Vaccination Essay

It’s Worth a Shot From the time vaccines have been introduced to this point in medical history there has been controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of receiving vaccines. (Singer.) However, the overall effect of vaccines benefits not only the individuals who receive them, but the general population as well. Vaccines are a safe and effective method used to prevent a variety of diseases, and not getting such vaccinations can put not only the individual, but the general population as a whole at risk.
Vaccines are very important to an individual’s overall heath, but are no longer being taken seriously. Many people today have opted not to receive vaccines for a number of reason, such as not being able to find the time, yet others refuse due to their concerns about possible side effects. The most common concern is the development of autism after receiving vaccinations, but there is no proven evidence linking vaccines to this development. Studies have shown that the development of autism is actually due to a preexisting condition. One condition in example, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, mainly found in children, may actually be to blame in some cases. This condition is triggered by immune stimulation that exceeds metabolic reserves, thus causing parents to blame vaccinations, claiming that if not for them acting as a trigger, the condition would have not been aggravated. In example is the Hannah Poling case. Hannah was a typical twenty-month-old toddler hitting the normal developmental milestones before she received five vaccinations on a single day in July of 2000. After the vaccinations, she became ill and her developmental progress not only stopped, she lost her ability to talk, began to withdraw socially, and no longer made eye contact. Within a few months, she was diagnosed with autism. When her parents took the case to court years later, the court ruled that vaccines had played a part in her autism. Yet later, during a teleconference with