Alisha Riggs
English 2010
Professor Candland Asplund
March 16, 2015
Generations continue to be constantly changing and so are the diseases and impact that
they have on the world. Some countries like the U.S. have been able to contain if not nearly
erase some diseases; however that isn’t the case for some countries.1 Some diseases are still able
to transfer to different countries that haven’t been exposed or had record of that disease in some
time now. Throughout the years the levels of people getting immunized has gone up and down a
continual roller coaster. With the recent outbreak of measles in California in Mid-December of
2014,2 it has caused yet another debate on whether or not one should vaccinate. People have had
their own opinions about vaccinations for generations, one side of history showing that vaccines
still have been able to save many lives. However, the other side of the spectrum having some
people fearing that vaccines are poisoning their children and have side effects. So the main
debate with vaccinations right now is whether or not to immunize your children.
Within everything in life there are pros and cons that can come about and that goes for
vaccines as well. A pro perspective would be that vaccines save lives and have been able to erase
some diseases all together. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states, “That an estimated
732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses
were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccinations.” 3 However, some vaccinepreventable diseases have not disappeared so vaccinations are still necessary. 4 According to
proponents, they say that millions of children’s lives are saved due to vaccinations and believe
that they are safe as well as one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century. 5 So
according to these statements, one would seem to believe that vaccinations are the definite chose,
due to the fact that many diseases are controlled and people’s lives are being saved.
Center for Disease Control & Prevention: “What would happen if we stopped vaccinations?”
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/whatifstop.htm (accessed March 2015)
2
Moulite, Maritza. NBC Los Angeles: “Timeline of Disneyland Measles Outbreak.”
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Timeline-Disneyland-Measles-Outbreak-289520681.htmlNbc.
(accessed March 4, 2015)
3
Bahar Gholipour, "Vaccination Has Saved 732,000 Children's Lives Since 1994, Says Report,"
.www.huffingtonpost.com. ProCon.org. http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed March 2015)
4
ProCon.org, Vaccines: “Should any Vaccines be required for Children?” Section.9. http://vaccines.procon.org/
(accessed March 2015)
5
ProCon.org, Vaccines: “Should any Vaccines be required for Children?” http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed
March 2015)
1
With the opposing side arguing that, they don’t believe in vaccinations because one main
concern are the side effects that can happen due to vaccines. Some side effects including
seizures, paralysis, and death with contending that vaccines can also trigger certain problems like
ADHD, autism, & diabetes. 6 Now, they also believe that besides the side effects that the natural
infection approach to building up your immune systems is better than the vaccine approach.7
Along with that, pro-vaccine organizations also believe that the natural vaccination causes better
immunity agreeing with the opposing side. 8 However, the debate of putting poisons in one’s
body is still on the table because chemicals like mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde are just
examples of chemicals found in vaccinations that if we get too much of can cause serious issues.9
Now with just hearing the bases of what the concerns are from the opposing sides one
topic that is important to understand is the term herd immunity and how it works. To sum it up,
the more members of a human “herd” who are immune to a given disease will make the whole
population better protected from a disease outbreak.10 The reason that this is important is some
people like children and adults who can’t be vaccinated due to age, poor healthy, or undergoing
chemo-therapy for example, rely on the herd immunity to prevent contraction of vaccine
preventable diseases. 1112This diagram below, which was found on CDC- Center for Disease
Control and Preventions website, is a great explanation as to how vaccines work as a whole and
the effect that researcher say can happen if the herd immunity goes below a certain percentage.
ProCon.org, Vaccines: “Should any Vaccines be required for Children?” http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed
March 2015).
7
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, "General Vaccine Safety Concerns," www.chop.edu, ProCon.org (accessed
March 2015).
8
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, "General Vaccine Safety Concerns," www.chop.edu, ProCon.org (accessed
March 2015).
9
Sears, Robert W. “Vaccine FAQS: Aluminum Information from the Vaccine Book,” www.askdrsears.com
ProCon.org, http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed March 2015).
10
Willingham, Emily & Helft, Laura. KUED7: “What is Herd Immunity?”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/herd-immunity.html (accessed March 2015).
11
ProCon.org, Vaccines: “Should any Vaccines be required for Children?” http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed
March 2015).
12
Steven L. Weinreb, "For the Herd’s Sake, Vaccinate," www.nytimes.com, Dec. 27, 2011. ProCon.org.
http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed March 2015).
6
When it comes to who can choose on whether or not to immunize, that is solely based on
the state and what vaccines are required and who can opt out of vaccinations.13 Parents have 3
options as to how they can opt out of their children receiving vaccinations: religious, medical,
and philosophical/personal-belief exemptions.14 With this decision, some pediatricians have
started to refuse service to children who are not-vaccinated. This decision is not keeping within
the policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics.15 However, with recent outbreaks some feel
that they need to be more cautious with the concern of diseases spreading easier. With decisions
like this being made, the opposing side also believes that it is in their constitutional right to be
able to make decisions about their own bodies and whether or not they want to immunize. 16
Both sides have ground and reason for full belief in the topic. However, the debate of
immunizations has been controversial from the very beginning when vaccines were invented,
which is a debate that probably won’t ever go away.
Willingham, Emily & Helft, Laura. KUED7: “What is Herd Immunity?”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/herd-immunity.html (accessed March 2015).
14
Willingham, Emily & Helft, Laura. KUED7: “What is Herd Immunity?”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/herd-immunity.html (accessed March 2015).
15
Paul, Ron MD, former US Representative. “Government Vaccines-Bad Policy, Bad Machine,” ProCon.org.
http://vaccines.procon.org/ (accessed March 2015).
13