VaccinationsandPublicHealth

RyanHowell
SaltLakeCommunityCollege

VaccinationsandPublicHealth

Introduction:
Theissueofvaccinatingchildrenhasbeenahighlydebatableandcontestedtopicasof
recent,andnomatterhowintenselydebateditmightbethereneverseemstobeadecisive
conclusionforeitherside.Intheenditcomesdowntoamatterofwhetherthecomplicationsthat
canoccurfromreceivingavaccinationoutweighthepotentialhealthrisksofthefutureifone
wasnttoreceivevaccinations.Whenyoulineupthefactsthereissurelytobeawinnerwhen
comparethemagainsteachother.
Thesis:
Overall,itisfarmorebeneficialandethicallyresponsibletohavechildrenvaccinated
comparedtoleavingthemunvaccinated.
Body:
Withtheissueofvaccinationsanddeterminingwhetherornotitisbettertovaccinateor
notreliesheavilyonthefactsandstatisticsthatarederivedfromtakingaccountofallthe
illnessesthatcouldbepreventedbyvaccinationsaswellastheillnessesanddiscomfortscreated
fromthevaccinationitself.Howeverthisbecomesverydifficultwiththevastnumberof
misconceptionsandgrossmisunderstandingsthathavebeenspreadaroundthecommunity.What
sometakeasfactandinfluencetheirdecisionsonvaccinationsoftenattimesholdlittletono
truthatallbehindtheirwords.Inordertomakethecorrectdecisionandbetterthecommunity
theirneedstobeaclearanddefinitetruth,Thistruthcanbederivedfromthemanymedical
studiesandcoldhardstatisticsthatareavailablefromsaidstudies.

VaccinationsandPublicHealth

Themedicalindicationsofthisissuecanbesomewhatwidespreadwithmanyquestions
thatcanbeaskedinturn.Thelargestquestionhoweveriswhatwouldcausemoreharmtoa
person,beingvaccinatedorunvaccinated?Orconverselywhatwouldbenefitapersonmore.
Therearemanyargumentsforeithersideaswhetheroneanswerwouldprovidemorebenefit.
Theobjectiveofvaccinationsistohelppreventdiseasesthatwouldbecomeamajorpublic
healthissue.Notonlythatbutanydiseasethatcouldbeseenaspreventableshouldbeconsidered
agoodenoughreasonforvaccination.Howeverthoseinoppositionbelievethatnaturalimmune
systemdefenseshouldbeenoughofadefenseagainstdisease,andtheadministeringof
vaccinationsonlyinjectsharmfulforeigndiseaseintothebodyfornoreason.Also,thereisa
beliefthatdiseaseslikepolioandtyphoidinwhichvaccinesaregivenforarediseasesofthepast
andposenothreattoourcurrentgeneration.Thisisamisconceptionthatcanbeseeneventoday
withrecentmeaslesoutbreaksthathavehappenedthroughoutmanystatesintheU.S.aswellas
severecasesthroughouttheworld(cdc.gov).Whenitcomesdowntoit,medicallyspeaking,itis
farmorebeneficialandsafetovaccinatethentogowithout.
Eventhoughitmightbemorebeneficialtoindividualsandthepublictohaveeveryone
vaccinated,itisstillwithintherightsfortheparentstochoosetheirpreferenceoftreatmentfor
theirchildren.Itisaresponsibilityofdoctorsaswellasallothermedicalresearchersand
professionalstoconveytheinformationthathasbeenamassedthroughyearsofresearchand
experiencesothattheseparentscanmakethedecisionthemselvesaswhethertovaccinateornot.
Thisiswherethelistsofprosandconsthathavebeenderivedwillhavetheirmostinfluenceon
decisionsmadebyparents.Themajorreasonsforvaccinatinginclude:vaccinationscansave
livesfrompreventablediseases,majormedicalorganizationshavedeclaredthemsafe,notall

VaccinationsandPublicHealth

diseaseshavedisappearedduetovaccinationandarestillnecessary(VaccinesProCon).Thisis
justasmalllistofmanyreasonsthatweighonthemindofthosemakingthisdecision.
Converselytherearereasonsthattheymightdecidenottogothroughwithvaccinations.Those
wouldinclude:mistrustofmajorpharmaceuticalcompaniesandtheFederalDrug
Administration,thefactthatvaccinesareanunnaturalandshouldbelefttonaturalimmunity,as
wellasmajorandpotentiallylethalsideeffectsofvaccines(VaccinesProCon).Bothsidescan
haveredeemingargumentsbutintheendthefactremainsthatvaccinationshavelittletonoside
effectsforthemostpartandprovideagreatdefensetohealthofthegeneralpublic.
Itcanbeviewedthatthedecisiontogetvaccinatedcanhaveamajorhandindetermining
theshortandlongtermqualityoflifeforindividuals.Vaccinescancauseamildillnessand
discomfortimmediatelyafterbeingadministered,thiscanbepotentiallybemoresevereinafew
cases.Whilethismightbeaninconvenienceandpotentiallyworrisometosomepeople,the
protectionfrompotentialdiseasesthatareformoredevastatingprovideamuchbetterpeaceof
mindandsenseofsecuritytomostpeople.Nottomentionthatthereisafearthatsomeparents
mighthaveoftheirownchildbeingexposedtoanotherchildthathasntbeenvaccinated.Ifone
weretocontractsuchadiseasetheirliveswouldbeseverelyimpactedfortheworse.Suffering
andpotentiallylethalconsequencesareadefiniterealityforsomeofthosediseasesthatlurkout
there.Ontheoppositesidethereisadefinitechancethatevenifunvaccinatedthosechildren
wontevercontractaseriouspreventablediseaseandcanbesparedfromtheinconvenienceof
minorillnessanddiscomfortfromthevaccinations.Whenmeasureduphowever,itjustwouldnt
berighttohaveonesqualityoflifeandpeaceofmindbeinfluencedbysuchachancedecision
whensafetycouldbeassured.

VaccinationsandPublicHealth

Whenitcomestodecidingonwhetherornottovaccinate,youalsohavemanyother
factorsplayingtheirpartonthedecisionbesidethemedicalfacts.Itwouldbeincorrecttosay
thattherearentotherpartiesthatwouldbenefitfromthevaccinationofchildren.Major
pharmaceuticalcompaniesprofitfromproducingamountsofvaccinationsthatwouldbeneeded
foreverychild.Youcanalsohavethefamily'sreligiousbackgroundplayimportanceinthe
decision.Aplausiblewaytoavoidgettingvaccinationsistoclaimareligiousexemptionto
receivingthevaccinations,whethertheytrulyarebelieversofthatparticularfollowingornot.
TwoofthemoreprominentfaithsthatareopenlyopposedtovaccinationsaretheChristian
ScientistsandtheReformedDutchChurch(Krule).Religiousbasedexemptionhasalwaysbeen
animportantobstacleinhealthcare,andonethatmustberespected.Thelargestissuefacingthe
matterathandisthemajorpublichealtheffectthiswillhave.Notonlywilltheindividualswho
decidetohavevaccinationsaffectthemselvesbuttheirfellowhumanbeingsareaffectedby
beingaroundthemonadaytodaybasis.Therearecertainpeoplewhoarephysicallyunableto
receivevaccinationsduetocompromisedimmunesystemsthatneedmostofthepopulationtobe
vaccinatedinordertohaveprotectionfromthosediseases.Thisconceptisknownasherd
immunity(VaccineProCon).
Conclusion:
Thedebatebetweenbothsidesonwhethertovaccinateornotwilllikelycontinuetobea
hottopicissuefortheforeseeablefuture.Allwecandoasageneralpubliciscontinuetoprovide
informationonthecostsandbenefitsthatareassociatedwithvaccinationsandhopethatpeople
maketherightchoiceandreceivetheirvaccinations.Notonlytoprotectthemselvesbutto
protecttheirneighborsandfamiliesandeveryonetheymightevercomeincontactwith.

VaccinationsandPublicHealth

Bibliography:

Krule,M.(2015,February05).WhyIsThereaReligiousExemptionforVaccines?DoAny
ReligionsReallyObject?RetrievedAugust07,2016,from
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/02/religious_exe
mption_for_vaccines_christian_scientists_catholics_and_dutch.html
MeaslesCasesandOutbreaks.(2016,July23).RetrievedAugust07,2016,from
http://www.cdc.gov/measles/casesoutbreaks.html
VaccinesProCon.org.(2016,July8).RetrievedAugust07,2016,from
http://vaccines.procon.org/