This article discusses the controversy of vaccines in American society. From the source of the ideas that caused the issues to the discredit of the person who “poisoned the well”, this article was very thorough. Ms. Lemmons has experience as a freelance writer on well documented topics and has provided her work to several well known publishers. This article was intended for the educated person exploring the rumors of vaccinations benefit being outweighed by the risk. The author is very neutral in her writing. I appreciate her stance and use of fact to support her claims. Stating only the fact that can be documented…
There are also other factors that people are also refusing to receive immunizations: religious and philosophical beliefs, freedom and individualism, misinformation about risk, and over perception of risk. This is the difficult challenge the Department of Health is facing today because everyone has the right and freedom to choose what is best for them and their children while safeguarding everyone’s health and welfare. Many parents opt-out of immunization and on the rise due to religious reasons in majority of the states. Opting-out of immunization leaves with unprotected children and the rest of the society as well. Pregnant girls have to speak to their doctor before receiving vaccines, although some vaccines benefit them. Parent has many different reasons and beliefs for not vaccinating their children and should be…
In The U.S, many lower-class people die every year because of preventable viruses. Vaccines are the solution to preventing the viruses, but unfortunately, not all Americans can afford the vaccines. Hundreds of thousands of lives can be saved with a simple piece of legislation. According to William Foege, “Vaccines are the tugboats of preventive health.” For this reason, the U.S needs to include more “tugboats” and create a public policy solution to the problem. The Legislation shall make a public policy solution because those who cannot afford the vaccines need to be vaccinated. The government should solve this problem because this is a national problem, so state governments must take action not private sector…
Vaccines are responsible for minimizing the risk of many deadly diseases and even eradicating some completely. People today are privileged enough to live during a time where the fear of dying from a disease like measles or smallpox is negligible. Even so vaccines are not without dissenters. There is a segment of humanity that believes there is a credible association between vaccines and rising autism rates. The following articles will show that there are varying ideas on the best way to disprove vaccination opponents, yet no solid solution has been reached on how to convince vaccination opponents that their fears are unfounded.…
When it comes to vaccinations, there are many different opinions on immunizing a child, especially when that child’s parent has a strong like or dislike towards vaccinating. Immunizations have been around for at least a thousand years and as technology advances more, there are new vaccines being designed to help protect our children from contracting contagious and sometimes deadly diseases, such as Bordetella pertussis, polio, and even influenza. For decades, all 50 states have required that parents vaccinate their children against various diseases, including polio and measles, as a prerequisite to enrolling them in public schools (Ciolli, 2008). Enrollment in public school requires up to date vaccinations in order to protect the children and even the adults from contracting and spreading a disease, possibly causing an epidemic. Although all public schools require immunizations, there are still children in the schools whose religion exempts the use of vaccinations. The goal of this paper is to further explain…
Another complaint from those who oppose government required vaccinations is the belief that vaccines are more dangerous than the diseases/side effects they prevent, and that vaccinations are ineffective. The American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as other organizations claim that immunizations can cause “seizures, progressive encephalopathy, and death” (“Should” 7). Skeptics believe that these rare side effects are worth risking communal, and individual health. They want to put themselves and their worries of side effects before the greater good of others. Other opponents also support the claims that vaccinations are not effective, that outbreaks can still occur, even when most of the population is fully vaccinated. The American Medical…
I believe everyone should be vaccinated in their life and here is why. Vaccines cause your immune system to produce disease-fighting antibodies without causing the disease itself. Today, more than 20 serious human diseases can be prevented by vaccination. For some diseases, you need to be vaccinated only once in your life. For other diseases, such as measles, tetanus, and influenza, you may need to be vaccinated at regular intervals.…
Every fall season we hear the question; did you get your flu shot yet? It is supposed to protect you from that nasty flu virus that circulates our communities during the fall and winter months. But, did you know that in 2011 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Adverse Event Reporting Systems Website (AERS) reported 51 deaths caused by the flu vaccine in the United States (U.S.) (CDC,2012). According to National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), as of July 2012 there have been more than 84,000 reports of adverse reactions, 1000 vaccine related deaths and over 1600 cases of Guillain- Barre syndrome, a acute form of paralysis, triggered by the vaccine (NVIC.ORG).…
A last major political goal for our party is to mandate vaccinations for our children. In a recent poll, 28% of voters voted no in their children being vaccinated for preventable diseases.…
Despite overwhelming evidence supporting the safety and benefits of vaccines, fear of vaccinations has proven resistant to information leading to a rise in refusals among parents in developed countries (Dipietro). In modern society with the rapid pace of vaccine development along with new technology, the history and importance of vaccines seem forgotten, leading people to underestimate the severity of infectious diseases. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” George Santayana. The growing resistance to vaccinations is a well-known occurrence, due to the positive effects vaccinations have had worldwide. Studying history is necessary to continue to evolve and avoid repeating the mistakes of our past. “History never repeats itself, but man always does,” Voltaire. Modern society (Millennials) do not understand the threat of infectious disease because they lack the life experience to know the devastation they can bring. Several parents have increasingly questioned the safety of vaccines, as a result vaccination rates have fallen to dramatically…
To think that a vaccine can save a community is to believe that a single grain of rice can end world hunger. Sure, if everyone was to be vaccinated, perhaps there would be a difference. However, the reality is this is not the case. Several people believe that kids who are not vaccinated impose health threats on kids who have been vaccinated. This belief is flawed because the kids with the vaccines are the ones who are bringing the viruses into our schools. The vaccines carry the very virus that they are supposed to protect kids from. An additional factor that must be considered when looking at the big picture is that the superintendent's forcing parents to get their children vaccinated is the groups that fail to do so.…
While vaccine acceptance remains high, fear of vaccines has grown dramatically in the past several years in many developed countries. In some societies, this fear has led to considerably increased rates of vaccine rejection which are linked with increases in illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases, and large economic costs for health care and society. Despite crushing evidence supporting the safety and benefits of vaccination, this fear has proven impervious to information drives, a spectacle well-explained by psychological research which has recognized that risk perception is subjective, a product of both the facts and how those facts feel. Given the inherently emotional and innate nature of risk awareness, and the risks to public health these insights produce, and consistent with well-established legal principles supporting government action to protect the common good, society has the right and responsibility to establish laws, regulations, and choice frameworks that discourage vaccine refusal.…
Since vaccination decisions not only affect the infant or child, but also the community, these decisions cannot be treated as individual ones. At the point where individual decisions might harm the community, the government and public health professionals should also be involved. At the same time, the procedure of vaccination should be more open, and health professionals should carefully study genetic history and reactions of kids before vaccinating them. The controversy on vaccinations significantly influenced means of delivering scientific conclusions to the…
There are many issues in regards to the controversy on vaccinations. Vaccinations were made to protect people from diseases, that could otherwise cause illness or potential death. There are many arguable topics but the most important is, should an individual have the right to deny needed vaccinations, or should vaccinations be mandated. This topic has been a huge debate in recent years. There are individuals that believe that an adult or child should be up to date on their immunizations, due to avoiding possible illnesses to return. When others argue that it should be their right to deny vaccinations all together, due to believing immunizations are harmful and could hurt them or their children. This paper will examine whether being…
It is evident that both sides of the argument have valid reasoning for their viewpoints on child vaccinations. Although, when it comes down to the core, getting children vaccinated has the larger benefits for the comprehensive, lifelong health of individuals. Concerning the issue of ingredients, many parents assume that antibiotics that children are commonly allergic to such as penicillin and sulfa drugs are used in vaccines, which is untrue (Offit and Moser 72). Typically children will only be given a vaccine after they are carefully examined by their doctors, allowing them to avoid potential allergic reactions and any expected side effects before the shot is administered (U.S. Department). Figure 1 helps puts the probability of an allergic…