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The Use of Vaccines

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THE USE OF VACCINES

Vaccines have been considered instrumental in making the world a healthier environment for children and adults alike; however, vaccines do impose some health risks. It is important for all parents to consider both the benefits and risks of vaccines when deciding whether or not to have a child vaccinated. Vaccines are made up of products that stimulate a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. They are usually administered through needle injections by mouth or sprayed into the nose. They are made up of small amounts of weakened or dead versions of bacteria, viruses, or other antigens that stimulate the immune system to create antibodies that prevent future infections from the disease. There are fourteen vaccine-preventable diseases that are considered potentially serious and have been routinely vaccinated against; these are: Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Meningococcal, Rotavirus, Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Polio, Hepatitis A and B, Pneumococcal disease, Varicella (Chicken Pox), and Haemophilus Influenza Type B (HIB disease). Not long ago, these diseases disabled and killed millions of American children but because of the United States high compliance with childhood immunization schedules, these diseases have now become very uncommon (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). Immunization is a subject that evokes very strong opinions in the public and usually creates a lot of debate as to their efficacy, safety, and reliability. The main questions parents have to answer are whether to immunize or not, and do the risks of the disease outweigh the risks of the vaccine. To condense, some normal advantages of being immunized are the entire eradication of specific illnesses, the prevention of epidemics and a decline in the

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