal draft English 1302 August 30, 2015 Should Vaccinations be Mandated? How many cases of polio or smallpox have we gotten in the last 20 years? The answer to that is none. Vaccinations are one of public health’s greatest achievements. However, an ethical dilemma lies in the balance of personal autonomy and choice versus protection of the entire at-risk population. Vaccinations in the US are responsible for the eradication of smallpox. They have also helped with significant reductions in other serious infections like influenza, polio and the measles. The issue for me is then why are diseases becoming more prevalent in our country recently? What has changed? I believe the issue is two-fold. The first issue is our children. New mothers in the United States are now refusing to vaccinate their children because of a financial burden to get the shots, a religious belief that goes against what they see as truth, as well as the reactions and possible death they may cause. The second issue is that our country has become lazy with protecting its citizens. People from other countries are allowed to come to our country, possible even infected with the virus, and live amongst us infecting us. The second tier to this is that there is no follow up on the people who have got vaccinated to see if their bodies have produced enough antibodies for protection. So the issue I have, that I hope to answer is, should vaccinations be mandated for anyone living and trying to visit our country...
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...safety of childhood immunizations. The major argument is whether or not laws should be established to declare vaccination mandatory for all children. “The US food and Drug administration (FDA) regulates all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness,” (ProCon.org, 2012) therefor there should not be any reason to risk the health of any child. Vaccinating our children not only ensures their safety but also that of their future to come. The first major concern parents have when it comes to childhood vaccinations is that of the health and safety of their children. Some parents believe that vaccines were developed to help the spread against dangerous transmittable diseases. Other parents are under the impression that vaccines themselves present high risk factors for their children. Both have strong arguing points in this controversy and have good reason to believe in what they do. Proponents argue and the facts clearly show that since the emergence of vaccines in the twentieth century for common life threatening diseases, such as measles and diphtheria, the related number of deaths has decreased by more than 500%. On the other side, opponents argue that childhood vaccines are responsible for the dramatic increase of autoimmune diseases. Many proponents argue that childhood vaccination is vital and should be a state requirement not a parental option. They feel that vaccines are a necessity that should be required for the safety and future of all mankind. Childhood vaccines...
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...Allison Hensley English 101 Ruth Bogart 10-10:50 a.m. 16 Nov 2015 Childhood Vaccinations: The benefits and risks By age 6, more than 95 percent of American children have received the recommended dosages of vaccines to protect against the most serious childhood diseases (Jost.) Vaccines can prevent diseases that once killed or seriously injure children can now be prevented. Vaccines are necessary for children, it not only helps them from dying, but they also help prevent a breakout which could kill adults too. Diseases that have killed children in the past now claim only 10 percent of the lives they did before. The opposing side feels children are getting too many shots and parents worry it could be bad for them. Children can also have bad reactions to the shots and some may lead to death. In 1960, children received 19 doses of four different vaccines before they reached school age. Today, an American child receives up to 39 doses of 12 different vaccines most given during the first two years of life (Knoch.) Parent worry their kids might be harmed by these vaccines because they are so young and get them so frequently. However, without immunizations kids are more susceptible to diseases that can now be prevented. Less children have died because they have had the vaccine. 1 in 3,000 chance a child can develop a fever from receiving a vaccine (George.) Vaccines help children more than hurt them. Vaccines for Children is a program that was designed to raise the immunizations...
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...The recent United States measles epidemic has sparked another contentious national discussion about childhood vaccination. A growing number of parents are expressing concerns about the safety of vaccines, often fueled by misinformation from the internet, books, and other nonmedical sources. Many of these concerned parents are choosing to refuse or delay childhood vaccines, placing their children and surrounding communities at risk for serious diseases that are nearly 100% preventable with vaccination. Between 10% and 15% of parents are asking physicians to space out the timing of vaccines, which often poses an ethical dilemma for physicians. This trend reflects a tension between personal liberty and public health, as parents fight to control...
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...Do Childhood Vaccinations Cause Autism? Jennifer Jones XBCOM / 275 August 24, 2014 Kristine Dunn Do Childhood Vaccinations Cause Autism? The idea that autism is caused by childhood vaccinations has been influencing public policy, even though rigorous studies do not support this hypothesis. Legislators are right to take into account the concerns of parent groups and other individuals who are directly affected by autism, but policy decisions should be based on hard evidence rather than unproven ideas. The hypothesis is based on the observation that the number of autism cases increased in the years of the 1980s, coinciding with a push for greater childhood vaccinations, which increased above recommended levels of a child’s exposure to mercury in the vaccine preservative, called thimerosal. The autism diagnosis continued to rise even after thimerosal was removed from the United States childhood vaccines in the year of 2001. A review by the Institute of Medicine, of over 200 studies concluded that there were no links between vaccines containing thimerosal and autism. Autism is no more common among vaccinated children than those children who are unvaccinated, and its incidence has not varied with the presence of thimerosal in vaccines across different times and locations. These findings have not persuaded supporters of the mercury autism link, whose strategies have become more extreme as the evidence against the hypothesis have mounted. Mercury is a known neurotoxin,...
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...Recently there has been an outbreak and it was back. Due to the lack of vaccinations, measles have returned and the disease is spreading. We eliminated polio, so we should attempt to eliminate other diseases such as chicken pox, mumps, etc. Everyone living in the United States should get vaccinated for childhood diseases, for it will eliminate casualties that could have been prevented. there are statistics showing why vaccinations are safe and assist you. Getting vaccinated for childhood diseases will help our country's health. No vaccinations are 100% effective for preventing disease, but 8 out of 9 people who are vaccinated for chicken pox are fully protected (“Chickenpox”). It is important to get vaccinated for diseases like chicken pox due to that fact that it spreads very easily (“Chickenpox”). According to Varicella, “Anyone can get measles. It is so contagious, that anyone who is exposed to it and not immune will probably get the disease.” Vaccines will effectively fight against diseases when a dose is taken. MMR, the vaccine that fights against Measles, is 93% effective when one dose is taken (“Measles”). Taking a vaccine for Measles, Mumps, Rubella, etc., will always help. Anyone can catch these deadly diseases, so everyone...
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...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...
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...Protection may not be life-long for diseases like pertussis (whooping cough) or tetanus, which is usually given with the diphtheria toxoid. The CDC recommends a booster for the latter every 10 years after an initial childhood series. 2. Getting vaccines helps protect kids -- especially babies too young for vaccines. Whooping cough vaccines are recommended for pregnant women (preferably between 27 and 36 weeks' gestation) and people who have contact with young babies. The same is true for the flu vaccine. There’s no flu vaccine licensed for infants younger than 6 months old. “We call that creating a cocoon of protection around the baby.”. 3. Some vaccines are just for adults. The shingles vaccine is a good example. Shingles (also known as herpes zoster or zoster) is caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. It can cause a severe and painful skin rash. The risk for shingles increases as a person ages. The vaccine is recommended for adults 60 and older. 4. You may need them when you travel. Headed to the developing world? You may run into illnesses you’d never find at home. The yellow fever vaccination is required for travel to parts of sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. The Saudi Arabian government also requires the meningococcal vaccination -- but only for travel during the hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca. You can check the CDC's web site for details about what you may need for your destination. 5. Everyone needs a flu vaccine, every year. The CDC...
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...Vaccines are used to help your body prevent infections that can be harmful or potentially life threatening. There are many people who lack knowledge about vaccinations. Many of these people who lack knowledge are people who also do not want their children to have vaccines because of what they may have heard about vaccines. This article discussed many of the important facts about vaccines. The important facts discussed include the how vaccinations work, different types of vaccinations, safety of vaccinations, as well as recommended schedules for vaccinations. (Kaneshiro, 2014) The article discussed the different types of vaccines which are live, killed, toxoid, and biosynthetic. Vaccines are used to help your body to prevent infections and diseases...
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...To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate: Childhood Vaccinations Walden University Allison B. Neal 2/13/2015 NURS 6051 For this assignment I will be looking at the debate on childhood immunizations and the pros and cons of this controversial topic. My target audience would be young adults to middle aged parents and expecting parents. As a mother of two myself I strongly believe in vaccinations as both of my children have been vaccinated and I feel that by not doing this you could not only be harming your children but societies children as well. I am well aware of the ongoing debate that vaccinations may be linked to causing some autism disorders and will briefly touch base on that as well. Disease is real and can potentially be very serious and even fatal. When talking about diseases and how vaccines help prevent this does not include the common cold, most stomach bugs, and similar viruses and diseases that the body can fight off with proper nutrition and rest. Chronic and acute disease the body cannot fight off without outside help. This help could be antibiotics, vaccinations or other forms of treatments. It’s essential that our bodies build up immunities to chronic diseases some argue this should be done naturally or through specialized manufactured ones. According to the source article, vaccinations are used to prevent a number of serious diseases concurrently, and utilize dead or weakened bacteria or viruses to create immunity in the body (Morningstar, 2009). Although...
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...Jennifer Krahenbuhl English 102 Patricia McKeown September 1st 2014 Pros and Cons to Vaccinations in Children Almost everyone has heard of the benefits and dangers of childhood vaccines. Parents are especially eager to do what is best for their child to protect him or her. Some people have different opinions on what the best specifically entails when it comes to childhood vaccines. Vaccinations are a controversial discussion as parents question whether it should be mandatory or optional when they feel the cons outweigh the pros. The government says it is the right thing to do for parents and their families to remain safe from illnesses and diseases. However, there have been opinions of opposition voiced by parents and health advocates about whether or not it is worth the risk of being sick once vaccinated and whether these vaccinations actually work. The argument on both sides range from First Amendment right issues all the way to disabling health concerns. This essay will serve to examine and elaborate both the positive and negative perspectives on vaccinations in infants and children and why certain parents hesitate in vaccinating their children. The center of disease and control prevention(CDCP) claim there are five important vaccinations every child should receive. The chicken pox vaccine, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) Vaccine, the Hepatitis vaccine, the haemophilus influenza type B(HIB) Vaccine, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. The chicken pox vaccine is probably...
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...authorities should promote the vaccination of school-aged girls against HPV, because the benefits and positive aspects are stronger than negative points once it is program ethically justified. The school-based HPV Vaccination Program is a program that adheres to the principle of beneficence. Due high efficiency, the HPV vaccine prevents HPV infections and malign disease that requires previous HPV infections to occur in young girls. Thus, the incidence of some type of cancer such as cervical cancer will decrease and...
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...Advancements in the medical field have successfully created endless opportunities of prevention against previous life-threatening diseases. Looking back, vaccines can be seen as early into the 18th century and have significantly reduced the outbreak of diseases to this day (Hernández). Illnesses that once resulted in the massacre of thousands of children worldwide have improved with the innovation of vaccines. Vaccinations not only provide an immunity towards fatal diseases, but can potentially eradicate them. With the miraculous wonders of immunizations, it should be an obligation to parents to vaccinate their children. Nonetheless, immunizations should be a requirement for every child in order to provide the best protection. Today parents refuse to immunize their children. Many believe that the use of aluminum is the cause of mental disabilities in children. However, the amounts of aluminum used in vaccines are not harmful. According to studies, “children are exposed to more aluminum in breast milk and infant formula than they are exposed to in vaccines”...
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...Vaccination is defined as any preparation used as a preventative inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease, usually employing an innocuous form of the disease agent, as killed or weakened bacteria or viruses, to stimulate antibody production. Pharmaceutical companies tout these vaccinations as safe and effective, but like prescription drugs, these products carry risks of not working and a risk to cause harmful side effects. The harmful side effects are one of the many reasons that some families all across America choose to delay vaccinations or refuse them all together. Whether it is due to the gaps in knowledge about the risks or the lack of studies conducted in medical literature, families are more and more reluctant to vaccinate....
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