Vaccinations: The Answer to Childhood Fatalities

903 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of immunization to children

America’s parents have taken to creating vulnerable children. Wary adults are neglecting vaccinations that control preventable diseases across the country. No child should be subjected to the susceptibility of an unvaccinated immune system. In this day and age, there is no reason for parents to avoid inoculations because the once fatal health risks, financial insufficiencies, and moral qualms that once presented a reason for doubt have dwindled away.

Fatal diseases such as Measles, Polio, and Tetanus are preventable through vaccination, but manage to run rampant when parents subject their children to these illnesses by failing to have them vaccinated. One of the primary reasons that parents refuse to have their children immunized is their conclusion that these vaccinations propose serious risks, from serious side effects to the chance that their child may contract the injected disease. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “when a large majority of children have been vaccinated, it is expected that most who get the disease will have been vaccinated. And if a vaccinated child does get the disease, the symptoms are usually milder with less serious side effects or complications than in a child who hasn’t been vaccinated” (American Academy of Pediatrics). This means that even in the rare case that a vaccinated child contracts a disease for which they have been inoculated, they will still be better off than if they had never received the vaccination in the first place. After all, if no one were immunized, then the chance of contracting a serious illness would increase. The American Academy of Pediatrics shows that vaccines are 90% to 99% effective, which means that the chance of getting a disease from a vaccination is smal...

... middle of paper ...

....healthychildren.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Vaccines For Children Program." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.

"Comprehensive Child Immunization Act of 1993," Federal Register, Nov. 4, 1993

Institute for Health Freedom, "Vaccinating Children: Where Do We Draw the Line?," www.forhealthfreedom.org.

"National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (42 USC 201)," Federal Register, Nov. 14, 1986

National Network for Immunization Information, "Common Questions about School Immunization Laws," www.immunizationinfo.org

Russ, Spencer. Personal interview. 12, Mar. 2014.

Shamieh, Lara. Personal interview. 28, Feb. 2014.

Stone, Anne. “Oregon’s 2013 Rate of Vaccine-exempted kindergartners Increases statewide over 2012” Oregonians for Healthy Children. May 7, 2013.

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

  • Fear of Polio in the 1950s

    4025 Words  | 9 Pages

    Atkinson, William. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Washington: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996.

    Read More

  • Should Vacination be Made Mandatory to Enter School?

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malone, K and Hinaman, A (n.d.) ,Vaccination mandates, the public Imperative and Mandate, http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/guides-pubs/downloads/vacc_mandates_chptr13.pdf. Accessed on 5/19/2014

    Read More

  • Vaccinations: Know the Risks and Failures

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Vaccinations are causing a major upsurge in childhood diseases, adult maladies, and even deadly ailments such as Gulf War Syndrome and Lou Gehrig’s disease” (Blaylock). Every now and then an individual’s doctor calls telling them about the latest vaccine they should receive. The person immediately schedules a time to come in and get it done. But do they even give a second thought about it? Have they ever thought that maybe they do not need another vaccination? Many people have not taken the time to seriously think about the process of immunization. The truth is, there are many dangers that the average person should be unaware of. Rarely do vaccines actually accomplish what the public has been told. In fact, a lot of vaccines contain harmful substances that have been linked to disorders such as autism. The lack of education and dishonesty from doctors are putting people in danger of health problems without even realizing. Many parents feel obligated for their children to get vaccinated because of school, not knowing they have the alternative option of refusing immunization.

    Read More

  • Vaccines In Children

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    North American children are now the most vaccinated on earth. Children receive about thirty-three doses of ten vaccinations by the age of five years. Not only do children need a separate vaccine for most diseases (hepatitis B, polio, Hib, and chicken pox are single vaccines; DTaP and MMR are multiple) but they generally need more than one dose of each vaccine. Because of the many vaccines needed, vaccination is an extremely controversial topic in the United States Today. Whatever side of the aisle you may fall with regard to your opinion about vaccination, one thing is for certain: the choice to vaccinate or not is a decision that has the potential to greatly impact the health of you and most importantly, your children for the rest of their lives.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Why Parents Should Vaccinate Their Children

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Public confidence in immunization is critical to sustaining and increasing vaccination coverage rates and preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs)” (para. 1). In recent history, there has been a significant decline in public confidence because of a variety of factors, such as vaccination does not always mean immunization, vaccines expose children to toxins, and children can build immunity naturally. The number of parents who are choosing not to vaccinate their children is growing yearly because there are certain exemptions that parents can claim, even if the vaccine is mandatory in their state.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    America looks at disease as a war. Illness is the enemy, vaccinations are the weapons, and the unfortunate cost is that some innocent civilians may lose their lives. A vaccine is a substance used to provide immunity against a disease. In some cases, vaccines have done more harm than good. Ignoring this fact, vaccines are mandatory in every state, and some states are trying to take away the parent’s right to deny them. The disadvantages, diseases, and disabilities caused by vaccines justify the parent’s right to decide against the risk of vaccination.

    Read More

  • Why Should Vaccinations Be Mandatory?

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    Holding children’s hands while crossing the road, buckling them up in the car, and teaching them to stay away from strangers, are all important when it comes to child safety. But what about vaccinations? It is necessary that each child be properly vaccinated for many reasons, but most importantly for their health and well-being. With the help of vaccinations, many diseases have been eradicated and many lives have been saved. If parents do not properly vaccinate their children, health issues and other complications will arise for everyone, leading to a higher disease and death rate worldwide.

    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

  • Essay On Childhood Vaccination

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed immunizations as the number one greatest public health achievement in the 20th century. This attainment towards the goal of health and safety is a huge success for not only our country but from the global perspective as well. Immunizations help to prevent illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. The World Health Organization states that global vaccination coverage has remained consistent for the past few years; for example, the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis has held secure at 83%. Programs for population-wide vaccinations have helped with the annihilation of polio in America since the late 1970’s, the eradication of smallpox, and the control of numerous other infectious diseases in the United States and other parts of the world.

    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

  • Should Child Vaccinations be Mandatory?

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vaccinations have significantly reduced the disease rate throughout the world. Usually, vaccines prove to be between 90 and 99 percent effective. This reduces disease and mortality rate by thousands every year (Jolley and Douglas 1). On average, vaccines save the lives of 33,000 innocent children every year (“Vaccines” 1). In addition, if a vaccinated child did contract the vaccine’s targeted illness, that child would, in general, have more mild symptoms than an unvaccinated child that contracts the same illness. These vaccinated children will have less serious complications if they do contract the disease; they will be much more treatable, and have a lower risk of death (Jolley and Douglas 2). The risks of not vaccinating greatly outweigh the small risks of vaccination. Diseases like measles and mumps can cause permanent disability. While there i...

    Read More

  • Why Vaccines Should Be Mandatory Essay

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Measles is a disease that causes the child a lot of pain. It is commonly accompanied by a painful itchy rash and fever. At one point in history measles was a very common disease. Now it is rare for a child to get the measles. The decline in the disease has been attributed to vaccinations and their high success rate. According to ‘Childhood Vaccinations are Important for Public Health”, “by vaccinating we will make sure these 14 diseases will not become everyday events for our children...”. There are quite a few reasons why parents do not vaccinate their children. Some believe that it will cause harm to their children because of rumors. Vaccinations are not as dangerous as people make them seem, but not getting vaccinated is. Frances Childs states that “as the number of children who have not been immunized increases, so, too, does the likelihood of measles spreading”. Immunizations work by injecting a small amount of the virus into the patient (both children and adults). The patient’s immune system then builds up antibodies to fight against the virus, thus building immunity against the diseases much more effectively. Vaccinations have a 90-100 percent chance of success. With this high rate of protection, why not get children

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Anti Vaccination

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    Those who choose not to vaccinate their children are endangering the health of those unable to be vaccinated themselves, such as infants, pregnant people, and the immunocompromised, by jeopardizing community immunity. According to vaccine.gov, a federal government website managed by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, community immunity or “herd immunity” occurs when “a critical portion of the community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak” (Community Immunity). An infographic featured in an NPR article entitled “How Vaccine Fears Fueled the Resurgence of Preventable Diseases” illustrated the rise in measles cases in Western Europe and of pertussis (whooping cough) cases in the U.S (Doucleff). In the first eight months of 2014, there were eighteen measles outbreaks, and six hundred cases of measles. This is incredibly dangerous because outbreaks give these diseases the opportunity to evolve and become resistant to vaccines, putting even vaccinated children at risk (Harmon). Parents making the decision not to vaccinate are doing so out of a place that all parents share: a desire to keep their children healthy. However, these anti-vaxxers are basing their decision not on

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Vaccines

    2296 Words  | 5 Pages

    Vaccinations, or vaccines for short, are injections that deliver a living attenuated organism into a person’s body. Children are very important to the continued welfare of humankind, and thusly, their well-being is of heightened importance. Vaccinations have a significant impact on an individual’s health, and children are not excluded from the benefits of vacations. It is of utmost importance that children are provided with the chance to a healthy future. Due to underdeveloped immunosuppressant systems, children are vulnerable to diseases that adults are typically resistant to, as their immune systems have had many years to evolve and grow in strength. Vaccines help children gain considerable resistances to diseases that would otherwise cause serious health problems. When used throughout the entirely of a population, vaccines have the potential to eliminate the possibility of contracting specific diseases.

    Read More

More about Vaccinations: The Answer to Childhood Fatalities

Open Document