...surfacing again. Vaccines stimulate the making of antibodies and provide immunity to certain diseases such as Tetanus and Influenza. Once a child is born, specially during his first years, a series of injections are suggested by the pediatrician due to the fact that they can prevent health problems later on. However lately there is a debate among parents on whether the vaccines actually help protect against the disease or aid the surfacing of it. How much of this debate is fed by the media and what are the true facts about vaccines? Although vaccines can have side effects and difficulties, it can greatly reduce diseases and death's making the positive effects outweight the negative. This controversial debate was brought to my attention when I heard the different cases of Measles that started in Disney at California. As I watched the news broadcast in NBC I was suddenly thankful for all the vaccines that I had when I was a child. The story of the outbreak revolves around the spread of a disease because people weren't vaccinated. "The United States has already had more cases of measles in the first month of 2015 than the number that is typically diagnosed in a full year." (Corum, Keller, Park, Tse 2). This is a huge deal and a fact that is fueling the debate between whether people should or should not vaccinate their kids. Vaccines actually do have side effects that might be why some parents doubt whether they should submit their child to them. For example the vaccine for chicken...
Words: 1275 - Pages: 6
...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...
Words: 1426 - Pages: 6
...get their vaccines for the upcoming school year. Why? Required by state, from the minute the child is born until they graduate from high school, the child must have a certain number of vaccines in order to attend school. The Centers for Disease Control recommends getting 29 doses of 9 vaccines, plus a yearly flu shot after six months old, for kids aged 0 to six. No United States federal laws mandate vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Most states offer medical and religious exemptions; and some states allow philosophical exemptions. Proponents say that vaccinations are...
Words: 1201 - Pages: 5
..."Do parents have a right to withhold vaccines from their children for philosophical reasons, or should parents be forced to have their children immunized for the good of society?" Thesis statement: “Since vaccines have been invented, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the belief whether parents should immunize their children for the benefit of the society or withhold vaccines for personal reasons”. Introduction: It is inevitable that media, especially tabloids and articles play a big role in shaping the beliefs, practices and norms of the society. Immunization, which is also known as vaccination is one of the most controversial debates that evokes different opinions among the general public. Since vaccines have been invented, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the belief whether parents should immunize their children for the benefit of the society or withhold vaccines for personal reasons. During the last couple of months, the Disneyland Measles outbreak has been one of the hottest and most controversial news in the nation. According to writer and news announcer Rath of National Public Relations (2015), it was reported that since December 2014, roughly 80 people in the Unites States have been confirmed to have measles. Seventy percent of the affected individuals were allegedly the ones who visited the Disneyland theme park. It was discovered that at least 28 of these victims had not received the measles vaccine. Because of this heartbreaking news...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
...cough, measles and mumps have been eradicated in the United States since in most cases a vaccine provides protection for the rest of their lives, but nowadays these diseases that were eradicated in the US are coming back because some parents are skipping their children’s shots. This video shows how parents are afraid of what vaccines can do to their kids. In the video a mom says, “You are injecting a substance into your child, so I think it's very natural to wonder whether that substance might actually be doing harm.” And I agree with her, parents should know what substance is being injected...
Words: 805 - Pages: 4
...the rumors and misinformation surrounding the vaccines used. Immunization: Risks vs Benefits In the world we live in today, the incidence of serious or deadly disease still remains, and just because the U.S. has not had a pandemic recently, the possibilities of a disease of epic proportions is basically only a plane ride away. It is very important to be educated and informed about immunization, the risks versus benefits, so that we can be wise and immunize. Immunization Benefits Immunization against deadly diseases has been a hot topic for many years, and the public needs to be informed on both the benefits and risks that are associated with the vaccines, so that all people can make a well informed decision on whether or not to vaccinate. There seems to be many misconceptions about the vaccines, but the cold, hard, truth is that immunization prevents illness, disability, and death from vaccine preventable diseases such as: polio, diphtheria, pneumonia, rubella, tetanus, pertussis, measles, and rotavirus diarrhea. About 22.4 million infants did not receive the diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis vaccines in 2011. More than 70% of these children live in ten countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Ethiopia, India, and Indonesia. (“ WHO World Immunization Week,” 2014) Disease Control Approximately two hundred years after the discovery of vaccine by English Physician Edward Jenner,...
Words: 843 - Pages: 4
...science has come a long way. Vaccines are used to try to provide an immunity against diseases and to act as an antigen. Vaccines are responsible for many successes such as the decrease in diseases such as Polio, however vaccines are also responsible for failures and cause much protest within our communities. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 28 doses of 10 vaccines for kids aged 0 to six (“Should Any Vaccines”). However, No US federal laws exist that makes vaccinations...
Words: 1055 - Pages: 5
...More than any other matter, the question of issues stirs among the battle of vaccines. Since the 1980’s, the quantity of vaccinations that children most receive has doubled, and in that same time autism diagnoses have tripled. Studies have shown that some children have suffered from both autism like developmental disorders and intestinal symptoms that include inflammation, pain and bloating. It has been reported kids started showing signs of autism days after getting the MMR vaccine. With this said, cases established a link between vaccines and autism implying that exposure to the measles virus could be a causal factor to children’s autism. This has alarmed parents to begin to question whether they should immunize their children or not. There are many people who feel that the immunizations do more harm than good. These same people believe that the diseases for which vaccinations are given are not something that they have to worry about. They believe that these issues have been gone for so long that there would be no chance of them coming back in full force. Next, Vaccinations have also long been the subject of various ethical controversies. The main ethical debates related to vaccine regulation, developmental and the usage of research and testing along with parents to be forced upon mandates of governmental laws for school attendance and enrollment. Many argue this comes into their right of religious and philosophical viewpoints with arising conflicts all around. For instance...
Words: 569 - Pages: 3
...Vaccinations is a process where a person is injected with a substance to make them immune to a disease. Diseases that can make you sick, disabled or even kill you. Most vaccines contain the disease that it is trying to protect you from by building up your immune system to help you fight it if you ever come across the real thing. Many parents of an autistic child blame the condition on vaccines being the direct and only cause. Often, many of those parents have no real concrete evidence to support their claim. Those parents usually are just reading blogs of parents who are facing the same issue. Over the past decade many parents face the hard decision on whether they want to vaccine their child or not. Jenny McCarthy said, “If you ask...
Words: 1125 - Pages: 5
..."MMMM d, y" November 18, 2013 Vaccine Debate Paper The doctors of today use vaccines to give an artificial immunity to certain pathogens. A vaccine is a weakened or dead pathogen injected into the body. Vaccines are used to expose our immune systems to pathogens so we can create memory cells. When a pathogen from a vaccine is injected into the body the our primary immune response still takes place so this is how we make memory cells. These memory cells will be ready to fight the pathogen if it ever reappears. Vaccines have become apart of our everyday fight against pathogens. Now even though a vaccination shot stings/hurts there are many pros or benefits for getting a vaccine. For example vaccines can eradicate disease while preventing serious illness or death. Vaccinated children have been proven to have lesser symptoms than those of unvaccinated children. Vaccines have caused a decrease in epidemics like the bubonic plague and pandemics like the swine flu. The costs of vaccinations are inexpensive compared to treating diseases after you get them. The best thing about vaccinations is that you don’t have to experience the full symptoms of the disease to gain immunity. While there are many pros to getting a vaccination there are also a few cons. For example before 1999 the vaccines had mercury in them which has been proved to be a neurotoxin to infants. Vaccine immunity might not be as effective as natural immunity. Maybe all of the vaccines that we inject overload the immune...
Words: 475 - Pages: 2
...2017 Mandating Vaccines for Children There are many issues that revolve around mandating vaccines, some of those ideas are the personal medical choices that people want to make for themselves, the issue of infringing upon protected religious freedoms people have, and the government intervening on those choices. Some of these ideas have been very public recently, and are what most people think about when discussing the topic of mandating vaccines. One of the most controversial topics in the United States currently is whether or not to mandate vaccines for children. This subject brings up many public health issues, and it is a hard topic to argue due to constitutionally protected rights....
Words: 1447 - Pages: 6
...Vaccinations are a topic of great debate in the United States. Some of this debate generates positive discussion about vaccines, their safety, and why they are an important factor in public health. However, other discussions help to spread false information. The anti-vaccination movement in particular has detracted from the public’s ability to truly understand the benefits of vaccines. It is important to be vaccinated in order to protect their own health, the health of those in their community, and to prevent potential spread of diseases internationally. Vaccines relate to personal health in that they work to protect a person from dangerous and even deadly diseases. The weakened pathogens present in vaccines provoke an immune response when...
Words: 470 - Pages: 2
... Advances in science and how vaccines are developed have greatly reduced many diseases that at one time spread like wildfire throughout the United States. “Because of the success of vaccines, most young people have never seen the devastating effects that diseases such as polio, measles, or whooping cough (pertussis) can have on a family or community” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). However, diseases such as polio and measles, which were once thought to be extinguished here in the United States, are now making a comeback due to parents refusing to vaccinate their children. Parents are able to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children, and many are beginning to question...
Words: 742 - Pages: 3
...research on Immunizations because I really think I can deliver a good paper on this subject. I have wanted to dig into the controversy about immunizations for a while now. The main reason is that my wife was not immunized and it was a strong desire of hers that her kids are not immunized. I was immunized and always thought I would immunize my children. I think this subject for me would be extremely beneficial to learn more about. There have been numerous claims of immunizations causing autism, and other serious medical conditions. Are theses claims all hype or are they truth? This is what I intend to learn for myself. In the early 1900's we as a people started with one vaccine against small pox. To vaccinate fully in today's society it means 48 vaccines in the first 6 years of your child's life. That is a lot of vaccines compared to twenty years ago, but is it worth the risk? I am the father of two small children and the idea of something happening to them on my watch scares me to death. For me to take them to the doctor and have an immunization give them brain damage or worse is just not a scenario that I would be able to cope with. The flipside however is that immunizations are there so that when a virus like polio or whooping cough goes viral the child that has had the immunizations are much safer. The research question is, Are Immunizations worth the risk? There is so much information on this subject and I am very excited to find out more about it. 2. The main source of...
Words: 602 - Pages: 3
...Student’s name Teacher’s name Course name Date The impact of immunization on the development of autism In recent years, a worldwide concern over immunization and its schedule has increased dramatically. The vaccine-autism hypothesis belongs to the most extensively debated theories related to the origins of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Critics of dangerous ingredients contained in vaccines designate that such preservatives may contribute to, or cause, a range of cognitive disorders in children. When administered at early age, immunization may seriously affect neurological and not completely developed immune systems. In contrast, both biological and epidemiological studies tend to contradict the vaccine-autism theory. Given this fact, it is of vital importance to thoroughly examine both sides of the coin and come to a reasonable conclusion. PECULIARITIES OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER Autism, or, more broadly, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), includes a number of complex cognitive and communicational disorders. According to Richard Lathe, the molecular biologist, autism is difficult to define (20). However, there exists a range of distinctive peculiarities, by which one can recognize ASD. Repetitive patterns of behavior, a withdrawal from social relatedness and interaction, and specific movement patterns characterize autism. The symptoms occur from early childhood, usually at age of 2-3 years, and affect daily functioning (Lathe 32). The diagnosis of ASD incorporates the evaluation...
Words: 2115 - Pages: 9
