Essay On The Pros And Cons Of Vaccination

Vaccinations help prevent diseases as well as essentially eliminating certain diseases all together from society. Dr. Edward Jenner is accredited for the smallpox vaccination as Louis Pasteur is for the rabies vaccine. Doctors and scientists like these men paved the way for the research and development of vaccines we use today. However, there has been a growing concern among new parents that vaccinations cause more harm than good. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a vaccine as “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease” (2016). When a person gets a vaccine the body produces antibodies to fight off the foreign substance and builds an immunity against that particular disease. Parents have recently been making decisions to not vaccinate their children and this can not only put their child at risk, but also the children they come in contact with at risk. Many parents do care about their children and their health and will immunize the children as recommended by their doctor and
Parents who are unable to afford vaccines for their children may request help from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There is a program that makes vaccines more affordable and accessible for those in financial need. The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program states, “They may be able to help provide vaccines at no cost to doctors who serve eligible children younger than 19 years of age” (2014). The program helps those who may be unable to afford vaccinations. The CDC states, “every dollar spent on immunizations saves approximately $18.40 in medical costs, creating a total of $421 billion in savings from treating unvaccinated diseased individuals” (2016). Vaccines create significant economic benefits because preventative care is less expensive than trying to cure or treat the