Dispelling the Fear of Vaccination

To a majority of us, vaccination is that annoying thing we do sometimes when we go to the doctor that makes our arm hurt for a little while, and not much more. However some people, especially parents with young children, refuse to vaccinate in fear of terrible side effects that are a product of a small population of people spreading their uninformed views. Typically, those parents who choose not to vaccinate their child have the child’s best thoughts in mind but don’t have all of the correct information and make decisions based on the fear of putting their child’s health in harms way. Because of this new wave of anti-vaccination, the federal government and medical institutes are trying to spread the correct information that has been researched and proven to dispel the myths that have influenced their way into everyday media.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is one such federal institution that tries to bring information to the general public about vaccination. Because vaccination has been so pervasive in previous generations, today’s society hasn’t known or felt the affects of the diseases that vaccines prevent. This article provides helpful information on how many cases of diseases that used to endanger the health of so many people have been decreased to extremely small numbers because of vaccination. Diseases such as smallpox, polio, tetanus, and measles have been reduced above 98%. This article also discusses the financial and societal gains coming from mass vaccination. They found that, “researchers estimated that for every dollar spent, the vaccination program saved more than $5 in direct costs and approximately $11 in additional costs to society.” Further more this article talks about how epidemics of these diseases have been prevented because a large percent of society is vaccinated, and by a certain population not vaccinating their children, people such as the elderly and sick have a higher chance of contracting diseases they cannot vaccinate for because of their poor health.

While the previous article discusses the benefits of vaccination, “8 Common Arguments Against Vaccines” discusses common misconceptions about vaccinations and how vaccines are safe, and only in very rare cases does a vaccine harm the person it is given to. This article was posted by epidemiologist Gid M-K, and uses credible sources to back his arguments. Gid M-K says, “It’s very important to note that most parents want the best for their kids. They are trying to look out for their children, and occasionally in this pursuit they get misled.” Parents are misinformed and make choices based on that wrong information, so we need to give them the correct information on vaccines. The main reasons that parents choose to not vaccinate their child is fear that vaccines haven’t been fully researched and are linked to causing such things as autism. This article talks about how these are myths that are not backed with any reliable information. The CDC has researched the harms and side effects of vaccinations and has found that vaccines are safe and effective in preventing terrible diseases. Overall the real fight is not making vaccines safer, but is to provide the general public with the correct information on vaccines so they can make informed choices.

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