The question all parents have been chattering about, are vaccinations safe for their children? A vaccine is an injection of a killed or weakened infectious organism in order to prevent a disease. The injection works to stimulate the body's immune system so it can be recognized as foreign, then be destroyed, and "remembered" , so that the antibodies in the immune system can easily recognize and destroy any microorganisms that it later comes across. An antibody is a protein found in the blood. It is produced in response to foreign substances like viruses or bacteria, invading the body. Antibodies do the job of protecting the body from disease by clinging to these organisms and abolishing them.
Vaccines are given for many reasons. Most importantly because they can save your child’s life. Because of the miraculous advances in medical science, children are being protected against more and more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that had once injured or even killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely. Others are close to extinction, due to safe and effective vaccines. One example of vaccine that has eliminated an illness is the polio disease in the United States. Polio, once America’s most-feared disease, that caused death and paralysis across the country has had no reports in the United States thanks to vaccinations.
There are several childhood diseases in Massachusetts that require vaccinations. Hepatitis B requires 3 doses for child care attendance and preschool entry, kindergarten-12th grade, and college. However, laboratory proof of immunity is acceptable. Varicella requires 1 dose for child care attendance and preschool entry. For kindergarten-grade 3, grade 7-10, and college freshmen-seniors and a...
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...red by insurance. Lastly, immunization helps protect future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled thousands of people just a few generations ago. For example, smallpox vaccination abolished that disease worldwide. Children don’t have to get smallpox shots any more because the disease no longer exists. By vaccinating children against rubella,or German measles, the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their newborn has dramatically decreased, and all of the birth defects associated with that specific virus are no longer seen in the US. To conclude, I am in favor of parents vaccinating their children before kindergarten. If vaccinations continue, parents in the future may be able to learn that many diseases of today will no longer be around to harm their children in the future.
The controversy concerning parents vaccinating their children has been a debate for many years. A vaccination is an injection of a weakened or killed organism that produces immunity in the body against that organism. In further detail: when germs such as bacteria or viruses, invade the body, they attack and multiply. This is then called an infection (an infection is what produces illness). When the immune system realizes, it then must fight back the infection with antibodies that the human body produces against the foreign substance. Once the infection is fought off, the body is left with a supply of cells that help recognize and fight off that specific disease in the future. Vaccinations
Why would anyone want to leave their child at risk of developing a sickness that could easily be preventable? Some people believe that vaccines do not work and are only harmful; they are wrong. Vaccines can be helpful not only to the child of the concerned parent, but also the children of other parents as well. Parents should vaccinate their children because it prevents illnesses, rarely has negative effects, and vaccines have increased the human lifespan. If an illness is preventable, parents should ensure that their children are getting the medical protection available.
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.
The idea behind vaccines is to provide the body with just enough of the disease-causing substance to trick the body into producing antibodies against it. By injecting weak or dead infectious agents through the skin, it’s believed that the body will create the appropriate immune defense. Infants come into the world with antibodies they have gotten from their mother through the placenta. Infants who are breastfed continue to receive many important antibodies in the colostrum (the thick, yellowish premilk that is secreted during the first few days after a woman gives birth) and breast milk. During the first year of life, the immunity an infant gets from its mother at birth wears off. To help boost the fading ability to fight certain diseases, vaccines are given. Once the antibodies are produced, they stay around, protecting the child against the disease they were designed to fight.
Protection). A Vaccine is an injection given to children and adults. These injections help prevent
One of the major criticisms of mandatory vaccinations is the shift of balance in autonomy and choice versus the protection of the public (Anomaly, "Public Health and Public Goods"). I can see how from a Kantian perspective that mandatory vaccinations could be using people as mere means for the greater good of the public health, but when one’s individual rights and choices endanger my personal safety there needs to be some regulation. The idea of herd immunity may follow from a utilitarian framework that vaccinations bring about the greatest possibly good and minimize harm and ultimately maximize the happiness of the public, but it is a practice that promotes the health of our future generation. Individuals against mandatory vaccinations argue against the need for vaccinations due to the potential harmful side effects they may result in. The fear driving what vaccinations contain is based off misinterpreting data. The CDC provides great amounts of knowledge of the potential and tolerable side effects of vaccinations. Another major argument against mandatory vaccinations is the cost. Like mentioned above the vaccines that are currently required to go to school are measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Polio, Whopping Cough, Diphtheria, Varicella, Hepatitis B and Hib, which can be a costly doctor visit. The likelihood that these vaccines will no longer be mandatory for school-aged children is
Vaccines protect you and the people you care about. For example, there are many babies that can die from whooping cough but by you and others getting the vaccine for it, it can prevent the baby from getting it also. Not only does it protect your family but it lowers the chances of spreading the disease to your friends and even strangers.
Every year there are millions of children, teens, and adults who receive vaccinations. Vaccines date back in history as early as 1000 A.D. The Chinese experimented with vaccinations such as cowpox, similar to smallpox, which were eventually eliminated. There are a variety of different ingredients in vaccines. A large number of the public do not want to vaccinate themselves or their children because they are not aware of what is all in the vaccine they are receiving. Parents fear getting vaccinated will make them or their children sick, and it could leave them or their children with permanent disorders. Vaccines are put through various tests and experiments to assure they are safe before being administered to the public. There are some studies that show autism could be linked to vaccines. Multiple vaccines require more than one dose, and some vaccines require one to receive a booster as children are aging. There are some shots which have adverse side effects that come with
The purpose of vaccinations is to help the immune system handle the illness without exposing to the illness first as “Vaccines contain the same antigens (or parts of antigens) that cause diseases…the antigens in vaccines are either killed, or weakened to the point that they don’t cause disease...immune system produce antibodies that lead to immunity”("Why Are Childhood Vaccines So Important?") This means that Vaccines have the same pieces of a regular disease but has been manipulated in some shape or form that cannot infect the vaccine receiver. Almost as if the body is exposed to the illness already, but not quite like having the body fight off the disease but rather receive the ability to fight contact with any disease they are vaccinated against. Without vaccination, some illnesses can be fought off with the immune system alone, such as chicken pox and measles, and then would have the immune system protect by using the to fight against it. However, there are more fatal diseases, such as Polio, that has the ability to paralyze the body of anyone infected and even cause death if not treated right away
Vaccines are an integral part of modern preventive medicine. Without vaccines, not only would most malignant epidemics still be around, and the world would also be in a much more polluted era. The streets would be littered with diseased, there would have to be mass graves for the dead, and the healthy would have to be quarantined inside a sterile environment.
By being vaccinated, the person is not only helping themselves but others around them too. Vaccines are an important tool for preventing disease and should be mandatory for all people. Childhood vaccines protect children from a variety of serious or possibly fatal diseases, including diphtheria, measles, meningitis, polio, tetanus, and whooping cough (Clinic Staff). By vaccinating children against diseases, it helps children grow into strong, healthy adults. Today, children in the United States continuously get vaccines that protect them from more than a dozen diseases (Childhood Immunization).
Each year, about 2.1 million people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Many children may not receive their necessary first year vaccinations because of lack of availability, religious beliefs, and safety concerns (Healy, Rench, and Baker 540). The dictionary definition of a vaccine is a biological preparation that improves the immunity to a certain disease (Healy, Rench, and Baker 540). Although all 50 States in the United States require children to be vaccinated to certain diseases before entering school, the states also have exemptions for these vaccinations (Lu 870). Parents often choose not to get their children immunized, and it has proven harmful to the health of the global population. It is important for parents to have their children vaccinated against diseases such as measles, mumps, and polio because it is important to promote the welfare of the human race (Parkins 439).
Understanding the difference between vaccine, vaccination and immunization may be difficult. Even though these words are associated with each other, they have different meanings. According the article basics, a vaccine produces immunity from a disease and can be administered through needle injection, orally, or aerosol. Vaccination is the injection of a killed or weakened organism that produces immunity in the body against the organism. Immunization is the process that produces immunity in the body against that organism. Vaccinations reduce the risk of Polio, Smallpox and Scarlet Fever by operating with the body’s natural defenses to develop immunities to these diseases. Depending on if a parent desires protection from disease or is concerned
“Childhood vaccines are one of the great triumphs of modern medicine. Indeed, parents whose children are vaccinated no longer have to worry about their child's death or disability from whooping cough, polio, diphtheria, hepatitis, or a host of other infections.” (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 1). Vaccines helped humanity for many years in eliminating illnesses that disfigured, disabled and a lot of times took lives away. Children who do not get vaccinated not only risk themselves by being an easy target for diseases they also, harm everyone around them. In the end, today's children are the fuel of the future. Every parent should think carefully before taking any chance that may harm the coming generation.
Immunisation or vaccination is a very effective and safe form of medicine used to prevent severe diseases occurring from viruses and other infectious organisms and increase the amount of protective antibodies. It is given by drops in the mouth or injecting a person with a dead or modified disease-causing agent, in order for the person to become immune to that disease.