The Importance Of Vaccination

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One of the greatest accomplishments for public health, in the 20th century, is the development and distribution of immunizations or vaccines. Although immunizations, for the most part, go unnoticed or gain little attention by the general public, they are very important and essential for individual/population health. Diseases such as measles, small pox, and/or anthrax outbreaks are virtually unheard of now-a-days, mostly as a result of immunizations (NCSL, 2014). Time and time again, vaccinations and immunizations have proven to increase overall population health and limit and/or completely eliminate outbreaks of communicable diseases. For example, at one point in the United States, nearly everyone was infected with or in danger of developing …show more content…

This is a very controversial and talk-about issue in today’s society. Should citizens have freedom of their own beliefs and/or religions if it affects public/population health? Many citizens make the argument and fight for having religious exemptions available to them because it goes against what they believe as a culture. Many others believe if only a small portion of the population is not vaccinated, this should not pose a threat to others in society, especially if it is a disease that is virtually erased. As a counter-argument, however; most diseases to not simply “disappear.” Given that a certain number of citizens are not vaccinated, even though a small population, they will still pose as a threat to the rest of the population. A non-vaccinated, unhealthy person could easily re-introduce a certain disease to a non-vaccinated, healthy person. Moreover, if the non-vaccinated, unhealthy person were to travel to an area where that disease pathogen has not been introduced or minimally introduced, the disease has the potential to spread like wild-fire (CDC). Do not get me wrong, I respect people’s right to freedom of religion and to practice that religion any way they see fit. Nonetheless, I also respect people’s right to their own personal/population health. If a select group of people pose a threat to the rest of the population; that is when citizen’s health rights are being compromised, completely out of their control. This phenomenon, I believe, is more unfair to the public health population than it would be to the population who is opposed to

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