Introduction
When I became pregnant with my first child in late 1998, my life was forever changed. For the first time, I had someone else to think about, someone else to worry about. I did my best to follow the orders of the doctor the girlfriend-esque physician that I had chosen to deliver my bundle of joy. I took my prenatal vitamins and made sure that I was eating enough for two. In fact, I may have been eating for triplets during that pregnancy, as I gained a whopping 60 pounds!
My daughter became the center of my universe in August of 1999. I could not imagine doing anything to put that little 8 pound 12 ounce angel face into harm’s way. Being young and naïve, I questioned nothing that they did to her. She was given her Hepatitis B vaccine without ever giving it a second thought. The doctor said that it was necessary, so be it.
Many go through life following doctor’s orders without ever thinking “what if they’re wrong?”, “what if this makes me sick?” Doctors are people whom we trust, without question. We take their advice and always assume that they would never do anything to put us or our children into harm’s way. Our best interest is always in their forethought, or at least, that is our assumption.
Even though many of us trust our doctors without fail, many parents are choosing to take a different approach these days when it comes to vaccinations. Many are choosing a delayed vaccination schedule for their children, while others are choosing to forego many vaccinations that are viewed as essential by the medical community. Even though there is much evidence to support the need and effectiveness of many vaccinations used in the United States, parents should have the right to choose, not the government, whi...
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...e Vaccine Schedule?” WebMD. N.p., 2 July 2012. Web. 8 April 2014.
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National Conference of State Legislatures. “HPV Vaccine.” NCSL.org. N.p., N.d., Web. 20 April 2014.
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The authors used a historical timeline to introduce a need. Stressing the number of lives lost allows the authors show the importance of vaccines. The repeated emphasis on those lives being the lives of children played on the emotions of readers. Once the need is established Lee and Carson-Dewitt clarify the use of “a dead or mild form of a virus” to create a vaccine (Lee, Carson-Dewitt, 2016, p.2). The distinction of the types of
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
Smith, Jane S. Patenting the Sun: Polio and the Salk Vaccine. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1990.
The use of vaccinations has been a major topic in the news lately. The decision to or not to vaccinate your child is a decision that parents face each day. For some the decision is an easy one, a no-brainer. For others, it’s a very difficult one to make. People that are pro-vaccine believe that they are protecting their children and the future generations by vaccinating them against diseases that they could potentially get. People that are ant-vaccine believe that by choosing not to vaccinate, they are protecting their children and future generations from the serious side effects that they could potentially get from the vaccination.
Park, Alice. "Why HPV Is Still Not a Straight Shot." Time 31 Aug. 2009: 49-49. Print.
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.
A time where vaccines were beneficial was when small poxs found its way around the human population. It was only till the end of the 18th century where an effective vaccination created by Edward Jenner was made for
The history of vaccinations does not begin with the first vaccination itself but rather an infectious disease that had greatly affected the human population. In 1796 Edward Jenner created a successful composition using cowpox material that created immunity to the ongoing growth of the small pox disease. Jenner’s method underwent 200 years of medical and technological changes until it had finally resulted in complete elimination of the smallpox disease. Vaccinations have been a controversial medical topic for many years and although it is proven to be an effective means of preventing serious effects, including fatalities from childhood illnesses the controversy remains that the side effects from the immunizations outweigh the risk of contracting the disease. According to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia they state that “innovative techniques now drive vaccine research, with recombinant DNA technology and new delivery techniques leading scientist in new directions. Disease targets have expanded, and some vaccine research is beginning to focus on non-infectious conditions, such as addictions and allergies” (“The History of Vaccines” College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Web. 10 January. 2014). While public health officials insist that vaccines are the best way to protect public health. Over the past thirty years the vaccination schedule has tripled and since then there has been an alarming rise in the infant mortality rate in America. The problem is not the vaccination itself, but the quality of the vaccination.
“Childhood vaccines not only have personal benefits, but for entire communities and the future of public health” (Espejo 1). If a child goes without immunization, then he or she is also putting others at risk. Most parents do not consider all of the options and effects that come along with not having their child vaccinated. Many are quick to reject because of the possible side effects and harm it could cause. However, nothing in today’s world is completely harmless. An adult can easily be in a danger at work, while the child is in danger of disease at daycare. That is why it is completely necessary to vaccinate. By doing this, family, friends, and others are being protected as well (Allen 71). “There are also children who cannot get certain vaccines for medical or other reasons, and those who are too young to be vaccinated. These children have no protection if they are exposed to someone who is infected with a communicable disease” (Espejo 4). Commonly, this is not thought
Wiesel, E. (2004). Disease prevention through immunization: Beginning of health care reform. S.l.: Diane Pub Co.
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...
The history of vaccine started with the spread of smallpox disease. Smallpox was a contagious disease and, it was spreading fast leaving permanent scars on patients' faces or worse taking their lives. At the time, there were several attempt to treat and prevent smallpox, but Edward Jenner had the greatest rule in eliminating smallpox.“Jenner's work represented the first scientific attempt to control an infectious disease by the deliberate use of vaccination”. ( “Conclusion” 1,2). Nowadays, Statistics show significant reduction in the cases of infectious diseases after the widespread of vaccination. There were annually 63,000 cases of Pneumococcal among children in the United States. After the beginning of vaccination, the cases redu...
The number of vaccinations that a child has to receive is overwhelming to a child and parent. They will also be receiving boosters and other vaccinations throughout life. The ineffectiveness of vaccinations can also be a factor in a parent’s choice. Side effects are the main concern between parents’ decision of whether to vaccinate their children. Not everyone believes that vaccinations are helpful; it should be a parents’ choice whether their child should be
Some of the biggest epidemics in the modern era have all but disappeared in first-world countries because doctors and scientists have discovered cures in the form of vaccines. Thousands of people are dying every year from preventable diseases because they’re refusing to get themselves and or their children vaccinated on account of bogus claims and false studies. Vaccinations should be mandatory because it prevents the spread of diseases to people who can’t afford them, it stops epidemics from happening and killing millions of people, and diseases that have already gone away because of vaccinations won’t come back.
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; however, many children have been patronized by