The Risks of Vaccinating Children

867 Words2 Pages

Every parent must decide whether or not they will vaccinate their child. The medical community advocates for vaccinating children, which will contribute to herd immunity, and help in the eradication of preventable diseases. However there are arguments to be made against vaccinating as well. People are finding that vaccines are not providing long term protection, and are less effective than developing immunity through a natural defense process. Vaccines provide unnecessary exposure to toxins which may be linked to developmental delays. Also some of the side effects and complications associated with various vaccines are proving to be more detrimental than the disease processes they are designed to fight against. Many parents are weighing the cost vs. benefits of vaccinations, and deciding that it isn't worth the risk. The public is becoming increasingly aware of the potential for vaccination to cause reactions that range from swelling and pain at the injection site to life threatening anaphylactic shock, to brain and immune system injuries resulting in lifelong disabilities. " Since the illnesses that vaccines combat are no longer major killers in the United States, far greater attention is paid instead to the risks that immunizations present." (Calandrillo, 2004, p. 14) Vaccines are said to work by triggering the body’s natural immunity. By injecting weak or dead infectious agents through the skin the body will recognize the invading pathogens and create the necessary immune defense. While this idea is over two hundred years old, it’s not nearly as effective as we are lead to believe. Vaccines boost our defenses only temporarily. Research has shown that the historical decline in infectious diseases were not the result of inocu... ... middle of paper ... ... Briss, P. A. (1994). SUSTAINED TRANSMISSION OF MUMPS IN A HIGHLY VACCINATED POPULATION: ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY VACCINE FAILURE AND WANING VACCINE-INDUCED IMMUNITY. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. doi:10.1097/00006454-199409000-00031 Calandrillo, S. P. (2004). Vanishing Vaccinations: Why Are So Many Americans Opting Out of Vaccinating Their Children? University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 37(353), 1-78. Chemist Gives 3 Reasons He Doesn't Vaccinate and gives vaccine exemption forms for all states | ThePeoplesChemist.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://thepeopleschemist.com/reasons-dont-vaccinate-children-vaccine-supporters-shouldnt-give Shannon, US National Institutes of Health, J. A. (2004). Vaccination: What you Need to Know; The Only Safe Vaccine Is a Vaccine That's Never Used. Vaccination Risk Awarness Network Inc, 1-12. Retrieved from www.vran.org

Show More
Related

  • The Controversy of Mandatory Childhood Vaccinations

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is a war going on against parents that refuse to vaccinate their children. It is coming from the government that makes and enforces laws requiring parents to vaccinate their children, hostile parents of vaccinated children, and doctors that refuse to see unvaccinated children. They are concerned about the potential health risk unvaccinated children pose to the public. These parents aren’t lunatics but are concerned parents that are trying to make the best choice for their children. In fact, these parents aren’t fighting alone; a number of pediatricians and medical experts are apart of this crusade and have taken the lead. They will tell you there is an agenda, “Vaccine manufacturers, health officials, medical doctors, lead authors of important studies, editors of major medical journals, hospital personnel, and even coroners, cooperate to minimize vaccine failings, exaggerate benefits, and avert any negative publicity that might frighten concerned parents, threaten the vaccine program and lower vaccination rates.” 4

    Read More

  • The Harmful Effects of Vaccines

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Harmful Effects of Vaccines Vaccines are becoming increasingly hazardous for many children and parents are not being informed about the safety of their children. Current reports are linking vaccines to serious life-threatening disorders such as asthma, autism, immune system dysfunction, and mental retardation (Williams). These recent revelations are causing an increasing amount of people to claim religious and medical exemptions from vaccines. From 1999 to 2006, exemptions have more than doubled from 9,722 to 24,919 (Cronin). It is very clear that vaccinations are posing many problems for parents everywhere.

    Read More

  • Vaccines In Children

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... you wait, the more likely your child’s immune system will be able to handle the onslaught with minimal damage” (Sarah). I am not suggesting that we return to the days without vaccines. But we must seriously address what appears to be an obvious link between the epidemic of developmental delays, autoimmune diseases, and the increasing number of mandatory vaccines. Every parent should know the advantages as well as the dangers associated with each and every vaccine, each and every time it is given. They should know the positive and negative consequences of refusing that their children be vaccinated, and be made aware of how they can go about getting exemptions. Also-- the government, industry, health-care professionals, and parents must band together to get the research needed to determine the safety of these vaccines. The stakes are too high for us to do otherwise.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    The extent of adverse reactions to vaccines is crippling. Every year, there are more than 20,000 vaccine adverse reaction reports that are filed with the US government (Merino 17). 13% are classified as serious, including death, lifelong disability or life-threatening illness (“Vaccines ProCon”). Considering that almost all Americans are vaccinated makes these numbers seem less significant. However, it is estimated that less than ten percent of adverse reactions are reported (“National Vaccine…”). This means that over 200,000 people in America are possibly affected in a negative way by vaccines per year.

    Read More

  • 8 Reasons Parents Don T Vaccinate Summary

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article of “8 Reasons Parents Don’t Vaccinate ( And Why They Should)”, written by Tara Haelle from Parent Magazine, giving their audience the common myth of vaccination. The most common myth parent may or may not believe in are- vaccines in general is toxic, dangerous, and doesn't work for young children. Vaccinations are used to help young children protect or prevent from life threatening diseases. Haelle provide the facts of what vaccines can do and cannot do. She also stresses that, many parents skip vaccinations due to safety reasons, they are afraid because scientists said that it comes with little risks. She proclaims that parent focus more on the negative effects rather than a positive outcome. Parents cannot put risk into their perspective and realize that vaccines for your child is to tell the truth a great decision. As mentioned in the article, it states that “...the most serious risks, such as severe allergic reactions, are far rarer than the diseases vaccines protect against.”. This article is telling us that vaccinations are beneficial

    Read More

  • Why Should Vaccines Should Be Mandatory

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many parents do not want to get their children vaccinated because they are harmful to children, but vaccinations are not as harmful as they think. Parents should have to have their children vaccinated because there are less diseases now since the use of vaccinations, other people that can’t get vaccinated won’t contract any infectious diseases and there are less problems caused from being vaccinated than non-vaccinated. Vaccinations have proven to be useful time and time

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Vaccines For Kids

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    The subject over whether or not children should get vaccinated has been an on-going topic for years. It is starting to cause many arguments concerning the benefits and/or disadvantages of vaccinations. Some parents believe that vaccines can cause complications to children’s health while others believe that it benefits the child. This has been a huge, controversial debate for parents and researchers.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Vaccines For Children

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vaccines can have bad side effects. There are always risks when being vaccinated, but there are risks with anything in life everyday when you wake up and get in a car or get on a bus you are putting your life at risk. If receiving a vaccination has better odds of saving you than harming you, your best bet is to go ahead and get it and take the risk. The diseases we have in Ame...

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Of Vaccine On Children

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ey found that 7.6 percent of parents report that in the past 12 months (or since birth) they had missed or delayed a vaccine for their child aged 4-35 months. In both analyses, refusal/delay is not associated with family income, public vs. private insurance, mother’s age, or region of the country. This study shows effectively only a small percentage of parents don’t get their children vaccinated. The information that the article references come from is the American Academy of Pediatrician, which this comes from a credible source, although there is no dated on the article to when this was actually publish the information data that was reported is from 2002; since that time the information could have change. Therefore, this information is very useful to toward my assignment to show that there is only a small number of the population to convert back to using vaccines.

    Read More

  • The Imperative of Child Vaccination: A Global Perspective

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the millions of lives saved every year, vaccines are not perfect. “However, one simple fact cannot reasonably be disputed – the benefits of immunizations far outweigh any possible risks” (Koch). Possible risk factors can include headaches, nausea, fever, or allergic reactions. The risks of natural infection outweigh the risks of immunization for every recommended vaccine. Immunization is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, and experts agree that immunization is key to staying healthy (ProCon.org). The greatest benefit of vaccination is that it prevents

    Read More

  • Vaccines Essay

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    Deciding not to have your child vaccinated has causes for concern amongst society. Families are being bombarded with stories about the dangers of vaccines like how sick their child can get and the illnesses and crucial diseases it may cause them. But on the other hand, you have society that is considered to be at an “at risk” condition when there are families that are not being vaccinated. So, protecting the society that we live in and the environments that we are constantly around may become dangerous and possibly deadly. Children are suffering because parents are more frightened by vaccines than by the disease they prevent.

    Read More

  • Child Immunization

    2391 Words  | 5 Pages

    Vaccination is another form of keeping our children healthy, especially when they are in school or daycare center. They are exposed to all kinds of illnesses and diseases, by getting them vaccinated their immune system will eventually starts recognizing the infection and it will attack the infection or disease later in life. According to my research there was history that tens of thousands of infants in the US killed due to some diseases like rubella (German measles), diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) however now that the vaccinations for these disease is now available there are fewer deaths. The risk of not vaccinating children far outweighs the small risks associated with vaccination. Some diseases are preventable like measles and mumps if the child was vaccinated. These diseases could cause permanent damage like disability and death. For the most part vaccines are safe and very effective. Vaccines have kept our children healthy and saved millions of lives for many years. Some diseases cannot be treated with just medical therapy therefore vaccination will be a better solution.

    Read More

  • The Dangers Of Vaccines

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are plenty of convincing arguments that lead us to an understanding of the dangers of vaccines and the hazards of the government forcing them. “About 30,000 cases of adverse reactions to vaccines have been reported annually to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) since 1990, with 10-15% classified as serious, meaning associated with permanent disability, hospitalization, life-threatening illness, or death” (VAERS). These facts are a sad truth. The fact that 30,000 people have lifelong problems now due to the adverse reaction to the vaccines is sad. Because of these reactions there were compensations made to make these side effects justified. “Between 1989 and July 1, 2014, 3,645 compensation awards have been made by the

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Anti Vaccination

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Anti-Vax Issue According to World Book Advanced Encyclopedia, immunization is defined as the process of protecting the body against disease by means of vaccines or serums (Hinman). While medical science backs up the efficiency and necessity of vaccines, within the past decade, a rise in parents disbelieving the medical community and neglecting to immunize their children has occurred. This “fear of vaccines” is nothing new, but with the ever-increasing safety of vaccines, the benefits of inoculation far outweigh the risks. Parents who refuse to vaccinate, or anti-vaxxers, put more than their children’s lives on the line, but also risk the safety of the whole community. Because vaccines are essential to protecting individuals and communities

    Read More

  • Disadvantages Of Immunizations

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vaccinating children in the United States has recently become a topic of controversy. It is a hot topic nationwide, especially as some states are now pushing towards mandatory immunizations. This means all children will be required to have up-to-date immunizations to attend public school systems without the ability, or parental guardian’s ability, to opt-out for personal or religious reasons. Regardless of which side of the fence someone stands on regarding immunizations, it would be impossible for them to ignore the fact that disease outbreaks are prevalent and they are occurring all around them every day. I will be addressing both the advantages and disadvantages of one particular vaccination, MMR: measles, mumps,

    Read More

More about The Risks of Vaccinating Children

Open Document