In the United States, vaccines have received a grave amount of negative attention because of the rise of compulsory immunization, which is also being referred to as a culture war. Compulsory immunization means that a person is obligated (even if they do not want to) by law, to be immunized. This is a human right being stripped away, to choose what enters peoples bodies as well as our families because it can be morally justified. Besides what the medical industry would have many believe, the issues of vaccinations is very much complicated because not only have there been cases of vaccination success but there have also been failures. Such as, The Hannah Poling case, whose story broke out in 2008, and put a face on the autism-vaccine controversy. …show more content…
With the many medical advancements that have been discovered common illnesses that were once proven deadly are now being controlled with a simple vaccine. A Vaccine is a, “Immunogen consisting of a suspension of weakened or dead pathogenic cells injected in order to stimulate the production of antibodies” (webster-dictionary). The vaccine practice took place two centuries ago during the 1790’by English Physician and scientist Edward Jenner, in reaction to the small pox outbreak. Jenner created the first vaccine for small pox by using cowpox. This led many other Physician such as, co-founder, and president of Harvard Medical School to adopt Jenner’s methods of the cowpox vaccine in 1801, as disease in the US surfaced. The small pox vaccine has since been used for 200 years with updates and have controlled the elimination of the illness. Many other vaccines were administered such as the Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTP) Vaccine, along with the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine. This lead Massachusetts to become the first US state to promote the use of vaccinations. Massachusetts was also the first state to offer free vaccinations which was followed by a state law that same year requiring the smallpox vaccination. Later, On February 27, 1813, US president James Madison signed into law An Act to Encourage Vaccination which led to the Creation of the …show more content…
In 1986, due to a large number of lawsuits filed which claimed vaccines were causing adverse reactions, brain damage, and death, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act is passed—to protect medical professors and vaccine manufacturers from being liable for harmful vaccine reactions. In turn the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was created under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act 1988. The act guaranteed a sufficient supply of vaccines, steady costs, it was created to maintain a manageable and effective forum for individuals whom have been affected negatively due to vaccines. Between 1989 and July 1, 2014, 3,645 compensation awards have been made and 9,786 claims have been dismissed -- amounting to over $2.7 billion in awards and $113.2 million to cover legal costs and $62.8 million paid to 4,925 dismissed claimants to cover legal costs. 1998 an article written by Andrew Wakefield, MD that was published reported that Wakefield’s medical histories of children proved “Rubella virus is associated with autism.” The article created a vaccination scare and parents opted out of vaccinating their children, and because of this conflict an investigation on the report resulted in Wakefield being
Through the rise of technological advances in medicine, the vaccine has changed the world for the greater good of the human race. Making a great triumph and virtually eliminating an array of life-threatening diseases, from smallpox to diphtheria, thus adding approximately thirty years to many humans’ life spans. Although, a new complication has arisen, possibly linking neurological digression with this rise of new vaccines. Such a digression has forced parents to exempt their children from receiving vaccinations and brought forth mental anguish affecting the minds of many.
“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.
Vaccines are becoming increasingly hazardous for many children and parents are not being informed about the safety of their children. Current reports are linking vaccines to serious life-threatening disorders such as asthma, autism, immune system dysfunction, and mental retardation (Williams). These recent revelations are causing an increasing amount of people to claim religious and medical exemptions from vaccines. From 1999 to 2006, exemptions have more than doubled from 9,722 to 24,919 (Cronin). It is very clear that vaccinations are posing many problems for parents everywhere. Each day researchers are finding out about vaccines and are realizing that there are a lot more risks than benefits. Dr Phillip F. Incao explains: “Today, far more children suffer from allergies and other chronic immune system disorders than from life-threatening infectious disease. It is neither reasonable nor prudent to persist in presuming that the benefits of any vaccination outweigh its risk” (qtd in Spaker). While infectious diseases are becoming uncommon there is no need for any person to get vaccinated.
Vaccination was first introduced globally for small pox and later on extended to other communicable diseases which are now known as vaccine preventable disease. Vaccination is beneficial both for individuals and community. This bring us to the ethical dilemma - Vaccination of a healthy child with the intention of protecting both the individual child and the community at the same time exposing the child to the theoretical risk of exposure to disease products whether live, attenuated or killed. There was a time when people never questioned the government or their physicians. Now because of more public awareness and accessibility to medical information, they are questioning the safety aspects of vaccines.
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 main question is to why is there such an uneasiness around vaccinations? The answer is former Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Mr. Wakefield s a British former surgeon, known for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of the now-discredited claim that there is a link between the administration of the MMR vaccine and autism. He wrote two papers, both of which have been debunked. “Wakefield's hypothesis was that the MMR vaccine causes a series of events that include intestinal inflammation, loss of intestinal barrier function, entrance into the bloodstream of encephalopathic proteins, and consequent development of autism. In support of his hypothesis Dr. Wakefield described 12 children with neurodevelopmental delay (8 with autism). All of these children had gastrointestinal complaints and developed autism within 1 month of receiving MMR” (Immunization). After this first paper there was no real investigation into his findings until 2003, which gave ample time for panic to spread.
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.
Edward Jenner invented a method to protect against smallpox in the late 1700s. The method involved taking substances from an open wound of someone with small-pox or cow-pox and injecting it into another person’s skin, also called “arm-to-arm inoculation”. The earliest actual documented examples of vaccination date all the way back to the tenth century in China (Lombard, “A brief history of vaccines and vaccinations”). The mention of early vaccination was taken note of by a French scholar, Henri Husson, written in one of his journals (Dictionaire des sciences médicale). The Ottoman Empire Turks also discovered a method of immunization a few centuries later. Lady Montagu of Great Britain, a famous writer and wife of the English ambassador of Istanbul, between 1716 -1718, came across the Turkish vaccine for small-pox. After surviving as a child with small-pox, she insisted her son be vaccinated (Henricy, “Letters of the Right Honourable Lady Wortley Montagu”). When she returned to England, she continued to publicize the Turkish tradition of immunization and spread their methods to the rest of her country. She also had all family members also vaccinated. Immunization was soon adopted in England, nearly 50 years before Jenner's smallpox vaccine in 1796 (Sharp, “Anti-vaccinationists past and present”). Edward Jenner’s target for smallpox was to eradicate it. And later by the 1940s, knowledge of the science behind vaccines had developed and soon reached the point where across-the-board vaccine production was a goal that was possible and where serious disease control efforts could start. Vaccines for many dangerous diseases, including ones protecting against pertussis, diphtheria, and tetanus were underway into production. ...
How would you feel if your child was to catch a deadly disease at school from another student that had not been vaccinated. For many years, vaccinations have been forced unto babies and smaller children to help prevent a future epidemic such as the ones from many centuries ago. Later within the years after vaccinations seem to have been proven effective and slightly popular, they became mandatory for a student to be vaccinated before being able to enroll into a school. Most parents went along with the new rule ,but there were still many parents that strongly disagreed and felt that it violated their liberty to make decisions for their child 's lives. I personally believe that vaccinations should be forced among students for reason such as: combat deadly diseases, suppress
Many people come to the United States of America in order to live freely and make choices based on their personal morals. Considering the fact that America is known for being the “land of the free”, people should be able to choose whether or not they want to get vaccinated. People should have the right to reject vaccinations for whatever reason it may be, whether it’s religious beliefs, health concerns, or lack of belief in the vaccination systems. Personally, Vaccinations have benefited me and my health, and I choose to get vaccinated. I choose to get vaccinated because I strongly believe in a way it helps build my immune system and keeps me from getting sick or catching diseases. However, people have different beliefs than mine. Therefore
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.
ANA CEO and nurse Myrtle Aydelotte once said, “Nursing encompasses an art, a humanistic orientation, a feeling for the value of the individual, and an intuitive sense of ethics, and of the appropriateness of action taken”.1 In preparing to develop my own nursing practice, I find this statement to be invaluable. It is this philosophy which has guided my educational and experiential journey from scientific evidence and statistics alone, to include patient relationship and ethical understanding. My first exposure to the “Vaccine Controversy” occurred in my biology undergraduate. I was fascinated, as I had only been exposed one side of the story, and began to research avidly, wondering if I might find definitive evidence giving backbone to the passionate arguments I heard. I should preface by saying that I was very particular about my sources of information, and refused to accept articles signed with random initials of an unknown author, photos of crying babies next to an impending syringe, or from sites with titles such as “The Angry Patriot”. What I found didn’t really surprise me. As do many people with healthcare experience, I understand that nearly every treatment we utilize in modern medicine is, to some extent, risk v. benefit. So, when my research indicated that some preservatives/ingredients utilized in vaccines might result in anaphylactic reactions, immune responses and other serious health problems at statistically low rates, I wasn’t shocked or concerned. When I read that some, more poorly made vaccines with pushy manufacturers and few long-term trials had these issues at higher rates, I was also not exactly surprised.2-4 I can understand though, why some people might be. Mainstream healthcare (not including general media...
According to World Book Advanced Encyclopedia, immunization is defined as the process of protecting the body against disease by means of vaccines or serums (Hinman). While medical science backs up the efficiency and necessity of vaccines, within the past decade, a rise in parents disbelieving the medical community and neglecting to immunize their children has occurred. This “fear of vaccines” is nothing new, but with the ever-increasing safety of vaccines, the benefits of inoculation far outweigh the risks. Parents who refuse to vaccinate, or anti-vaxxers, put more than their children’s lives on the line, but also risk the safety of the whole community. Because vaccines are essential to protecting individuals and communities
Recently the number of parents who are intentionally delaying their children’s general vaccinations is increasing. The controversy that is causing the number of delayed vaccinations to go up is based on the fact that there are negative articles connecting them to autism and other similar diseases. When parents are researching vaccinations and they read those negative articles, those articles make them believe that vaccines cause autism. Vaccines are important because they protect humans from preventable diseases and getting them could save human lives. Vaccines are important throughout life no matter what some research suggests. Parents are now more likely to intentionally delay vaccines because of negative press, even though vaccines
For innumerable centuries, unrelenting strains of disease have ravaged society. From the polio epidemic in the twentieth century to the measles cases in the latter half of the century, such an adverse component of nature has taken the lives of many. In 1796, Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to cowpox could foster immunity against smallpox; through injecting the cowpox into another person’s arm, he founded the revolutionary concept known as a vaccination. While many attribute the eradication of various diseases to vaccines, many United States citizens are progressively beginning to oppose them. Many deludedly thought that measles had been completely terminated throughout the United States.