Is it conceivable that outbreaks can be prevented with just dispensing a vaccination to our children? Can we eliminate dreadful diseases completely? Why are parents refusing to vaccinate their children? Vaccinations have virtually eradicated some diseases in the United States ever since the turn of the 20th century. At present, there are over twenty various diseases in the US and over fifty available vaccinations. (Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.) The benefits far out way the risks of not vaccinating. A number of reasons are: it reduces the spread of the disease and lowers the possibility of infection.
There are numerous evidences present in the literature to support the usefulness of vaccination for the treatment of viral infections such as Polio, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Small Pox (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2013). A person is given a shot once for these diseases and seldom need another shot. Health agencies are now able to make statement such as the eradication of Small Pox, Polio and Measles (College of Phycisian of Philadelphia, 2015). The efforts toward polio and measles eradication in the Americas have been possible only mainly because there was a very high level of political commitment and collaboration among governments of the region (Knobler, Lederberg, & Pray, 2002).
Religious beliefs have exempted some from getting the proper vaccinations needed to stop some of these diseases. Each state in America has religious exempts laws on vaccinations ProConorg Headlines. This is a major problem for the safety of many because if some are allowed to be exempted from the proper vaccinations that puts themselves at risk for getting some of the many diseases or getting someone else infected with one of these diseases ProConorg Headlines. One of the laws that help prevent outbreaks from occurring everywhere is that if children aren 't receiving the necessary vaccinations then they are not allowed to attend public schooling ProConorg Headlines. This puts a huge disadvantage for these children because they may not be receiving the needed education ProConorg Headlines. This law has to be put in place to protect the other children in the
In the essay, the author summarizes how it is unacceptable to not be vaccinated. The author relates vaccinations to drunk driving and smoking. Interestingly, they compare drunk driving and smoking in public places which are against the law, but getting vaccinations are not considered a law. Considering that getting vaccinations are a choice while drunk driving are not choices makes these comparison statements invalid. Also, the author claims that the declining rates of vaccinations are the evidence from the outbreaks of current diseases. This point could be more realistic if the author stated the current disease outbreaks that have evidence that they are from not getting vaccinated in America.
One of the organizations that feels this way is the United States Health and Human Services. This author has stated, “ Children in the U.S. still get vaccine-preventable diseases. In fact, we have seen resurgences of measles and whooping cough (pertussis) over the past few years. In 2010 the U.S. had over 21,000 cases of whooping cough reported and 26 deaths, most in children younger than 6 months.” With that being stated many families may consider pursuing to get their children vaccinated instead of worrying about these deadly diseases. Due to some diseases that have taken thousands of children's lives, vaccines have eliminated diseases completely and others are close to being extinct too. In the article, “Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child,” the Department of Health and Human Services takes a firm stand on the importance of getting a child vaccinated and how it can potentially save the lives of thousands of children in the United States. The Department of Health and Human Services believes that vaccines will save children’s lives. The article states, while some people choose not to vaccinate their children because of possible side effects that are associated with them or the harmful ingredients that are in the vaccine, that is minor compared to the actual disease they are protecting against. The Department of Health and Human Services argues that vaccines are safe and effective. The article states that there are some ingredients in the vaccines that could be harmful to children. The author is firm on the fact that the dosage has been studied by many medical professionals and is given in such a small amount; it is not harmful to children. The Department of Health and Human Services claims in the United States children still do get vaccine-preventable diseases. The Department of Health and Human
Vaccinations are one of the biggest advancements in Medicine today. For example, polio had spread across the United States in the 1950’s claiming thousands of lives a
There has been a huge controversy concerning vaccination for children from many parents. Many parents had different reason on why they were for or against vaccination. Some for religious purposes, concerned about the long-term side effects. Most parents feel that vaccine is poison. The fact that doctors are injecting something into their child can be terrifying. Others, on the other hand, admire the fact that doctors were taking contributing to preventative healthcare. Calling the shots documentary is extremely informative. With great pleasure, I will share all I’ve learned and my reaction. It is unbelievable how these airborne diseases can easily affect people.
In the United States of America, childhood immunizations have prevented an estimated twenty-one million hospitalizations and seven-hundred and twenty thousand lives among children born in the last twenty years (CDC). In recent discussions of childhood immunization, a controversial issue has been whether the amount and composition of these vaccines being administered intravenously, to enhance the body’s immunity, are in fact safe for the human body at such a vulnerable stage in its systematic development. Consequently, this has brought about a belief among a division of people who believe that their child shouldn’t be vaccinated. Anti-vaxxers commonly believe vaccinations can cause autism spectrum disorder, contain harmful ingredients that constitute
Federal Law does not require children to be vaccinated, but it is up to the states to decide if children must be vaccinated in order for a child to enroll at school. Diekema states that, “All but two states allow... personal belief exemption from school vaccination requirements.” Most states offer a personal belief exemption which allows parents to enroll their children in school without getting them vaccinated. Not getting children vaccinated poses as a danger to the other students if one child who has not been vaccinated gets a contagious disease. Vaccinations have had an impact in preventing infectious
Polio (poliomyelitis) is highly contagious disease than can cause permanent or temporary paralysis. Like many other diseases, Polio tends to infect the more vulnerable. This could be children under the age of five, pregnant women, and people that have weakened immune systems. Those who do not have the vaccine are very susceptible to getting the disease. The
Until 2002, many parents against the vaccine believed in the myth that mercury in the preservative commonly used in vaccines in the US was a major cause of autism. The main ingredients in a vaccine include mercury, sucrose, sodium hydroxide, and streptomycin. These chemicals may sound scary to parents at first but all chemicals are present in extremely low concentrations (Gorski 2008). Each chemical plays a necessary role in either making the vaccine or ensuring that it is effective and safe. The ingredient that parents fear the most is thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that has been used for decades in the US in multi-dose vials (Thimerosal in Vaccines, 2015). There is no evidence of harm or autism caused by low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions and swelling on site. The mistake that people make when looking at ingredients in vaccines is that the whole doesn’t always equal the sum of the part. For instance, table salt is made out of two dangerous elements, chlorine and sodium. The two elements are very reactive on their own. Yet when you combine them together, you get a safe compound known as table salt. The same principle goes for ingredients in vaccines. All the ingredients are dependent on each other in order to be safe and
Throughout the understanding of vaccination, there has always been that speculation that early vaccinations can cause the development of autism or negative side effects. Vaccinations, may be effective but “vaccines are only as effective as your immune system is when the invader returns. If your immune system isn't very strong, even if told by your "vaccinated memory" in plenty of time that an old enemy has returned, your immune system just might not be capable of ramping up a strong response in a short period of time” (Barron, J. (2017)). Therefore, it can be safe to say that, yes vaccinations have benefits, but individuals should not solely rely on vaccinations to prevent all diseases because it can affect a child differently. For instance, a specific vaccination can be very helpful to a child in preventing an illness but in contrast, another child might not be affected by the vaccination at all and can get very sick. As for the safety aspect of vaccinations, there are adverse side effects such as, “the growing number of vaccines all assaulting the immature immune system at once causes complications” (Daley, M. F., & Glanz, J. M. (2011). Another negative aspect, is the amount of vaccination shots children are required to intake at a young age. Vaccine’s contain various ingredients that can be both good or bad that can sometimes be harmful to a child’s health. There
Vaccines are one of the most successful programs in modern health care. Vaccines have reduced, and in some cases eliminated serious infectious diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control public support for vaccines remains high in the United States with a more than 95 percent vaccination rate (CDC 2015). However, there are still several who criticize vaccines and their effectiveness. In today’s society individuals who are against vaccinations believe that vaccines, most notably the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, are causing our children to develop Autism. Many people who share this belief are involved in a movement known today as the anti-vaccine movement. While not a new movement, it is making headlines and gaining traction due to the
As of 2015, one hundred eighty-nine cases of measles were reported by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The majority of people affected by the illness were unvaccinated, raising
Once the child recovered from the cowpox disease, Jenner then tried to infect the child with smallpox, but the young man proved to be immune. “It seemed that this attempt at vaccination had worked. But Jenner had to work on for two more years before his discovery was considered sufficiently tested by the medical profession to permit widespread introduction.” (Alexander, 2003). Beginning in 1831 and ending in 1835, due to increasing vaccination, smallpox deaths were down to one in a thousand. The year of 1853 deemed obligatory for all children born after the first of August to receive routine immunizations. By 1898, one hundred years after Edward Jenner’s unveiling of the vaccine, smallpox in London had fallen dramatically – to one in every 100,000 (less than 50 people per