Vaccinations demonstrate the benefits of preventing suffering and death from infectious diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Vaccinations were approved as a number one on the list of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements for the United States from 1900 to 1999. If a critical number of people within a community are vaccinated against a particular illness, the entire group becomes less likely to get the disease. This protection is called community, or herd, immunity. On the other hand, if too many people in a community do not get vaccinations, diseases can reappear. Herd immunity has played major role in reducing continual endemic transmission of a number of disease, as a result, benefiting the community and in addition to the individual. Herd immunity is one of the major reasons behind the mandatory vaccination. (1)
High immunization coverage helps in substantial decrease in vaccine preventable disease, so diminution in the incidence of VPD lead to the public awareness that the severity and the susceptibility of the disease have declined. Simultaneously, the side effects associated with the vaccination have increased the public concern. Therefore, the numbers of the people who refuse to take the vaccination for them and for their children have increased. Recently, many parents concern about the associated relationship between vaccination and autism, even though that concern did not build on scientific evidence, have led many parents to not agree to vaccinate their children. Statically, there has been enlarging in state level rates of non-medical exemption from immunization requirement. (2)
Indeed, talking about the mandatory immunization spot the light on the people who are at...
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... the medical home on vaccination coverage for 19- to 35-month-old children. Pediatrics 2007;119:Suppl 1:S4-S11.
11- aniels D, Jiles RB, Klevens RM, Herrera GA. Undervaccinated African-American preschoolers: a case of missed opportunities. Am J Prev Med 2001;20:Suppl:61-68.
12- Luman ET, McCauley MM, Shefer A, Chu SY. Maternal characteristics associated with vaccination of young children. Pediatrics 2003;111:1215-1218.
13- Smith PJ, Santoli JM, Chu SY, Ochoa DQ, Rodewald LE. The association between having a medical home and vaccination coverage among children eligible for the Vaccines for Children program. Pediatrics 2005;116:130-139.
14- Salmon DA, Moulton LH, Omer SB, Dehart MP, Stokley S, Halsey NA. Factors associated with refusal of childhood vaccines among parents of school-aged children: a case-control study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2005;159:470-476.
They pose a real health concern to the public. Those that haven’t been vaccinated pose a risk to others that aren’t vaccinated, babies that are too young to vaccinate, and those with a weak immune system. The growing number of unvaccinated families has become a growing concern for physicians. The Chicago Tribune reported, “Almost all physicians encounter parents refusing vaccines, according to a recent study.”5 The study also reports, “A small number of pediatricians — about one in five — have turned away unvaccinated families from their practices, said Dr. Sean O 'Leary, an associate professor of pediatrics at Children 's Hospital Colorado and lead author of the study.”
In the Frontline episode The Vaccine War, a progressively distressful debate ensues among many scientists and doctors within the public health system and an unnerving alliance of parents, politicians, and celebrities. The topic of debate is the overwhelming pressure parents feel to vaccinate their children and their right to decline such vaccinations. In several American neighborhoods, groups of parents have been exercising their right to refuse vaccinations, which has elevated anxiety on the return of vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis and measles. The reason such parents are denying their children various vaccines such as the MMR “triple shot” for measles, mumps, and rubella is because they are convinced that it is linked to autism, a link that has yet to be proven. Many of these parents are focused solely on their children, not taking into account that their decision may put the American populace at risk for disease. Such parents are not thinking about other members of society that vaccines don’t work for, and in certain adolescents the effects deteriorate, thus only when every person is immunized the “heard immunity” is successful.
Health care policies are put into place regarding childhood immunization requirements for schools, along with information on obtaining religious exemptions. Each state and/or country develops their own individualized guidelines through interactions with federal and state government agencies. One in five babies around the world are missing out on basic vaccines and may die from weak health systems and insufficient funding. UNICEF and its partners are working to change these numbers and ensure that all children are successfully protected with vaccines.
“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.
The nurse should assess both the child and caregiver’s compliance with childhood immunization along with any concerns, fears, misconceptions, and contradictions that they may have. The child’s living situation should be considered. Anything that affects their ability to reach a health care facility or not being able to afford the care they need. Language barriers, literacy, and the ability to
The Harmful Effects of Vaccines 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.
20. Kennedy, Alison M et al., ‘Vaccine beliefs of parents who oppose compulsory vaccination’, Pub Health Rep, 120 (2005)
Omer, Saad B., Dr. "Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases — NEJM." New England Journal of Medicine. Web. 13 May 2014.
“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
...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.
Vaccines against diphtheria, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella, and more recent additions of hepatitis B and chicken pox, have given humans powerful immune guards to ward off unwelcome sickness. And thanks to state laws that require vaccinations for kids enrolling in kindergarten, the U.S. presently enjoys the highest immunization rate ever at 77%. Yet bubbling beneath these national numbers is the question about vaccine safety. Driven by claims that vaccinations can be associated with autism, increasing number of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines are in fact harmful to children, instead of helpful (Park, 2008).
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.
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
This, in turn, will deteriorate the prevalence of preventable diseases and hence decrease the likelihood that medically incompatible individuals will contract them (Kim, T. H., Johnstone, J., & Loeb, M., 2011). According to the World Health Organization, “The decline of disease incidence is greater than the proportion of individuals immunized because vaccination reduces the spread of an infectious agent by reducing the amount and duration of pathogen shedding by vaccinees, retarding transmission” (Andre, 2008). This enables a significant percentage of individuals who oppose vaccines to reconcile with those who do not, as this eliminates the concern regarding adverse reactions. According to an article titled “Vaccine herd effect,” herd immunity has pervaded many communities to help minimize the spread of disease. For example, in the 1990s, a vaccine was introduced that targeted a strain of disease known as streptococcus pneumoniae, which can potentially cause pneumonia. The CDC discovered a fifty percent reduction in pneumonia cases among the elderly despite the vaccine being offered primarily to children (Kim, T. H., Johnstone, J., & Loeb, M., 2011). This scenario is indubitably a prime exemplar for herd immunity, and it is the greatest reason that mandatory inoculation is
One of the major question that needs to be consider when vaccinating a child, do the risks of the...