A very pressing topic in today’s society is whether or not we should be vaccinating our children. Vaccinating children is a vital part of keeping children safe and healthy. Vaccines not only help from getting one individual sick, but they also have beneficial effects on past and future generations. According to the Washington Post “The vast majority of parents across the country vaccinate their children and follow recommended schedules for this basic preventive practice. But the recent upswing in vaccine skepticism and outright refusal to vaccinate has spawned communities of under-vaccinated children who are more susceptible to disease and pose health risks to the broader public.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 29 doses of 9 vaccines for kids aged 0 to six. No US federal laws mandate vaccination, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. This is one of the most important things that we can do for our future generations because as our world changes we are introduced to so many new things. With new introductions of health problems for the new generations the eradication of diseases can be very important to survival. But the new anti-vaccination movement has brought many concerns to people around the country.
The biggest concern of all, that vaccines cause diseases and autism. According to PBS Newshour, “Research has repeatedly shown that vaccines are safe and prevent certain highly contagious diseases.“The likelihood of a serious adverse event happening because of a vaccine is extremely low. It’s about one in a million, less than the likelihood of getting killed by lightning,” This is a very significant and drastic idea that should weigh heavily on the idea of vaccination. The people that are part of the anti-vaccine movement are basing their ideals off the very minimal cases or things that they have seen and are not basing it off the actual research. Vaccines are much more beneficial to society than people realize and with the technology and information that we are gaining daily there is no reason to not vaccinate.
The technology of science is rapidly growing everyday with continual medical research. Recent advances in vaccine technology stemming from the application of genetic engineering are now providing an opportunity to target new diseases. The previous successes in reducing the primary causes of mortality in childhood now include protecting against infectious agents that can result in significant morbidity. Scientific progress and these broadened applications will no doubt result in improved health-based outcomes. We can clearly see that vaccination is such an important factor of our world health that it should be a requirement in society.
Hi Ruby! I find your article very fascinating. I think you provide solid evidence that backs up your points very well. I like how you talk about the importantce of vaccines. I specifically enjoyed your point about lightening. Here is an article you may enjoy about vaccinations and the impact they can have on a large group of people! https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/11/29/why-small-groups-vaccine-refusers-can-make-large-groups-people-sick/ I look forward to reading what you write next!
Great article Ruby! I really like how you mentioned one of the biggest concerns of vaccines and then provided research of how they are actually safe. Based on your post I think you would enjoy reading this article (https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/Pages/Why-Immunize-Your-Child.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIktOJ0-2r3gIVl-NkCh0qSAyBEAAYAyAAEgLTmfD_BwE) that I’ve recently read. I look forward to reading your future posts!
Thanks for the article Ruby, Vaccinating is an interesting topic not just because of the debate, but also due to it’s necessity in playing a larger role for the safety of the general public. An extremely interesting piece information you included above is the statistic about adverse effects of vaccinations being less likely than being struck by lightning. Along with other clerical statistics provided you lay out a thoroughly convincing article backed by solid evidence. I hope to hear more from you in the future on this and other topics.