Educate Yourself on Vaccines

Should new parents vaccinate their children as infants? This question has been very controversial in the past because of the wide spread belief that vaccines cause autism and other immune and neurological disorders. Nevertheless all parents in the United States are faced with this decision, so it then becomes their responsibility to make the best decision for their little one. Advocates of vaccines tend to blindly accept them all with little concern about side effects because after all they are effective at their intended purpose, to prevent disease. Anti-vaccination people tend to completely refuse vaccines all together because they are fearful of having a life altering adverse reaction happen to their child. I intend to inform new parents of a third side, researching each vaccine for themselves and deciding which vaccines to accept and which vaccines to refuse. Not all vaccines are created equal and some are just not necessary. However refusing them all can be just as dangerous as having an adverse reaction, if to many people refuse vaccines epidemics of the preventable diseases are likely to happen. These two opposing views are in some ways right, this is why it is so important to make an informed decision on what vaccines to get to best protect their little one.

Although both refusing and accepting all vaccines can be very dangerous in their own right, there are some vaccines people should receive and there are some people should steer away from. Some vaccines can cause more harm than good when they are not necessary. Chickenpox and the flu shot are some examples of vaccines that are not necessary and only raise the possibility of having an adverse reaction. Vaccines can be used for financial gain by policy makers and as a result a vaccine may not have the proper test results before given to the public. The rota virus vaccine is another example of how policy makers can influence a vaccine negatively causing a serious increase in adverse reactions. Alternatively, vaccines do serve a very important purpose, and that is to prevent disease.  Polios drastic disappearance is comparable to smallpox, and is very good evidence of how vaccines can have positive effects such as wiping out devastating diseases. However, in many cases of refusal to vaccinate today there are reports of measles outbreaks, a disease that is other wise preventable with a vaccine. Some may argue that there are enough people around that vaccinate and this alone will protect from an epidemic. The reality is more and more people are refusing vaccines and there is no way to know who has been vaccinated and who has not on a daily basis. Some may also argue the risk of an adverse reaction is just to great and the side effects too dangerous. The truth is only less than 1% of people have an adverse event, and most are mild fevers or drowsiness, not life threatening (CDC).By exploring these ideas with my readers I hope to educate them on just how important proper research is to making this very important decision.

Works Cited

Cave, Stephanie, and Deborah R. Mitchell. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Children's Vaccinations. New York: Wellness Central, 2010. Print.

Link, Kurt. "The Current Controversy: In Perspective." The Vaccine Controversy: The History, Use, and Safety of Vaccinations. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005. 38-40. Print.

"History of Vaccine Safety." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 08 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.