The Measles, Mumps ad Rubella (MMR) Vaccine was introduced as part of a vaccination programme in 1988, to vaccinate against three viruses, Morbillivirus measles virus, Rubulavirus (Mumps), and Rubivirus (Rubella), which caused three diseases which were commonplace in society before the start of the vaccination programme, and could often have fatal consequences. In this essay I intend to explore the controversy and risks associated with this vaccination and its components. The MMR Vaccine is administered as part of a vaccination programme in the UK to children between the ages of twelve to thirteen months, and then at the age of three years and four months as a ‘booster’. This vaccine is a live, but attenuated vaccine, containing a weakened strain of each of the three viruses, used in order to provoke an immune response from the patient and provide them with future protection from the viruses if a secondary infection was to …show more content…
This means that there are no foreign proteins present which could cause an anaphylactic response. However, other components, aside from the ‘active ingredients’ of the vaccine can have harmful side effects. For example, gelatine, used to protect the living viruses against the affect of temperature changes and as a stabiliser in the MMR (MMR VaxPro only), can cause an anaphylactic response in those with an allergy to gelatine (around one in two million people), which could potentially be fatal. Sorbitol, another stabiliser used in the MMR (MMR VaxPro and Priorix vaccines) also poses a risk to those who have inherited fructose intolerance, causing symptoms such as vomiting and nausea, but can ultimately lead to coma and convulsions if the source of the symptoms is not
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
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
Background: Merck & Co. is an American pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 1971 the United States approved the use of an MMR vaccine made by Merck, containing the Jeryl Lynn strain of mumps vaccine. In 1978 Merck introduced the MMR II, using a different strain of the rubella vaccine. In 1997 the FDA required Merck to conduct effectiveness testing of MMRII. Initially it was over 95%; to continue the license; Merck had to convince the FDA that the effectiveness stayed at a similar rate over the years.
“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.
I attended the IPE Film and Book Experience on Thursday July 18, 2016 and we watched a NOVA PBS documentary titled “Vaccines: Calling the Shots.” The members of my team and the college/profession they represent are listed below:
Polio is a viral disease. It cripples thousands of people and infects even more every year. Even though millions are inoculated, and the polio disease has been successfully purged from hundreds of countries still thousands of people and developing countries are infected and still people are dying. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) polio affects the Central Nervous System, or CNS; by infesting the intestines and transmitting it into the nerves thought the blood vessels. There the virus spreads through the nerve cells to the brain stem or other motor units, while forever damaging the nerves.
Mumps, Measles, Whooping Cough, Smallpox, Polio and, Diphtheria are all deadly diseases that were once a death sentence to children and adults around the world, but there is something that can help combat these fatal diseases. Vaccinations can change the course of these lethal diseases, but some families are still refusing to vaccinate the future of the world. Vaccinations can not only be beneficial to the child itself but to rest of humanity as well. There is evidence that goes against false claims bashing vaccination and the positive effects of vaccination overrule all of the negative. Vaccination can have a positive effect on the world due to its life-saving properties, effects on humanity and the extensive amount of safety and care that
For example, in China, the measles vaccine consisting of two doses was first introduced in the National Expanded Program on Immunization. The Zhejiang provincial EPI program noticed that measles was beginning to decrease due to the vaccine, while mumps and rubella was still spreading. This is when the MMR vaccine was introduced and implemented. By 2007 the second dose of MV was replaced by the MMR vaccine. Following this development the rate of measles reached a historical low in 2011 due to the vaccine produced by the EPI. Not only did the cases of measles decrease but so did the cases of rubella with the introduction of the combined vaccine (He, n.p.). Additionally, a record 9,120 cases of pertussis were reported in California in 2010 the most since 1947. A study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics was done to determine how this disease was spreading. Their results showed that among other factors the large amount of unvaccinated children in one area was a major contributor to the clusters of pertussis. There was a strong correlation between communities with a large number of unvaccinated children and pertussis outbreaks in California. This could have been avoided due to the fact that pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease. The importance of vaccines can be seen through the results of this study, which show that parents intentionally avoiding the
Childhood vaccinations have received a lot of media in the past few years, and parents continue to question whether or not they should have their children vaccinated. This topic is a very important issue because it seems to be a trend in our society where parents are not vaccinating their children. This then leads their children becoming more susceptible to unnecessary diseases/viruses that can be prevented with vaccines. The focus of the following articles was on the association of the specific vaccines measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), and vaccines containing thimerosal, which has been a speculated reason for the cause of autism. This contentious hypothesis has many parents failing to vaccinate their children; this is especially true of many friends and family members of mine. They believe that vaccines can cause autism, and I want to prove otherwise.
The MMR vaccine is administered between the ages of 12-15 months. When a child develops autism, their parents describe the disease as the child growing normally until they reach an age where a degenerative process starts. This problem usually happens around the age of 2 years. Although parents do say the child was growing normally, many researchers do not believe that the child was actually growing normally until the age of 1-2 years but some children do go through a degenerative process and this usually happens after the administration of MMR vaccine. The question is does MMR have a true relation with the development of autism or is it just a coincidence?
Scientists believe that MMR vaccines trigger a regressive form of autism, because the measles virus in the vaccine embeds itself in the intestine, causing some kind of reaction in the brain. Mercury, a chemical element, used in a lot of vaccines can be very dangerous. High levels of mercury can cause mercury poisoning, which can harm the brain, kidneys, heart, lungs, and the immune system. Some religions object to vaccines because of the ethical dilemma of using human tissue cells to make vaccines.
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...
Now it is rare for a child to get the measles. The decline in the disease has been attributed to vaccinations and their high success rate. According to ‘Childhood Vaccinations are Important for Public Health”, “by vaccinating we will make sure these 14 diseases will not become everyday events for our children.”. There are quite a few reasons why parents should not vaccinate their children. Some believe that it will cause harm to their children because of rumors.
Now, one vaccine in particular worries the anti-vaccers; the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella). The reason they think it is bad is because of its high mercury content, caus...
A prevailing argument that pro-voluntaristic individuals frequently make is that vaccines have the potential to be harmful to individuals; a primary motive behind this pertains to an alleged correlation that exists between thimerosal, a component of vaccines, and countless disorders including autism (Benjamin, 2003). According to Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, “When you take a look at the ever-increasing numbers of doses of vaccines babies have gotten over the past two decades and you see this corresponding rise in chronic disease and disability in our children, it is out of control” (Benjamin, 2003). Many speculated that the mercury contained within the thimerosal was to blame for this. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thimerosal contains a form of mercury known as ethylmercury that quickly evacuates the body and cannot cause adverse reactions unless exposure involves abnormally large doses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Nevertheless, a fair handful of United States citizens are medically unable to receive vaccines; for example, out of a billion people, nearly 250,000 possible vaccine reactions were documented