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The debate over vaccinations
Negative effects of vaccination
Causes and effects of vaccination
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Recommended: The debate over vaccinations
Imagine an outbreak, one of the most infectious viruses that thrives most in adolescents or infants, lets say the measles, happens in your hometown. Presumably, you and your family are all safe, for you have all been immunized. But your neighbor’s child (for now, lets say Tim) has yet to get vaccinated, and his parents refuse. Tim’s parents have strict moral values, which infringe on his ability to get the medication he genuinely needs. They believe vaccinations cause autism, vaccines do more harm than good, and by not immunizing, their kids build up a stronger immunity. Aside from the paranoia and false side effects vaccines cause, they can help to build up your immune system and are a necessary part in a normal, functioning, individual’s life.
Why are vaccinations an important part of modern medicine? because without them, diseases like mumps, measles, chicken pox, rotavirus, meningitis, and many more can spread easily and again become a problem. Without the child becoming exposed to attenuated viruses at an earlier age, their body’s immune system will not know how to defend itself, and symptoms will be a lot more drastic. Vaccinations cause autism in adolescents? it has never been proven scientifically through years of research; Fraudulent data has always been the outcome.
It’s certainly true that vaccinating your child at an early age is very risky, and can cause them to get very sick. But while concerned parents are in fear of their child’s health, it is also true that “all living things are subject to attack from disease causing agents (“Human”). Otherwise put, your child will get sick no matter how protective you are of him or her. The immune system is designed to target, fight, and destroy foreign substances of the bod...
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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
“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.
The controversy concerning parents vaccinating their children has been a debate for many years. A vaccination is an injection of a weakened or killed organism that produces immunity in the body against that organism. In further detail: when germs such as bacteria or viruses, invade the body, they attack and multiply. This is then called an infection (an infection is what produces illness). When the immune system realizes, it then must fight back the infection with antibodies that the human body produces against the foreign substance. Once the infection is fought off, the body is left with a supply of cells that help recognize and fight off that specific disease in the future. Vaccinations
Through the rise of technological advances in medicine, the vaccine has changed the world for the greater good of the human race. Making a great triumph and virtually eliminating an array of life-threatening diseases, from smallpox to diphtheria, thus adding approximately thirty years to many humans’ life spans. Although, a new complication has arisen, possibly linking neurological digression with this rise of new vaccines. Such a digression has forced parents to exempt their children from receiving vaccinations and brought forth mental anguish affecting the minds of many.
Vaccinations prevent deadly diseases from spreading but if parents neglect to immunize their child they are at a greater risk of contracting a fatal disease and spreading it to other people. Other parents who neglect vaccinations do so in fear that their child will fall ill or develop autism because of important diseases but there is an extensive amount of safety and care that goes into vaccines before they are released to the public ensuring they are safe for use. Another problem that could occur due to parents refusing vaccination is fatal diseases of the past could rise again causing mass death and illness of others. Immunization has affected the world in many different ways, it has protected new youth and has saved the lives of many generations. Without vaccination, the world population would drop significantly. Immunization has affected the world by protecting the world's youth and the population as a whole. Without these crucial vaccinations, the world would not be the same and as healthy as it is now. Mumps, Measles, Whooping Cough, Smallpox, Polio and, Diphtheria are all diseases that were once death sentences are now combated by vaccinations that are saving lives of everyone around the
The correlation exists because some children developed signs of autism shortly after being vaccinated. However, the only real relationship between the two is the timing of early childhood vaccinations and the first appearance of symptoms of autism (“Top 20 Questions”). Unfortunately, because of this many parents choose not to get their children vaccinated. This leads to many children facing serious illnesses and possibly infecting others, because parents believe the illness is less of a risk compared to ASD even though there is no proof. A 2013 CDC study added to the research showing that vaccines do not cause autism spectrum disorder. The study looked at the number of antigens from vaccines during the first two years of life. The results showed that the total amount of antigen from vaccines received was the same between children with ASD and those that did not have ASD (Knopf). This shows that although it is not a proven fact that vaccines cause autism it is very unlikely. Therefore, parents should ensure that their children are vaccinated because they have nothing to fear. Vaccines are only beneficial to the child's
The reason health care professionals stress the importance of protecting your children early in life is because that’s when they’re at their most vulnerable. Some parents and even pediatricians will allow for alternative immunization schedules or even waiting for the child to get older before giving them the expected immunizations.
According to the CDC, all vaccines carry a risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) in about one per million children. Most vaccine-preventable diseases can cause serious or life-threatening infections in infants and young children. For example, exposure and infection with polio can occur at a very young age and can cause paralysis, so the vaccine should be given to infants as soon as possible. People should be aware of what vaccines are capable of doing other than saving lives, because of the life threatening effects, the harmful ingredients, and vaccines are unnatural. Vaccines are not just a poke into a person’s body.
Vaccines are a controversial topic. While there are many benefits to getting vaccinated, there are also some concerns. The benefits include immunization against many deadly diseases, debilitating diseases, and other simply annoying diseases. The concerns include everything from fears about vaccines causing autism, feeling they aren’t necessary for what they cost, and contracting the disease from the vaccines. While certain concerns may be valid, others are much less so, and will be examined and explained why I would choose to vaccinate my child.
The Frontline video “The Vaccine Wars” aims to convince doubting parents and anti-vaccine groups and associations that the benefits of vaccines highly outweigh the detriments through facts, scientific research, and the take of several specialists on the issue. The problem arrives as PBS attempts to do so while creating an unfair equity between two non-equally warranted positions (pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine), starting from the title “War”; which I will later discuss in more detail. By the most part, the documentary presented facts about vaccines, trying to avoid opinion and anecdotal experience, which seems to be the safeguard of so many anti-vaccines activists. The show was structured, mainly, in several interviews with professionals in
This means children receive more than one vaccination for every time they arrive at the pediatrics office. Many parents question if too many vaccinations overwhelm a child’s immune system. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), no evidence suggests that the recommended childhood vaccinations can “overload” the immune system. In contrast, when infants are born, they are exposed to bacteria and viruses. Eating food introduces new bacteria to the digestive system. Most microorganisms cause no problems. Many found in the digestive system produce life- sustaining nutrients, which are essential for good health. When infants play with toys, they are also introducing new bacteria and viruses to their body. According to Brody, when a child puts things in their mouth, they are allowing their immune system to explore the environment. Not only does this allow for practice of the immune responses, but it plays a crucial role in teaching the mature immune system response to what is best ignored. Infant immune systems easily handle weakened or killed vaccine antigens (immunization). Therefore, vaccinations are little compared to what children face every
Due to the rise of this controversy, the government wants to intervene in order to provide safety from this disease to all the American people. Even though the measles may be at bay for now, some fear for the future cases in which the disease may mutate into a stronger one. This panic has caused “State Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, recently proposed Senate Bill 277 to eliminate this exemption, which was created to allow people to opt out of vaccination for religious reasons” (Nordrum). However he withdrew his proposal after opponents had criticized that this bill could “force the state’s many unvaccinated children to either be immediately vaccinated or leave the public school system” (Nordrum). Not only has an attempt by a Senator has been
Each day researchers are finding out about vaccines and are realizing that there are a lot more risks than benefits. Dr Phillip F. Incao explains: “Today, far more children suffer from allergies and other chronic immune system disorders than from life-threatening infectious disease. It is neither reasonable nor prudent to persist in presuming that the benefits of any vaccination outweigh its risk” (qtd in Spaker). While infectious diseases are becoming uncommon there is no need for any person to get vaccinated. There have been many issues surrounding vaccinations all around the world.
Vaccines against diphtheria, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella, and more recent additions of hepatitis B and chicken pox, have given humans powerful immune guards to ward off unwelcome sickness. And thanks to state laws that require vaccinations for kids enrolling in kindergarten, the U.S. presently enjoys the highest immunization rate ever at 77%. Yet bubbling beneath these national numbers is the question about vaccine safety. Driven by claims that vaccinations can be associated with autism, increasing number of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines are in fact harmful to children, instead of helpful (Park, 2008).
Those who choose not to vaccinate their children are endangering the health of those unable to be vaccinated themselves, such as infants, pregnant people, and the immunocompromised, by jeopardizing community immunity. According to vaccine.gov, a federal government website managed by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, community immunity or “herd immunity” occurs when “a critical portion of the community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak” (Community Immunity). An infographic featured in an NPR article entitled “How Vaccine Fears Fueled the Resurgence of Preventable Diseases” illustrated the rise in measles cases in Western Europe and of pertussis (whooping cough) cases in the U.S (Doucleff). In the first eight months of 2014, there were eighteen measles outbreaks, and six hundred cases of measles. This is incredibly dangerous because outbreaks give these diseases the opportunity to evolve and become resistant to vaccines, putting even vaccinated children at risk (Harmon). Parents making the decision not to vaccinate are doing so out of a place that all parents share: a desire to keep their children healthy. However, these anti-vaxxers are basing their decision not on