Vaccination Case Study

The theory behind vaccines was developed in Europe in the 1800’s, after an English doctor, Edward Jenner used a small dose of the cowpox virus to protect against it in 1796. The principal of immunisation is that the introduction of a small amount of a virus or germ via injection empowers the body’s immune system to recognise and eradicate the foreign material if it is to ever appear again. It is especially important for babies and children to be immunised as their immune system is not fully developed and they are very susceptible to many illnesses. Vaccinations have significantly lowered the occurrence of diseases such as whooping cough and tetanus. However; in recent years there has been a movement growing against vaccination, whether it is

It is very important that all children are immunised against diseases for the sake of themselves and everyone around them. Case in point, in March 2015, a baby named Riley passed away from Whooping Cough, a preventable disease. He himself was not old enough to be immunised but instead had to rely upon the immunity of other babies in his ward. Unfortunately, vaccination rates are as low as 83% in some places in Australia and in this case the lack of vaccinated children cost a life. Vaccinations undergo vigorous and numerous tests to ensure they are safe to use. Young children are most at risk of dying from these vaccine-preventable diseases. They are only new to the world and haven’t had the opportunity to build up their immune system. Giving them vaccinations to top up deficiencies they may have will provide the greatest chance of survival for them and everyone around them. The benefits far outweigh the risks. There are serious implications for those parents who do not support immunisation. In Australia, Child care centres, pre-schools and schools will not enrol children who have not been vaccinated unless they sign a Conscientious Objector Form, failure to do this can result in parents being reported to Child Protection Agencies for negligence. Unvaccinated children are also excluded from childcare, preschool and school for set periods of time when another student is sick with a vaccination-preventable

Many believe vaccination is unnatural and weakens the body’s immune system and it should not be ‘played around with’. In 1998 a UK study suggested the MMR vaccine caused autism. They believed that the measles virus, when injected, made its way into the gut and caused Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which in turn caused developmental disorders such as autism. Some scientists have announced that many vaccinations contain both aluminium and trace amounts of mercury, which when mixed together cause Extreme Synergistic Toxicity. Parents against immunisation believe their children should rely on their natural immunity and argue that if each generation is immunised, every future generation will have no natural immunity. Many argue that as vaccinated disease rates decrease, the rate of chronic illnesses increase steadily as a result of lowered natural immunity as a result of vaccinations. The recent Bachmair study has found a link between allergies and vaccination rates, where vaccinated children are twice as likely to suffer from them as unvaccinated ones. They are also 8 times as likely to suffer from