Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. Immunizations have been used since the 18th century to cure various deadly diseases, from smallpox to the influenza virus. On a global level, vaccination is one of the few cost-effective medical measures that result in universal benefit. Still, there have always been people opposed to vaccinations because of possible side effects. With the increase in technology and the ability to share ideas in modern society, the anti-vaccine movement has flourished, making the eradication of disease and safety of the public a difficult task. The anti-vaccine movement in the United States is one which brings about a very serious issue of safety. Vaccinations are put in place to protect people; they are administered …show more content…
Claiming that society saw decreases in disease not because of vaccination, but because of changes in health habits or societal changes. Supporters look at diseases and claim that, “Thanks to better hygiene, sanitation and nutrition, the rates of infection had already plummeted”. Supporters of the anti-vaccine movement claimed “instead of preventing disease, the vaccines caused it”. The CDC reports, with an inactivated vaccine, infection is not possible. Dead viruses do not cause disease. With live vaccines, some children get what appears to be a mild case of disease (for example, what looks like a measles or chickenpox rash, but with only a few spots). This isn’t harmful, and can actually show that the vaccine is working. Another argument for anti-vaccination is that vaccines expose children to toxins. Although this is true, the amount of toxins actually introduced to the body is not significant enough to be considered dangerous. Even water can be toxic, when given a large enough dose. But at a very low dose, even a highly toxic substance can be safe. For example, many adults have one of the most toxic substances known to humanity, Botox, injected into their face to reduce wrinkles. People are exposed to toxins every day in small amounts, such as: mercury, Formaldehyde, and Aluminium. People also misinterpret the actual ingredients in vaccines, which leads to irrational fears about side effects and toxins …show more content…
The outbreak, which originated in Disneyland, California at the end of 2014 has 141 new measles cases this year across 17 states and almost 650 cases last year. These numbers drastically differ from the estimated 70 cases per year between the years 2000 to 2012. The virus was spread by what the CDC has claimed, as a single individual who brought measles over to California from a trip outside the country and infected people once there. This is an example of how vaccination is not just to prevent oneself from disease but protect others as well. Inoculation could have prevented many of these people from getting sick if not all of them if the person who first contracted the disease was vaccinated. A study by the CDC shows that a person is 35 times more likely to contract measles if they are not vaccinated. The more people who are unvaccinated the easier it is for the measles virus to spread exponentially until it cannot be controlled. This event, although being controlled could foreshadow future outbreaks of people are not
“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 use of vaccinations has been a major topic in the news lately. The decision to or not to vaccinate your child is a decision that parents face each day. For some the decision is an easy one, a no-brainer. For others, it’s a very difficult one to make. People that are pro-vaccine believe that they are protecting their children and the future generations by vaccinating them against diseases that they could potentially get. People that are ant-vaccine believe that by choosing not to vaccinate, they are protecting their children and future generations from the serious side effects that they could potentially get from the vaccination.
Among the 34 secondary cases, 26 were household or close contacts, and eight were exposed in a community setting. Five of the California patients reported being in one or both of the two Disney theme parks during their exposure period outside of December 17–20, but their source of infection is unknown. In addition, 15 cases linked to the two Disney theme parks have been reported in seven other states: Arizona (seven), Colorado (one), Nebraska (one), Oregon (one), Utah (three), and Washington (two), as well as linked cases reported in two neighboring countries, Mexico (one) and Canada (10).” (Measles Outbreak, 2016). In California, 45% of the patients were unvaccinated, while 5% had one dose of the measles-containing vaccine, 6% had two doses, one had three doses, 43% had unknown or undocumented vaccination status. (Who Outbreak, 2016). Pointing out that almost half of the cases are in unvaccinated patients making it important that all received the measles vaccinations. Specimens from 30 California patients were genotyped; all were measles genotype B3, which has caused a large outbreak recently in the Philippines, but has also been detected in at least
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.
Vaccines have been used to prevent diseases for centuries, and have saved countless lives of children and adults. The smallpox vaccine was invented as early as 1796, and since then the use of vaccines has continued to protect us from countless life threatening diseases such as polio, measles, and pertussis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) assures that vaccines are extensively tested by scientist to make sure they are effective and safe, and must receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration before being used. “Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases due to the use of vaccines” (CDC, 2010). Routine immunization has eliminated smallpox from the globe and led to the near removal of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses.
During the 20th century, one of the greatest medical innovations was achieved, which was the vaccine. The vaccine used various chemicals and biological substances as a way of preparing the immune system for some sort of future infection, particularly by a virus, which are more difficult to treat than bacteria. However, since the time of its use, vaccines have been under constant scrutiny, especially when some of them were mandated by the government for entry into school. Nevertheless, even though some disagree with the policy of mandatory vaccinations, these vaccines are an ethical way of ensuring the safety of individuals.
This can be seen in the article Vaccine Controversies by Jane Lemons. “Public health officials say refusing to follow vaccine protocols allows diseases to spread rapidly as happened in December 2014 when a measles outbreak began at Disney Land and spread to seven states.” The measles outbreak from 2014 could have easily been avoided if all children who entered the park were indeed vaccinated. If the majority of children were vaccinated there would have been no possible way for the disease to spread. While it can't be denied, A lot of families do choose to vaccinate their children, there are still some who don't, this is seen in the article Vaccine Controversies by Jane Lemons. Although the vast majority of Americans continue to vaccinate their children, studies have found that as many as 1 in 10 parents are delaying or forgoing some or a; recommended vaccines for their children. Because some parents are delaying or forgoing all vaccinations more children are at risk of going under the influence of a fatal disease that could cut their lives too short. Fatal diseases have the ability to spread at unthinkable rates and vaccinations are used to combat these deadly diseases but if families refuse to vaccinate their children once fatal diseases could return at epidemic
Through the years, controversy has surrounded vaccinations such as, whether or not they have harmful side-affects, are a government scheme, or simply unnecessary. Parents today have a choice whether or not to vaccinate their children, but should vaccinations be choice? By mandating vaccinations, fewer people are likely to contract diseases. Although vaccines have been subject to scrutiny, vaccines have worked for many years, are not harmful, and use safe ingredients.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed immunizations as the number one greatest public health achievement in the 20th century. This attainment towards the goal of health and safety is a huge success for not only our country but from the global perspective as well. Immunizations help to prevent illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. The World Health Organization states that global vaccination coverage has remained consistent for the past few years; for example, the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis has held secure at 83%. Programs for population-wide vaccinations have helped with the annihilation of polio in America since the late 1970’s, the eradication of smallpox, and the control of numerous other infectious diseases in the United States and other parts of the world.
First of all the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine is highly fast and effective. Measles are very contagious when an infected person sneezes or coughs, the germs stay in the air for 2 hours and someone is uninfected and walks in it then they are infected with Measles. In the article “10 things to know about measles” by Andrew Bridges, the author why how measles are very contagious and one person can start an outbreak. elaborates ten things that the everyday person to know about measles the texts states that “ Some people had caught the measles while in another country.Unfortunately, once back in the United States, they reminded infectious. And spread the virus. It is likely one (or more) such travelers visited the Disneyland parks in December. They triggered the major 2015 outbreak.” This explains why parents around the world need to do their part,
Vaccinations are not as dangerous as people make them seem, but not getting vaccinated is. Frances Childs states that “as the number of children who have not been immunized increases, so, too, does the likelihood of measles spreading”. Immunizations work by injecting a small amount of the virus into the patient (both children and adults). The patient’s immune system then builds up antibodies to fight against the virus, thus building immunity against the disease much more effectively. Vaccinations have a 90-100 percent chance of success.
Disney Land is the source of dreams and imagination for our family members and our beloved friends. Since 1995 people from California and all over have flocked to this expensive amusement park, to not only experience a place “where dreams are made of”, but also to create memories with the ones closest to you. A park that has hosted and entertained more than 515 million guests, and has placed a special and warm area in our heart, has also placed something else in some of our bodies; the measles. Measles is highly contagious and can be spread through the air without physical contact. Infection usually begins with a fever followed by a cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis and a rash.
“The Real Issues in Vaccine Safety”, written by Roberta Kwok, provides a discussion on the topic of vaccine safety. It provides information regarding real safety issues specific to vaccination and also mentions the false safety concerns that have been topic of public concern. It provides a discussion on how the false vaccine risks can make it difficult for the scientific community to evaluate actual risks. It mentions that vaccine manufactures are “victims of their own success” (Kwok, 2011) largely due to how safe vaccines have become. It does this by discussing the low risk rates for contracting the disease the vaccine is attempting to prevent and how few cases of contraction of disease cause public outcry. The article also discusses other potential side effects to vaccinations and the frequency of these side effects. It touches on the need for speed in identifying certain side effects so that their correlation to the administration of the vaccine can be ...
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.
A recent case, in 2014, Disneyland had an outbreak of 40 cases of measles even though the disease was believed to be nearly abolished. This outbreak spread to over a dozen other states (Measles 2016). A majority of the people who were affected