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Ethical dilemma in vaccinations
Vaccines in our society
Ethical dilemma in vaccinations
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In old human civilization, the only way to recover from sickness or disease was to use natural treatment to cure and if the disease is really new and is so deadly, then death is the only option. However, today we have vaccines which are the treatment in preventing virus, bacteria, or other sicknesses. But even if we have vaccines, some people still refuse to use it. Why? There are so many reasons for this which explains why people refuse to use vaccines. One of the reasons is it side effects. Vaccines reliability decrease because of its side effects such as autism, fever, or death. One example can be seen in DTP vaccine which is one of the deadly vaccines that contain many side effects such as high fever, brain damaged, fainting, or sometime death. DTP vaccine is a vaccine which uses to cure diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis which is a common disease found among children and adult. There are two ways of how peoples think of vaccines. These two ways are called cultural and social factor. Cultural factor concern with reason about religion or cultural believes. While social factor concern with the scientific explanations or facts.
There are so many scientific evidences which prove both of the advantages and disadvantages of the vaccines but some people choose to stick to the idea of cultural factor which is religion or morality. Some evidences can be seen in Islam and Judaism which believe that some type of animals are unclean and refuse to use vaccine which come from part of that animal. Example can be seen in DTaP (Tripedia) which contains gelatin, a chemical ingredient derived from pigs. Some other evidences can also be seen in Rubella vaccine which was created using human fetuses’ tissue taken from the ab...
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Five Month-Old Baby Dies Just Days After 8 Vaccinations – Parents Are Charged With Her Murder. n.d. 27 November 2013 .
Lisa. DTP vaccinations? 2010. 20 November 2013 .
Mnookin, Seth. The whole cell pertussis vaccine, media malpractice, and the long-term effects of avoiding difficult conversations. 13 September 2012. 20 November 2013 .
The Science Behind Herd Immunity – And an Extension to GMOs? 12 March 2012. 26 November 2013 .
Vaccine safety is one of the most controversial topics in today’s public discourse. Everyone has heard of them, but few know why they are so encouraged. A vaccine contains a weak or dead version of a microbe. This creates a small scale invasion of the immune system, which activates cells to destroy the microbe. Once these cells have been made they are always there to provide protection. This protection is immunity, for those cells are then able to recognize any live version of the same microbe and attack it immediately. This can save lives but also be dangerous, vaccines carry many other components which can cause side effects. These could be simple adverse effects such as a small cold or, in the rare case,
“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.
Susie O’Brien starts of the article by asking the question, “HOW many dead babies will it take to make anti-vaccinators wake up and realise they are killing other people’s precious, loved infants with their ignorance and selfishness?” Straight away the reader understands that the author is strongly against those who don’t want to vaccinate their children. In the past six years 12 babies have died from
Vaccination was first introduced globally for small pox and later on extended to other communicable diseases which are now known as vaccine preventable disease. Vaccination is beneficial both for individuals and community. This bring us to the ethical dilemma - Vaccination of a healthy child with the intention of protecting both the individual child and the community at the same time exposing the child to the theoretical risk of exposure to disease products whether live, attenuated or killed. There was a time when people never questioned the government or their physicians. Now because of more public awareness and accessibility to medical information, they are questioning the safety aspects of vaccines.
Offit, P. (2011). Deadly choices: how the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all. New York, NY: Basic Books.
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.
Vaccines work. They have kept infants healthy and have saved millions of lives for more than 50 years. Most childhood vaccines are 90% to 99% effective in preventing disease so why would you keep such an advantage away from your child? “ Vaccines are made with a tiny amount of dead or weakened germs. They help the immune system learn how to protect itself against disease. Vaccines are a safe and effective way to keep your child from getting very sick from the real disease.” (healthycanadians.gc.ca).When the word vaccination comes to mind the first thing that should come to our minds is life saving, helpful, and beneficial. Unfortunately not all people would think positively when it comes to vaccinations, they think of the worst that could happen. I understand they want to know the cons to getting the vaccine for their infant, but information can show you that pros outweigh the cons. Vaccinations can not only protect an infant but it goes as far as saving their lives. Society has a strong influence on people 's decisions. In this case society and parental beliefs get in the way of infants well beings.
Since Edward Jenner’s first inoculation of the smallpox virus science has made leaps and bounds in the development of vaccines. Today the CDC recommends at least 16 vaccines for children. Through vaccines and crowd immunization we have eradicated polio and smallpox. There is no doubt that vaccines have helped human life grow and develop. However, there are growing concerns about side effects of vaccines. There are groups of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Groups like this have lead to outbreaks of diseases we have not seen in decades. While there are those who doubt the efficiency of vaccines it is clear that vaccines are our only option to eradicate disease.
The history of vaccinations does not begin with the first vaccination itself but rather an infectious disease that had greatly affected the human population. In 1796 Edward Jenner created a successful composition using cowpox material that created immunity to the ongoing growth of the small pox disease. Jenner’s method underwent 200 years of medical and technological changes until it had finally resulted in complete elimination of the smallpox disease. Vaccinations have been a controversial medical topic for many years and although it is proven to be an effective means of preventing serious effects, including fatalities from childhood illnesses the controversy remains that the side effects from the immunizations outweigh the risk of contracting the disease. According to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia they state that “innovative techniques now drive vaccine research, with recombinant DNA technology and new delivery techniques leading scientist in new directions. Disease targets have expanded, and some vaccine research is beginning to focus on non-infectious conditions, such as addictions and allergies” (“The History of Vaccines” College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Web. 10 January. 2014). While public health officials insist that vaccines are the best way to protect public health. Over the past thirty years the vaccination schedule has tripled and since then there has been an alarming rise in the infant mortality rate in America. The problem is not the vaccination itself, but the quality of the vaccination.
Vaccines have many disadvantages, which justify a parent’s right to chose if they want to take the risk of vaccinating their child or not. The leader of a family, not the leader of a nation, should make this choice. The diseases and disabilities caused by vaccines are too substantial to ignore. More solid, long-term research should be done before they are deemed safe and mandatory. The innocent civilians who lost their lives in this war against disease are the biggest reasons of why the weapons of choice, vaccines, should be reevaluated.
diseases, many of which are deadly. Some people seem to think vaccine side effects can cause
Every year there are millions of children, teens, and adults who receive vaccinations. Vaccines date back in history as early as 1000 A.D. The Chinese experimented with vaccinations such as cowpox, similar to smallpox, which were eventually eliminated. There are a variety of different ingredients in vaccines. A large number of the public do not want to vaccinate themselves or their children because they are not aware of what is all in the vaccine they are receiving. Parents fear getting vaccinated will make them or their children sick, and it could leave them or their children with permanent disorders. Vaccines are put through various tests and experiments to assure they are safe before being administered to the public. There are some studies that show autism could be linked to vaccines. Multiple vaccines require more than one dose, and some vaccines require one to receive a booster as children are aging. There are some shots which have adverse side effects that come with
Some religions object vaccines because of the ethical dilemma of using human tissue cells to make vaccines. For example, the Catholic Church understands the importance of vaccines and the protection of individual health, but they believe members should find an alternative other than vaccines. Catholics generally rely on prayer for vaccines and believe that medical inventions such as vaccines are irrelevant. Catholic religion as well as Mormonism are both against abortion which means they are against vaccines that use human cells derived from aborted fetuses. Religions like Christianity believe that our body is like a temple that houses the holy spirt and we should not pollute it with vaccines. For example, a vaccine is a manmade invention used to alter our immune system to protect us from disease, and the immune system is a gift from God that protects our body from diseases. So when we trust in vaccines in which are made by humans we are saying that God didn’t make us right and so we need to correct him. By doing that we are questioning God and that is against Christianity. Another religion that has historically been against vaccines is Jehovah Witnesses, because they believe the human body is sacred and whatever kind of disease you have is a gift from God and you should not contaminate your body with other human/
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.
Despite the important and positive benefits of vaccinations, some people believe that vaccinating their children can cause serious health problems. Psychological, social, and cultural factors can also play a role in the parents’ decision in whether or not they wish to vaccinate their child (M. Ruijs., 2012). I feel that is it personal responsibility of all parents to vaccinate their children. Despite any pain or discomfort that a child may experience from the given injections, vaccinations are in the best interest of the child. It is very important to vaccinate children as it will protect them against many serious and potentially fatal diseases. Vaccinations are fast acting, harmless to the recipient, and extremely effective.