The Pros And Cons Of Vaccines

Vaccinations
In the United States, a study in 2011 found that 57% of people who do not vaccinate their children say that they have concerns about autism (Levs). The anti-vaccination movement has gained traction in the past couple of years, with more and more parents not vaccinating. The first vaccine was developed way back in 1796, and the polio vaccine was made in 1950, which helped start to eradicate one of the deadliest diseases in the world. This sudden distrust of vaccinations has not come up suddenly in the past few years. It has been developing due to to massive misinformation surrounding vaccinations. Medical professionals need to educate people on vaccinations by spreading information such as giving information to parents about vaccinations, disproving the idea that vaccines cause autism, and educating people of the risks of not vaccinating.
In the age of technology, access to

information is more readily available than ever, but also access to faulty information or straight out false information is available too.

Vaccinations are one of the worst offenders, with facebook pages, websites, tweets, and posts around the world giving information to people about vaccinations instead of doctors. This has gotten as bad that in 1966, nearly three fourths (73%) of Americans said they had great confidence in the leaders of the medical profession. In 2012, only 34% expressed this view (Blendon). Doctors and medical professionals need to rebuild the trust between patient and doctor in order to make the public more aware on what vaccines really are. Doctors can achieve this by when the time to vaccinate comes up, they have a sit down with the parents and talk about what exactly is in the

vaccination and what it’s exactly protecting against. Many people, worry when they hear that usually harmful chemicals such as mercury is in vaccinations. The truth is, in the flu shot for example, there's only 25 micrograms of mercury per 0.5 mL. That’s the roughly the same amount of mercury that is in a 3 ounce can of tuna fish (Center). If doctors were more clear about information like the ingredients that make up the vaccination, it would help lower the panic of vaccinating. This can also be achieved by holding classes and inquiries for parents who are concerned and placing pamphlets in the office for people waiting in the office to notice and read. This, along paired with doctors being honest and open about patient’s questions, will rebuild the trust to doctors and also undermine the effect this harmful information about vaccinations online that people have.
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield, along with 12 co-authors, published a study in Lancet, a science magazine, that claimed that MMR vaccines were linked to causing autism. This caused many people to start refusing vaccinations, which spiraled into the anti-vaxx movement we have today. This study, though, later on after people pointed out the flaws in the study, most of the co-authors of the study retracted the interpretation in the paper, and in 2010, The Lancet formally retracted the paper itself (“Do”). Retracted means that the information found in the study has been disproven and should not be seen as an actual source of valid information. Even though this information has long been since disproven, once a study gets out, people tend to keep on believing it. This is what happened with this; many parents refuse to vaccinate because they think there is evidence that vaccines to in fact cause autism. Doctors and medical professionals can combat this by informing people that the study isn't true, and instead showing and supporting much more well-researched and evidence based studies instead that prove the opposite. Sites can also be made that act as a resource, informing the public about how the study has been disproven and instead link to credible, supported studies through there.
Vaccines were created in order to combat diseases, protecting the public’s health and well being. The unvaccinated poses a threat to this. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is something children are usually protected against, but recent large outbreaks of pertussis—in Arizona in 1988, California in 2010 and 2014, Washington in 2012, and Oregon in 2012—included a large number of children who were unvaccinated or undervaccinated (i.e., those who have received fewer than the recommended dose of vaccine) (Meyer). Whooping cough/pertussis is dangerous to children, especially infants, because it can stop their breathing and choke them to death. Children who are unvaccinated can also face other diseases no child in the 21st century should face, like measles. Doctors need to be more aggressive in telling patients the dangers of not vaccinating. Showing videos and documentaries about diseases that are prevented from vaccinating to patients, and how they affect people, can make people see the reality of pre-vaccination and the impact of these diseases on the public. While many people can be immune, not everyone is, so unvaccinated can still pass on these dangerous diseases.
Doctors and medical professionals need to regain the trust of people in order to keep people vaccinating by being more informative and disproving common myths about vaccinations. Every day, new vaccinations are being developed, researched, or improved. If this anti-vaxx movement keeps on continuing on, these vaccinations will continue to be seen as something they are not. Vaccines have done so much for humankind, and to turn back on vaccinations now is foolish and dangerous. In order to ensure the best future, vaccinations must continue.