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History of vaccines
What was Edward Jenner's discovery and how did it lead to the discovery of vaccines
Vaccinations for children
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Vaccines are undoubtedly one of the greatest medical developments in the health industry. The discovery of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner was a groundbreaking innovation in public health during the time of the great epidemic. The smallpox vaccination, successfully eradicated the infectious disease that threatened the lives of people around the world. This was only the beginning of the new era of healthcare. Within the years, new vaccines helped save the lives of billions of humans yearly preventing them from disease that would have ended their lives. A recent report by the Centers of Disease Control (2014) confirmed that “vaccines given to infants and young children over the past two decades will prevent 322 million illnesses, 21 million …show more content…
Vaccines. As of Feb. 1, 2009, over 5,500 cases alleging a causal relationship between vaccinations and autism have been filed under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Vaccines contain hazardous ingredients can cause brain inflammation, which can lead to disorders such as autism. “The vaccine additive thimerosal (found in most pre-1999 vaccines) has been associated specifically with the development of autism and is still found in certain meningococcal, tetanus, and flu vaccines such as the H1N1 vaccine” (Institute for Vaccine Safety, 2009, p. 1). Thimerosal is one of the many hazardous ingredients found in the flu vaccine and has been under public scrutiny for its linkage to autism. The additive contains mercury and when exposed to humans at high level can cause major health concerns including autism. Though the use of thimerosal has been eliminated in most vaccines it is still a prevalent ingredient in the flu vaccine, which people are urged to receive each year. The link to autism is growing stronger each time a child is vaccinated. To stop the influx of autistic children should gain immunity through natural process and not rely on vaccines to do the job the body does
Vaccines have been used to prevent diseases for centuries, and have saved countless lives of children and adults. The smallpox vaccine was invented as early as 1796, and since then the use of vaccines has continued to protect us from countless life threatening diseases such as polio, measles, and pertussis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) assures that vaccines are extensively tested by scientist to make sure they are effective and safe, and must receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration before being used. “Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases due to the use of vaccines” (CDC, 2010). Routine immunization has eliminated smallpox from the globe and led to the near removal of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses.
Every year, tens of thousands Americans die from the seasonal flu alone. This alarming statistic is what led the United States government to urge the country to vaccinate themselves, as well as their children every November, when the flu season is fast approaching. Though countless Americans do follow the government’s plea, many others insist that these vaccines distributed every year (as well as other year-long vaccines) contain an abnormally high amount of thimerosal, (a mercury-based chemical in vaccines designed to prevent the growth of bacteria) which could eventually lead to autism. This generation of fear is what has led many concerned parents to refuse to vaccinate their children, who seem to be the most vulnerable to this disease. However, can we really trust a rumor to fuel our doubts of America’s struggle to fight disease among our people? Can we discontinue our trust in the health department because of paranoia? No. Even if autism may be an effect of these vaccines, it is our duty, our responsibility to protect the good of the public by preventing an outbreak of this infl...
Parents also worried that thimerosal (US: thimerosal - a substance that makes vaccines and other medicines usable for a longer time) might cause autism because it contains mercury. No harm from the amount of ethylmercury in vaccines was known. Yet, vaccines for infants containing mercury were taken from the market. Nevertheless, thiomersal as a cause for autism is biologically also not biologically. Mercury poisoning triggers clearly different symptoms than autism. Still, researchers did studies about this topic. They did not find a connection between thimerosal and autism.
Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.
Edward Jenner is often regarded as the “Father of Immunology” for his development of the smallpox vaccine. His remarkable discovery has laid the foundation for future scientists working with immunizations. Jenner’s impact is seen worldwide to this day with the complete eradication of the deadly smallpox virus. Edward Jenner’s Legacy will always live on as the first to vaccinate using a live virus. Vaccines are improving everyday, which benefits the public’s health, all thanks to Edward Jenner.
Smallpox is a disease from the variola virus. Smallpox has caused an estimated number of 300 million deaths in the 1900s alone. Smallpox is said to have been around since the ancient Egyptian times. The disease was eradicated in the late 20th century and two samples are still kept, one in U.S.A and one in Russia. Smallpox creates bumps and blisters all over the body and has been one of the most fatal epidemics the world has seen.
Vaccines save us from being infected with viruses. They save approximately 2.5 million people from death every year. However, while they help save lives, vaccines still have both minor and severe side effects. This can result in nausea, severe sickness, and in rare cases, death. Every year, 3,000 to 4,500 people in the United States are hospitalized due to vaccine side effects. It is extremely important for all communities to be informed about the side effects of vaccines and what causes them. Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the influenza vaccine is only 48% effective, due to constant mutation of the virus (Scutti, 2017). This means, the influenza vaccine does not work on all
Vaccines have been around for hundreds of years now, allowing humans to increase life expectancy tremendously. Vaccines have been a great contribution to today’s science and human health, but vaccines have also brought fourth numerous concerns for many parents. One of the most controversial debates that society is currently facing is whether there is link between vaccines and autism. To distinguish if there is a link between vaccines and autism a closer look must be taken within the research of both. A vaccine is an injected or orally administered substance that contains live(attenuated) or killed pathogens to activate the production of antibodies in the body to produce immunity against a disease or different types of diseases. (Red) Vaccines are composed of different molecules and ingredients, one of them being Thimerosal, an organic mercury compound. (blue) The use of Thimerosal in vaccines have associated the link between vaccines and autism. Autism or Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological development disorder that can affect an individual’s behavior, communications and social skills. (green)
Offit, Paul A. "Vaccines and Thimerosal." The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Just like prescription drugs, vaccines can be a harmful risk. For example, the small pox vaccine that is recommended by government health officials carries a risk for complications like inflammation of the brain which can lead to damage of the brain or even death. People who believe we should have mandatory vaccinations will say that vaccines have saved many lives, and though its true vaccines have also caused many serious and sometimes fatal side effects. There are also many cases where many parents strongly believe that some vaccines may have caused autism in their children. The reason being that many parents noticed shortly after their child was vaccinated they noticed symptoms like loss of language abilities and they were suddenly stopped interacting with people. Also, the vaccines used to treat measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) are linked to many autism cases. Vaccines that contain thimerosal, which is an organic compound that contains mercury, has also been suspected to cause autism in children. Thimerosal has been removed from most vaccines because of its linkage to autism. Scientist believe that MMR vaccines trigger a regressive form of autism, because the measles virus in the vaccine embeds itself in the intestine, causing some kind of reaction in the brain. Mercury, a chemical element, is used in a lot of vaccines can be very dangerous. High levels of
In recent years, the correlation between vaccines and autism has become the subject of much debate. On one side, there are the anti-vaccinators, or anti-vaccers. On the other, there’s pretty much everyone else. Despite the fact that the anti-vaccination movement has little base in scientific fact, their campaign to end early infanthood vaccinations rages on. While doctors and scientists try desperately to make parents look at the research studies, vaccination rates continue to fall. But, even in these dark times, there is still hope that scientific fact will prevail and defeat the anti-vaccination fear mongers who have caused many children to fall ill and even die because their parents did not properly vaccinate them. This is one of the most saddening scientific failures of the twenty-first century. A failure to educate the public properly has resulted in child, even infant, fatalities. The anti-vaccination movement was started based on falsified data and continues only because of a lack of knowledge and proper education of the general public.
Vaccines against diphtheria, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella, and more recent additions of hepatitis B and chicken pox, have given humans powerful immune guards to ward off unwelcome sickness. And 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).
The history of vaccine started with the spread of smallpox disease. Smallpox was a contagious disease and, it was spreading fast leaving permanent scars on patients' faces or worse taking their lives. At the time, there were several attempt to treat and prevent smallpox, but Edward Jenner had the greatest rule in eliminating smallpox.“Jenner's work represented the first scientific attempt to control an infectious disease by the deliberate use of vaccination”. ( “Conclusion” 1,2). Nowadays, Statistics show significant reduction in the cases of infectious diseases after the widespread of vaccination. There were annually 63,000 cases of Pneumococcal among children in the United States. After the beginning of vaccination, the cases redu...
A prevailing argument that pro-voluntaristic individuals frequently make is that vaccines have the potential to be harmful to individuals; a primary motive behind this pertains to an alleged correlation that exists between thimerosal, a component of vaccines, and countless disorders including autism (Benjamin, 2003). According to Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, “When you take a look at the ever-increasing numbers of doses of vaccines babies have gotten over the past two decades and you see this corresponding rise in chronic disease and disability in our children, it is out of control” (Benjamin, 2003). Many speculated that the mercury contained within the thimerosal was to blame for this. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thimerosal contains a form of mercury known as ethylmercury that quickly evacuates the body and cannot cause adverse reactions unless exposure involves abnormally large doses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Nevertheless, a fair handful of United States citizens are medically unable to receive vaccines; for example, out of a billion people, nearly 250,000 possible vaccine reactions were documented
...t have thimerosal and autism. It does not make sense that someone that is being vaccinated to help prevent diseases would end up with an intellectual disability, difficulties with motor coordination and attention and physical health issues (Concerns About Austim). The original study that started this debate for years had been retracted. Parents should be more informed and keep up with regarding this situation.