It begins as minor flu symptoms. But then things seem to never get any better. As symptoms become more severe, a person is advised to go see a doctor. It turns out the individual did not have the flu. It was something far worse, something more treacherous, something more contagious, something chilling, something life-threatening. This disease is known as bacterial meningitis. It is possibly a college student’s worst nightmare, and a disease that students should be well informed about. But while the bacterial infection is rather rare, it’s also terminal, killing 10 to 12 percent of those it infects, sometimes within hours. The disease attacks and closes up major organs and prevents blood from circulating to limbs, causing tissue to die. Among survivors, 20 percent suffer brain damage, kidney disease, loss of hearing or sight, limb amputations or other severe complications (Dahl). The subject of this disease has become a major topic on college campuses throughout the state of Texas.
The current issue with this disease is that only students who live in campus housing are required to receive vaccination to attend the university. This was made mandatory by the Jamie Schanbuam Act, which was passed in 2009. Jamie was a rare survivor of the disease who attended the University of Texas in 2008 (Hamilton). The most recent incident with this disease and college students was with a student by the name of Nicolis Williams at A&M University. Nicolis was a 20-year-old economics major, and was also an off campus resident who had not received the vaccination. Williams died within four days of complaining of flu-like symptoms. It is believed he caught the disease while attending another student’s Super Bowl party (Reece). Just as easy as it was f...
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...the campus vaccination price, but students pay hundreds of dollars for campus parking, something that may not be used daily. This vaccination would protect thousands people day after day, for years at a time. Is avoiding some minor shin splints more important than avoiding a crippling disease?
All things considered, it should be mandatory for all students attending state universities to receive the vaccination for Meningococcal meningitis, in order to attend the school. Public safety is so important today, and bringing this proposal to a reality would only make society that much safer. For students who desire to make this leap forward immediately for the state of Texas, unite as one voice and demand this protection from the powers above. Let incidents such as Nicolis Williams and Jamie Schanbuam be incidents of the past, and to never be seen again for the future.
their paren... ... middle of paper ... ...weigh the risks of not getting vaccinated. Therefore, I believe that vaccinations should be mandatory to help better our society. Hopefully in the upcoming years we will know more about vaccines than we could have ever imagined. Works Cited Offit, Paul A. “Vaccine Risks Are Outweighed by the Risks of Not Vaccinating.” Should Vaccinations be Mandatory? Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from “Common Concerns About Vaccines
Vaccinations have been a controversial topic over the years because the benefits are inevitably invisible. People who do not receive the disease are unaware of the good that comes out of the vaccination as well as the risks. There are multiple killer diseases out in the world that could and do harm unsuspecting victims and need to be prevented; therefore, vaccinations are the solution. A vaccination is the injection of a killed or weakened organism that produces immunity in the body against that
thanks to state laws that require vaccinations for kids enrolling in kindergarten, the U.S. presently enjoys the highest immunization rate ever at 77%. Yet bubbling beneath these national numbers is the question about vaccine safety. Driven by claims that vaccinations can be associated with autism, increasing number of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines are in fact harmful to children, instead of helpful (Park, 2008). Positives for Vaccinations For many years before the development
Even those who have not received the vaccination will have a less likely chance of contracting the disease because the majority of the population has been immunized. It is clearly evident that vaccines are having a major impact on health
likeliness to get sick, vaccines also help keep those odds in your favor. For some diseases such as, tetanus and meningitis, the vaccine creates stronger immunity than natural infection does. When reading "Vaccinations of Children, Why and When" on MedicineNet.com, it examples how vaccinations help saying, "Immunizations help your child 's immune system do its work. The child develops protection against future infections, the same as if he or she had been exposed to the natural disease. The good
ANA CEO and nurse Myrtle Aydelotte once said, “Nursing encompasses an art, a humanistic orientation, a feeling for the value of the individual, and an intuitive sense of ethics, and of the appropriateness of action taken”.1 In preparing to develop my own nursing practice, I find this statement to be invaluable. It is this philosophy which has guided my educational and experiential journey from scientific evidence and statistics alone, to include patient relationship and ethical understanding. My
development in medical treatments. Perhaps the advance of antibiotics has been mentioned as one of these successes in the fight against injection. The progress, which is as important as the presence of antibiotics however, has been the introduction of vaccination programs. Results indicate that immunisation has contributed to the dramatic elimination of serious epidemic diseases (Bigham & Hoefer, 2001, p. 73). The emergence of vaccines therefore, has lessened significantly the spread of certain infectious
values, which infringe on his ability to get the medication he genuinely needs. They believe vaccinations cause autism, vaccines do more harm than good, and by not immunizing, their kids build up a stronger immunity. Aside from the paranoia and false side effects vaccines cause, they can help to build up your immune system and are a necessary part in a normal, functioning, individual’s life. Why are vaccinations an important part of modern medicine? because without them, diseases like mumps, measles
children from six months and older. According to the CDC, children from the ages nineteen months to thirty-five months old have been vaccinated for Haemophilus influenza type b is 82%. On the most common vaccinations for children influenza is the lowest out of all of them. Is the reason vaccination for influenza lower because of the fears that social media has betrayed like the autism scandal, it not being effective or that its not necessary? In the first article relating the nasal spray form for
Vaccines are a controversial topic. While there are many benefits to getting vaccinated, there are also some concerns. The benefits include immunization against many deadly diseases, debilitating diseases, and other simply annoying diseases. The concerns include everything from fears about vaccines causing autism, feeling they aren’t necessary for what they cost, and contracting the disease from the vaccines. While certain concerns may be valid, others are much less so, and will be examined and explained
other epidemics during this time period, including Cholera and Malaria, in 19th century due to unsanitary and unhygienic conditions. d. Public efforts to control the epidemics in the 20th century. B. “Father of the Vaccinations”: Edward Jenner 1. Invention of small pox vaccination. 2. Led to invention of other
children at all (Diekema, 2012, p. 391). People are starting to challenge the necessity, safety and tolerability of vaccinations because the public attention has been diverted from the decreasing incidence of disease to the ambiguous risks of side effects of vaccines (Heininger, 2009, G9). Despite its outstanding performance in preventing diseases, maintaining high level of vaccination coverage needs public understanding as well, particularly the acceptance of parents
Diseases that were commonly found in children less than two generations ago have quickly became almost non-existent thanks to vaccinations. Vaccinations have been an extensive medical achievement and have continued to shape modern human development. In order for vaccinations to be successful and eliminate disease-causing agents, they must stimulate our immune system’s production of antibodies that identify and destroy these organisms that are already in our bodies. The purpose of vaccines are to
shots. There is more to vaccinations than just flu shots once a year. Children start getting vaccinations as early as a few hours old and the vaccinations continues through age 18. For children to be allowed to go to daycare centers and school’s parents must show vaccination records. Also, the Center of Disease control and your children’s pediatrician will make up a schedule of what vaccinations will be given at what visit, some babies leave the office with 4+ shots. Vaccinations are a drug that is being
Vaccination, also known as immunization. Immunization plays an important role in our life because it is a medication that prepared our body to fight against microorganisms. Ever since the invention of the first smallpox vaccine has been the subject that evokes very strong opinions and usually stirs up a heated debate as to their efficacy, safety, and reliability. Most people vaccinate them self without hesitation, while another struggle with the idea of immunization. People who refuse the idea of