It is often considered unnecessary in many cases because the illnesses don’t pose a big threat to the child’s life. However, others point out that they help eradicate many contagious illnesses and prevent many deaths. For example, polio and smallpox, once killed thousands of children, are eliminated because of the use of vaccines. There were many studies conducting to show whether it can trigger serious reactions and disorders. In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published an observation of 12 children that linked the measles, mumps, and rubella combination vaccine with intestinal problems which he believed led to autism.
This rumor that vaccines are the cause for the rise in autism spectrum disorders first grabbed attention and made headlines in 1998. When Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist, and 12 of his colleagues published their study of 12 children in The Lancet, a well-known medical journal (Rao, Andrade). Their study linked the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) combo vaccine with intestinal problems that he believed caused autism. On February 2010 Dr. Wakefield’s paper was officially retracted by The Lancet (Rao, Andrade). The General Medical Council in the United Kingdom even stripped Wakefield of his ability to practice medicine for his, “deceitfulness and irresponsibility” in the paper published (Haberman).
The first major development in vaccines came in the late 1700s with the discovery of the vaccine that gave immunity from smallpox. After much research and discovery, vaccines have given nearly the whole world protection from once feared diseases such as measles, diphtheria, rubella, polio, and mumps and have led to the total elimination of others diseases such as smallpox (Riedel, 2005). The reason the number of childhood deaths from d... ... middle of paper ... ...efeat disease. Once the body has cleared itself of infection, the immune system will "remember" the infection and grow stronger. Children from birth to age five are the most vulnerable to bacterial and viral infection.
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.
Carlee Williams Mrs. Heather Timmons American Literature 132-03 Thursday March 20, 2014 Do the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks? Although vaccination has proven to be an effective means of preventing serious childhood illness, there is still question over whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Through much research we can assume that it has been successfully proven that the benefits truly do outweigh the risks; which is why many people should choose to vaccinate their children. “Vaccines are among the 20th preventing disease, disability, and death.” (Risk vs. Benefit) During the years 1951-1954 there were over 1,879 deaths from the disease polio.
Recent research has proven that his evidence is not credible and there is no correlation between vaccine shots and Autism. Many parents are still convinced that immunizations cause Autism since Andrew Wakefield published the article stating this theory. He has since been discredited and it was recently discovered that the article described false evidence. It is crucial to trust the medical claim that there is not a connection between Autism and immunization shots and continue to protect ourselves and our children from these life-threatening diseases such as Measles, Chicken Pox and Pertussis. The death rate from Measles, Chicken Pox and Pertussis was much higher prior to 1930, when immunizations were discovered and children were inoculated with the anti-virus shot.
Web. 17 July 2014. Offit, Paul A.. Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010938207/OVIC?u=j031903001&xid=9cedce92. Originally published as "Destabilizing the Jenny McCarthy Public-Health Industrial Complex: Giving the Anti-Vaccine Advocate a Platform Is Dangerous," www.theatlantic.com, 11 July 2013. "Vaccination Programs Have Reduced the Incidence of Many Diseases." Vaccines, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2015. At Issue.
Since then, smallpox, along with a variety of other diseases including polio and measles have been eradicated in most developed countries. The public, as a whole, should get vaccinated because vaccines are one of the most effective medical procedures that can save your life against deadly diseases, they are not harmful in any way, and the public welfare may be at risk because of those who choose not to get vaccinated. People make the decision not to get vaccinated for numerous reasons. Some people believe the act of getting vaccinated by injection is too invasive. An irrational fear of needles is what keeps them away from clinics and doctors’ offices in order to get a yearly flu shot.
In rare cases children have became sick after immunizations, some life threatening. Because of vaccine safety and studies, the change in affordability of the vaccines, and recent decreasing results of major disease outbreaks, vaccines are helping keep children and our society safe. When a possibility of a new vaccine is made it first has to be presented to the Food and Drug Administration to be approved. The FDA is one of the companies that perform the scientific testing to make sure it is a safe vaccine. By understanding the body’s immune system, the scientist is able to make the vaccine more effective and less abrasive.