Vaccination are an important part of keeping children healthy; however some parents do not agree with vaccinating their children. Vaccines are a very sensitive and controversial subject because of the safety and efficacy. Our bodies can make antibodies to protect us from diseases in two ways: by getting the disease itself or by getting the vaccinated from the disease. The vaccine is a much safer way to make antibodies without having to actually get sick and risk becoming disabled or even die from the disease. Raising a child involves many decisions. Some are a matter what color to paint their room. Others are essential, especially when it comes to security, such as preparing the house to make it safe for the baby. But do not forget about the dangers that cannot be seen and which cause serious illness, disability and even death of small children. Vaccines give you the power to protect your baby.
It seem that the benefits of vaccination outweighs the bad. In this paper I will be discussing the benefits of vaccines, why so many parents forgo vaccination because of the adverse allergic reactions or even autism. Also why am pro-vaccination and why other countries do so well and have large positive success rate with individuals who participate in vaccination programs.
Benefits to reduce and eliminate diseases that can be prevented with vaccines is one of the greatest achievements in the history of public health. But because of that success, many of “our young parents have never seen the devastating effects of diseases such as polio, measles or whooping cough that can have on a family or community. “Production of high quality vaccine have been developed by mankind with the goal to protect themselves effiently from infectious disease” (Ulrich 3). Before a vaccine is approved and administered to children, many tests are done by Scientists and medical professionals to carefully evaluate all available information about the vaccine for safety and effectiveness.
There are many stories about children who developed autism after vaccination. But the stories are not evidence, and there is no reason to believe that vaccines are causing children to become autistic. Vaccination scares have made parents to avoid immunizations, current research points out to hereditary factors. “Indirect evidence of a lack of association between MMR vaccine and autism was also provided by early ecological studies conducted in the United Kingdom10 and California.11” (DeStefano).
Rotavirus vaccination and its benefits. And how it benefitted young children. The benefits of the vaccination were seen by the results. There was a 90 percent reduction rate of hospitalizations with children that had the vaccination. This vaccination helped saved about 924 million dollars in medical bills. (Kuehn)
In fact, parents who do not vaccinate their children may be risking the health of other children who cannot be vaccinated for very young or for other reasons. Vaccination can be the difference between life and death. Infections that can be prevented with vaccines kill more people annually than, breast cancer or traffic accidents. “In the first half of 2012, Washington suffered 2,520 cases of whooping cough, a 1,300% increase from the previous year and the largest outbreak in the state since 1942. As of Aug. 29, about 600 cases of measles have occurred in the U.S. in 2014: the largest outbreak in 20 years–in a country that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared measles-free in 2000” (Offit).
When the number of unvaccinated children rises above a certain limit, the so-called “herd immunity ” will be compromised , and preventable diseases are to grip in the community. This happens when parents are anti-vaccination because of miss information or researches that have been debunked and parents forgo vaccinations believing that they are doing the best for the child. “The state allows religious and philosophical exemptions to vaccines, creating concentrated pockets where vaccination rates reach only 90 percent — including Orange County, where Disneyland is located. As vaccination rates fall, the herd immunity that protects the unvaccinated or susceptible dissipates” (Barbash).
I am pro-vaccination because unlike other parents I have done the research and I prefer to be safe than sorry. I want my children who attend public schools to be safe and healthy and also keep other safe by vaccinating my children. You may have never seen a case of polio or diphtheria; however, still they occur in other countries. With only a plane ride, these diseases can reach their community. An example is measles. Measles often does not occur in the United States due to vaccination, but it is still common in many parts of the world. The disease is brought to the United States by people who have not been vaccinated and who become infected while they are abroad. After arriving in this country, measles can spread rapidly among people who have not been vaccinated.
Conclusion: I have shown in this paper that vaccination are good for the welfare of our children, even though more parents are still against vaccination. The articles that I have researched and provided proves that my argument is valid.
Citations
Offit, Paul A. “The Anti-Vaccination Epidemic; Whooping Cough, Mumps and Measles are Making an Alarming Comeback, Thanks to Seriously Misguided Parents.” Wall Street Journal (Online) Sep 24 2014 ProQuest. 4 Oct. 2015.
DeStefano, F. “Vaccines And Autism: Evidence Does Not Support A Causal Association.” Clinical Pharmacology And Therapeutics 82.6 (2007): 756-759. MEDLINE Complete. Web. 11 Oct. 2015
Kuehn, Bridget M. “High Rotavirus Vaccination Rates Continue To Pay Off.” Jama 312.1 (2014): 18. MEDLINE Complete. Web. 12 Oct. 2015
Barbash, F. (2015). Disneyland measles outbreak strikes in anti-vaccination hotbed of california. Washington: WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1648057747?accountid=8289
Heininger, Ulrich. “A Risk–benefit Analysis of Vaccination.” Vaccine. Print.