Are Vaccinations Safe for the Children?

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The question all parents have been chattering about, are vaccinations safe for their children? A vaccine is an injection of a killed or weakened infectious organism in order to prevent a disease. The injection works to stimulate the body's immune system so it can be recognized as foreign, then be destroyed, and "remembered" , so that the antibodies in the immune system can easily recognize and destroy any microorganisms that it later comes across. An antibody is a protein found in the blood. It is produced in response to foreign substances like viruses or bacteria, invading the body. Antibodies do the job of protecting the body from disease by clinging to these organisms and abolishing them.

Vaccines are given for many reasons. Most importantly because they can save your child’s life. Because of the miraculous advances in medical science, children are being protected against more and more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that had once injured or even killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely. Others are close to extinction, due to safe and effective vaccines. One example of vaccine that has eliminated an illness is the polio disease in the United States. Polio, once America’s most-feared disease, that caused death and paralysis across the country has had no reports in the United States thanks to vaccinations.

There are several childhood diseases in Massachusetts that require vaccinations. Hepatitis B requires 3 doses for child care attendance and preschool entry, kindergarten-12th grade, and college. However, laboratory proof of immunity is acceptable. Varicella requires 1 dose for child care attendance and preschool entry. For kindergarten-grade 3, grade 7-10, and college freshmen-seniors and a...

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...red by insurance. Lastly, immunization helps protect future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled thousands of people just a few generations ago. For example, smallpox vaccination abolished that disease worldwide. Children don’t have to get smallpox shots any more because the disease no longer exists. By vaccinating children against rubella,or German measles, the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their newborn has dramatically decreased, and all of the birth defects associated with that specific virus are no longer seen in the US. To conclude, I am in favor of parents vaccinating their children before kindergarten. If vaccinations continue, parents in the future may be able to learn that many diseases of today will no longer be around to harm their children in the future.

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