Vaccinations are known to be one of the worlds greatest medical achievements. There seems to be one for every disease discovered, form the flu and even the one used to help eradicate Polio. Vaccines have not only kept prior generations away from certain diseases, they have been proven to be very effective. There has always been oppositions to vaccines, some that date back to the early 1800s. The first smallpox vaccine frightened many parents due to the fact that it included scoring the flesh on a child's arm, and inserting lymph from the blister of a person who had been vaccinated about a week earlier ("Opposition to Vaccines Has Existed as Long as Vaccination Itself.” sec.
Many believe vaccination is unnatural and weakens the body’s immune system and it should not be ‘played around with’. In 1998 a UK study suggested the MMR vaccine caused autism. They believed that the measles virus, when injected, made its way into the gut and caused Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which in turn caused developmental disorders such as autism. Some scientists have announced that many vaccinations contain both aluminium and trace amounts of mercury, which when mixed together cause Extreme Synergistic Toxicity. Parents against immunisation believe their children should rely on their natural immunity and argue that if each generation is immunised, every future generation will have no natural immunity.
Why our children should be vaccinated Vaccines are said to be one of the greatest public health achievements in history. They date back to 1796, when Edward Jenner used cowpox material to create immunity to the smallpox disease. (Historyofvaccines.org 2014) Now over two-hundred years later they’ve helped dramatically reduce the instance of viral diseases in children. For example, old childhood diseases such as Polio, Smallpox, and Diptheria have either been completely eradicated or are rarely seen in the United States thanks to vaccines. However, in recent years we’ve seen a sharp increase in parents who opt out of having their children receive these life-saving immunizations.
Not vaccinating a child fits under all of these definitions for child neglect. Children’s vaccines have a timeline that is age based. The reason for this is to protect the child when they are most vulnerable and susceptible to the disease. The parent is not providing age appropriate care if they are not following that timeline. In 2008, the United States had the biggest measles Gilbert 2 outbreak there had been in 10 years, and the reason behind this was unvaccinated children.
It is hard to accurately determ... ... middle of paper ... ...ke it the right of a particular public or private school to decide whether or not to accept an unvaccinated child but at the same time parents should be considered of other parents and their children, and get vaccinated to prevent others from getting sick especially at school. Vaccination today is used all around the world, and there are certain standards that must be thought of so that all vaccines remain effective and pose minimum risk. If a child is not vaccinated, or has not recently been sick, has a healthy immune system and is vaccinated with a quality product, the risk of having any unwanted consequences is less than 1%. The use of protection of one’s health as a result of immunization is many times higher, which in my opinion makes the risk reasonable. Therefore, parents should have their children immunized for the sake of their child and others around them.
Further downsides to receiving exemptions are that parents may have a hard time getting their child into certain schools, and pediatricians have been known to deny care to an unvaccinated child (Null and Feldman). One argument in support of vaccines is that once received, the child’s immune system is strengthened, and the next time the child comes into contact with that particular disease he/she will be able to fight against it. However, studies have shown that disease outbreaks still occur in fully vaccinated areas. Dr. William Atkinson, an epidemiologist for the CDC, when examining a large measles outbreak, admi... ... middle of paper ... ...e this potentially risky decision after weighing the pros and cons. Parents, not the state, are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of this decision.
Since antibodies are now present in the body, if the body is invaded by the germs that actually cause the disease, the immune system immdiately sends antibodies to destroy the germs. Getting immunized is the best way to prevent spreading diseases. Since their corresponding vaccines were introduced, deaths cause by diseases such as polio, measles and tetanus have been greatly reduced. While smallpox has been completely eradicated worldwide. With results like these you would think that ever parent would want to have their children vaccinated to protect them against these life threatening illnesses, yet that is not the case.
Immunization is Key Vaccines used to be considered a normal part of childhood, like restroom training, and teaching children how to brush their teeth. Unfortunately, nowadays, vaccines have become a very major issue because parents do not want their children to be vaccinated due to safety concerns. Most of these concerns come from information they have acquired from social media or from friends. This seems crazy, considering the fact that vaccines prevent more than two point five million deaths each year. While others may argue that vaccines can cause serious side effects, vaccines should be mandatory because they can save children’s lives, save other people around them, and help rid the world of diseases.
Over the year’s vaccines have prevented countless cases of disease and saved millions of lives” (www.cdc.gov ). When parents deny their child a vaccine, the parent is putting hundreds of others in danger. Additionally, due to health reasons, some children and adults are advised by doctors that they may not receive vaccinations. With that said, children who do not receive vaccines are putting those who can’t in danger. Since being safe is a primary concern of the human race, then vaccinations must be kept around or diseases will invade.
An example of this is the DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus) vaccine. Infants are meant to receive at 2/3/4 months. However, there are several side effects that parents fear, although very unlike to occur, they are very drastic and have stopped parents have letting their children have the vaccine. People have also been unsure about the effectiveness of the diphtheria vaccine, infact when the vaccine was once compulsory; there was a 17... ... middle of paper ... ...errible diseases that could harm them, and since the vaccines have been introduced, there have been lower death rates in children. There may be some side effects to some of the vaccinations, but it is not worth risking not vaccinating them.