Introduction

Publichealthexpertsagreethataftercleanwaterandflushtoilets,themostimportant

healthadvancesinhistoryhavebeenvaccinations(McNeil,2008).Vaccinesareoneof

themostcosteffectiveandsuccessfulpublichealthinterventions.Inaddition,Vaccines

saveanestimated6millionto9millionlivesworldwide,includingthelivesof3million

children(Lee&Rosenthal&Scheffler,2013).Thevaccinerepresentsthesinglegreatest

promiseofbiomedicine:diseaseprevention(Stern&Markel,2005).Vaccineshavealso

savedmorelivesthanallthemiracledrugsofthelatterhalfofthe20thcentury

antibioticslikepenicillin,antiviralslikedrugstofighttofightAIDSandflu(McNeil,

2008).Inordertofurtherunderstandvaccines,itisimportanttounderstandhowvaccines

work.Vaccinesstimulateimmunesystemstoproduceantibodiesandaftergetting

vaccinated,yourbodydevelopsimmunitytothatdiseasewithouthavingtogetthe

diseasefirst.Unlikemostmedicines,whichtreatorcurediseases,vaccinespreventthem

(Vaccines&immunizations,2011).Mostdrugsareessentiallychemicalagents;vaccines

arebiologicagentsthatcanbecompromisedduringprocessing(Stern&Markel,2005).

Understandingthebenefitsofvaccinesandhowimportanttheyareisthefirststeptoward

educatingparentsonthereasonstovaccinatechildren.Explaininghowvaccineswork

canalsohelpparentsmakeaninformeddecisiononwhethertovaccinatechildrenornot

bybeinginformedonthecontroversialtopic.

Inordertounderstandvaccinations,thispaperwillprovidethehistoryandbackground

onvaccines.Itwillexaminetheargumentsforvaccinatingchildrenandthearguments

againstvaccinatingchildren.Thedifferentsidesontheargumentswillprovideastronger
understandingofvaccinesandwillprovethatvaccinesarenecessarytoeradicate

diseases.Ifmorechildrenwerevaccinated,almostalldiseaseswouldbeeradicated.Not

vaccinatingchildrenputschildrenatriskandcreatesadiseaseriddenenvironment.

Parentsshouldvaccinatechildrenunlessachildissickorcannothandlevaccinationand

shouldnotrelyonherdimmunity.Inordertokeepchildrenhealthyanderadicate

diseasesoneshouldvaccinatechildren.

Argumentsagainstchildhoodvaccinations.

Thereisdebatebytheantivaccinemovementonwhethervaccinesharmchildren.

Miller(2015)knewafewpeopleinjuredbyvaccinesandnoneofthemwere

compensatedduetothehighcostsforanattorney.Similarly,JennyMcCarthyclaimsthat

herchilddevelopedautismfollowingaseriesofvaccines(Kluger,2014).Another

supporteroftheantivaccinemovement,AndrewWakefield,stillstandsbyhisclaimthat

themeasles,mumpsandrubella(MMR)vaccinecausesautisminchildrenevenafterhis

studyonvaccineshasbeenwidelydiscredited(Ziv,2015).Therearealotofconflicting

informationonlineandfrompublicfiguresonwhethervaccinesharmchildren,butitis

importanttolookatbothsidesoftheargumentandthesciencebehinditbeforecomingto

aconclusion.Wakefieldsclaimshavebeendiscredited,andretractedfromthe

publicationthatpublishedit.WhiletherearemanysupportersofMcCarthyandher

claimsthathersondevelopedautismafterreceivingvaccines,itisimportanttoremember

thatvaccinationschedulesfallsinlinewithdevelopmentalmilestones,andwhataparent

thinksisasignforconcernisactuallyadevelopmentalchange.

Concernoverthechemicalthimerosalthatisinsomevaccines.
Childrenstotalthimerosalexposureremainshigh,despitethephaseoutofthimerosal

preservedvaccinesfromthechildhoodvaccineschedule(Kennedy,2014).However,the

mercurycontainingpreservativethimerosalwasremovedfrommostchildhoodvaccines

in2001,asasafetymeasure.(Newport,2015).TheCDC,2014statesthatwiththe

exceptionofsomeinfluenzavaccines,thimerosalisnotusedasapreservativein

routinelyrecommendedchildhoodvaccines.McNeil(2008)saysthatrumorscountinueto

spreadthatthevaccinepreservativethimerosalcausesautism.Numerousstudieshave

shownnolinkbetweenautismandeithervaccinesorpreservatives.Whilethimerosalisa

chemical,itisimportanttorememberthatithasbeenremovedfrommostvaccinesand

onlycontainsasmallamountthatdoesnotharmchildren.

Concernsaboutotheringredientsinvaccines.

Thetypesofingredientsthatareusedinvaccinations,suchasaluminumisaconcern

amongsomeparents.Aluminumisaddedintovaccinestoenhancetheimmuneresponse

ofvaccinatedindividuals.AluminumsaltsareaddedintoDTaPvaccinesthatprotect

childrenfromdiphtheria,tetanus,thepneumococcalconjugatevaccine(whoopingcough)

andthehepatitisBvaccines.(Commoningredients,2014).Formaldehydeisachemical

thatisusedinvaccinestoinactivatevirusessothattheydontcausediseasesuchasthe

poliovirususedtomakepoliovaccine.Formaldehydeisalsousedtodetoxifybacterial

toxinssuchasthetoxinusedtomakediphtheriavaccine.(Commoningredients,2014).

Aswithanything,therearerisksinvolvedsuchasdrivingtothegrocerystorebutin

termsofvaccines,thepositivesoutweightherisks.

Therearetoomanyvaccinesgiventochildren.
Morethan10millionvaccinesperyeararegiventochildrenbetween2and6monthsof

age(Vaccineadverseeventreportingsystem,2015).Interestingly,Haddeland(2015),is

provaccines,butadmitsthattherearealotofvaccinationsparentshavetoputtheirchild

through.Haddelandthinksitwouldbegreattoseemorecombinedvaccinationsand

fewershots.Offit(2011)understandsthatnoparentcanwatchachildreceiveasmanyas

fiveshotsatonetimeandnotworrythatitstoomuch,butfearshouldbeallayedbythe

science.Newparentsdonotlikethefactthatbabiesreceive20to30injectionsbeforethe

ageof2andsufferthesideeffectsofpainandmildfevers(Mcneli,2008).Kennedy

(2014)suggestssaferandcosteffectivealternativessuchasmanufacturingmultidose

vaccinevialswhichislessexpensivethanmanufacturingsingledosevials.Whilethere

arealotofvaccinesgiventochildren,childrencanhandletherecommendedamountof

vaccinesinordertodevelopimmunityovertime.

Somevaccinesconflictwithreligiousbeliefs.

Someingredientsinvaccinescouldcausereligiousconcerns,suchasgelatinfrompigs

thatisaningredientinthemeasles,mumpsandrubella(MMR)vaccineandchickenpox

vaccines.Also,manyJewsandMuslimsdonotconsumeswineproducts.(Sandstrom,

2015).Interestingly,areligiousexemptionforchildhoodvaccinationsgoesagainstthe

FirstAmendmentthatprohibitsthemakingofanylawrespectinganestablishmentof

religionorimpedingthefreeexerciseofreligion.(Spence,2015).Whileparentscancite

religiousviewsasareasonnottovaccinatechildren,thereisntaparticularreligious

groupthatisagainstvaccines.(Spence,2015).Whileitisimportanttoallowindividuals
theirindividualrights,manytakeadvantageofthereligiousexemptionwhethertheyhave

religiousviewstowardchildhoodvaccinations.

Somevaccinesarenotveryeffective.

Agins(2015)statesthattheinfluenzavaccineislessthanhalfeffectiveaslast

years.Furthermore,uniquecharacteristicsoftheinfluenzavirusmakedevelopmentof

aneffectivevaccinedifficult.(Ackerman,2008).Inaddition,vaccineefficiencyis

questionableastherehasntbeenextensiveresearchtoknowhowlongvaccinesaregood

for.(Miller,2015).Kennedy(2014)questionstheeffectivenessoftheCentersforDisease

ControlandPrevention(CDC)tolowertheageoffluvaccinationsforchildrenbecause

littlescientificevidenceexistsindicatingthatfluvaccinationsareeffectiveatpreventing

childrenunder2yearsofagefromcontractinginfluenza.Vaccinesarenotperfect,and

whiletherehavebeensomecasualties;themajorityofvaccinesarevitaltokeeping

childrenhealthy.

Argumentsforvaccinatingchildren.

Ashorthistoryofvaccines.

In1796,EdwardJennerwasthefirsttocointhewordvaccinationswhenhe

insertedpusfromawomanscowpoxlesionintoaboysarmandtheboynever

developedsmallpoxandthereforcreatedthefirstvaccineforsmallpox.(Kluger,2014).

In1977smallpoxwaseradicatedworldwide(Kluger,2014).In1979,poliowas

eradicatedintheU.S.UntiltheFrenchchemistLouisPasteurdevelopedarabiesvaccine

in1885,vaccineswereknownonlyasacowpoxinoculationforcowpox.Pasteurdefined

vaccinesasasuspensionofliveorinactivatedmicroorganismsorfractionsthereof
administeredtoinduceimmunityandpreventinfectiousdisease(Stern&Markel,2005).

Ashistoryshows,vaccineshavehelpederadicatediseasesandkeepchildrenhealthy.

DiseasessuchasmeaslesaremakingacomebackintheU.S.duetosomeparentsnot

vaccinatingchildrenwhichputsthemallatrisk.

Vaccineskeepchildrenhealthy.

Inthelast15years,protectionhasbeenextendedtothemajorityofchildreninthe

developingworld(VaccinesandImmunizations,2014).Inthemid1980s,theUnited

Nationsinternationalchildrensemergencyfund(UNICEF)andtheworldhealth

organization(WHO)calledforanewcommitmenttoregularlyreaching80percentof

infantsby1990.Inmostnations,thatgoalwasreachedandhassincebeensustained

savingover3millionchildrensliveseachyear.Immunizationscanbecreditedwith

savingapproximately9millionlivesayearworldwide.Routinevaccinationsinthe2009

U.S.birthcohortwouldprevent42,000deathsand20millioncasesofdiseases

(Byington,2014).Theonlywaytoeliminatefurtheroutbreaksisforparentstokeep

vaccinatingchildren(Lee,Rosenthal,&Scheffler,2013).If95to100percentofthe

populationwerevaccinated,vaccinationswouldeliminatethespreadofdiseases

(Rosenbloom,2015).Statisticsshowthatvaccinatingchildrenkeepsdiseasesthatwere

eradicatedfromcomingbackandhelpsthegreatergood.Vaccinationsalsohelpto

protectthenormalgrowthofmillionsofchildren.

Diseasesarecomingback.

Themeasles,mumps,andrubella(MMR)outbreakisinpartduetothereduced

compliancewiththeMMRvaccinationrequirements.(Wallis,2014).Whoopingcough,
measles,influenzatypebandthemeasles,mumps,andrubella(MMR)arecomingback

duetosomeparentsnotvaccinatingchildren.(Offit,2011).Lastyear,thereweremore

than640measlescases,thelargestnumberrecordedsincemeasleswasdocumentedas

eradicatedin2000.(Chinni,2015).Parentsshouldvaccinatechildreninordertostop

eradicateddiseasesfromcomingback.Manyparentsaretooyoungtohavewitnessed

whatpreviousdiseaseslikepoliodidtochildren,andwithoutvaccinatingchildrenthese

eradicateddiseasescouldcomeback.

Theantivaccinemovementsargumentsarefaulty.

Sometimes,whatparentsarecallingvaccinereactionsarearednessorswellingon

childrensarmafteravaccine,whichisacommonsideeffectanddoesnotprecludethem

fromgettingmoreofthatvaccine(Cole,2015).Infact,manyconcernedparentshave

utilizedtheInternetasameanstobackupclaimsthatvaccinescauseautism(Camargo&

Grant,2015).Inaddition,themistrustofscienceandscientistshashadnegativeresults

duetotheinfluenceoftheantivaccineactivismthatledanincreaseofaninfectious

diseaseintheUnitedStates(Camargo&Grant,2015).Incontrast,VAERS(2015)

receives300,00reportsayearandonly13percentofvaccinationshaveresultedin

serious,i.e.,disability,hospitalization,lifethreateningillnessordeathwhichdebunksthe

claimsmadebyJennyMcCarthyandRep.DanBurton(RInd.)thatvaccinescause

autism.InremarktoJennyMcCarthysclaimthathersondevelopedautismafter

receivingaseriesofvaccines,Haddeland(2015)statesthatitwasacoincidencethat

vaccineinjectionscoincidedwithdevelopmentalmilestonesthatarentreachedwith

autism.Haddeland(2015)alsosaysthatifMcCarthyhasacureforautism,wewouldall
liketoknowwhatitis.Theantivaccinemovementispopularbutthesciencesbehind

theirargumentsarefaulty.Whilesomeparentsareadamantonthereasonsagainst

vaccinatingchildren,itisimportantthattheyunderstandbothsidesoftheargumentand

lookatthedatabackingupbothclaims.

Difficulttofindpositivearticlesonvaccinesonline.

DuetotheInternet,manyconcernedparentshaveutilizeditasameanstobackuptheir

claimthatvaccinescausedtheirchildautismorsomenegativeeffect(Camargo&Grant,

2015).Whatthemediacoversiswhatthepublicperceives(Rosenbloom,2015).The

biggerchallengeisthatthereisasplitinthemediawithsomereportingfromone

perspectiveandsometheother(Hayward,2015).Thereisalotofcontroversyand

negativeinformationonvaccinationsfrombasicInternetsearches(Cole,2015).Partof

thedifficultyoffindingtrustworthysourcesisthattheInternethasalotofarticlesonthe

risksofvaccinesandlessonthepositivesofvaccines.Wallis(2014)statesthat

vaccinationmessagesareineffectiveanddoctorsshouldusesubtlermessagesinsteadof

scaretactics.Itisdifficulttoweedthroughmanyonlinearticles,especiallywhenanyone

canwritesomethingonline.Therehavebeenmanycasesofparentsbeingprovaccines

butthengettingoverwhelmedontheinternetandchangingtheirviewsduetotoomany

conflictingarticlesonline.

Herdimmunityisnolongerworking.

Cole(2015)appreciatesherdimmunitybutworriesthatifparentsarenotvaccinating

theirchildrenandarerelyingonherdimmunitytoprotectachildfromthedisease,that

itsgoingtobreakdownafterawhile.Schiffertalkedaboutcellularherdimmunitywhere
inafullysusceptiblegroupofpeople,thegroupgetsinfected.(Vaccineandinfectious

diseasedivision,2015).Offit(2011)statesthatsomeparentsareangrythatunvaccinated

childrenhaveputtheirchildrenatrisk.Someoftheseparentswhocannotbevaccinated

duetohealthrisksandareparticularlyvulnerable.Theydependonthosearoundthemto

bevaccinated;ifnot,theyretheonesmostlikelytosufferduringoutbreaks.Some

parentswhoareagainstvaccinesarerelyingonherdimmunitytokeeptheirchildren

fromgettingsick.Whileherdimmunityhashelpederadicatesmallpox,thetransmission

ofpertussisandprotectingagainstinfluenzaandpneumococcaldisease.Thishasa

reverseeffectbecausetheirneedstobeasubstantialamountofchildrenvaccinatedin

orderforherdimmunitytobeeffective.

Vaccinationratesaredecreasing.

Since1991,thepercentageofunvaccinatedchildrenhasmorethandoubled.(Offit,

2011).Inaddition,thestateswiththebestchildhoodvaccineratesareMontana,

Colorado,Ohio,andWestVirginia.Theyhavesomeofthehighestvaccinationrateswith

anaverageof86percentofchildrenvaccinated.(Chinni,2015).Oregonhasoneofthe

highestnonmedicalexemptionrates(Johnson,2015).57percentofchildrenenrolledin

kindergartenarenotgettingvaccinatedduetononmedicalexemptions(Chinni,2015).

300schoolsinWashingtonhavefailedtoreportimmunizationexemptionratesas

requiredbylaw(Aleccia,2015).Thecostofnotvaccinatingatall,ashistoryhastaught,

canbeveryhigh(McNeil,2008).Smallpoxisalsonotgiventochildrenbecausethe

diseasehasbeeneliminatedfromtheworld.Parentsneedtovaccinatechildreninorderto

keepdiseasesfromcomingbackandtohelpkeepchildrenhealthy.Manyparentswhodo
notvaccinatechildrendidnotseetheeffectsofsucheradicateddiseasessuchaspolioor

measlesonchildren.Ifthoseparentscontinuetonotvaccinatechildren,thenthe

vaccinationrateswillkeepdecreasingandchildrenwillbesusceptibletodiseases.

Somereligionsareencouragingvaccinations.

TheCatholicChurchhassanctionedtemporaryuseofvaccinessuchasrubella

vaccines,whichmaybedevelopedfromdescendantcellsoftissuefromabortedfetuses

andthechurchalsoencouragesitsfollowerstoseekoutalternativevaccinesthatdonot

usesuchcells(Sandstrom,2015).Someingredientsinvaccinescouldcausereligious

concerns,suchasgelatinfrompigsthatisintheMMRvaccineandchickenpoxvaccines,

andmanyJewsandMuslimsdonotconsumeswineproducts(Sandstrom,2015).Too

manyparentsarerelyingonherdimmunityandeventhoughcurrently,religious

exemptionsareallowed,manystatesaretryingtoendthatexemptionsinceparentsare

takingadvantageofit.Sinceitiseasytoaccess,parentsfindthatasasimpletooltoget

outofvaccinatingchildren.Inaddition,itisnotverycommonthatreligiousgroups

wouldbeagainstchildhoodvaccinations.

Bothsideswantwhatsbestfortheirchildren.

Haddeland(2015)saysthateveryonewantstheirchildtobeperfect,andwhentheyare

nottheygolookingforanswers.Kluger(2014)saysthattheantivaccinemovementis

tryingtodowhatitthinksisrightdespitethescienceshowingtheyarewrong.Offit

(2011)statesthatifwecanrecapturethefeelingthatweareallinthistogether,allpartof

alargeimmunologicalcooperative,andthegrowingtragedyofchildrendyingfrom

preventableinfectionscanbeavoided.Whilevaccinatingchildrenisimportanttokeep
childrenfrombecomingsick,itisimportanttorealizethatbothsidesjustwantwhatis

bestforchildren.Itiscounterintuitivetobeaccusatoryofparentswhochosenotto

vaccinatechildrenandhastheoppositeeffectbymakingparentslessinclinedtochange

theirviews.Realizingthatbothsidesshareacommongoalcanhelpkeepjudgmentout

andmighthelptomovetowardfurthereducatingparentsagainstvaccinatingchildrenon

whytheyshouldvaccinate.

Conclusion

Ibelievechildrenshouldbevaccinatedunlesstheyhaveahealthissuethatwouldmake

themmoresickfrombeingvaccinated.Asresearchhasshown,vaccinationshavekept

diseasesatbayandkeptchildrenhealthy.Manyparentstakeadvantageofreligiousor

medicalexemptions,andsomestatesarecatchingonandtryingtomakeitmoredifficult

forparentstoaccessthoseoutlets.Ifmoreparentsvaccinatedchildrenandstoppedtaking

advantageofeasytoaccessexemptions,theworldwouldbeahealthierplace.Diseases

suchaspolio,measles,mumps,andrubella(MMR),chickenpox,flu,whoopingcough,

diaptheria,andtetanuscouldcontinuetobepreventedifparentskeptvaccinating

children.Noparentswantsdiseasesthatwereonceeradicatedtocomeback,and

educatingparentsonwhatcouldhappeniftheycontinuetonotvaccinatechildrencould

helpdeclinetheincreaseinparentschoosingnottovaccinatechildren.Itisinthebest

interestforchildrentobevaccinated.Vaccinationshavehelpederadicatedmanydiseases

andthemostpressingissueisthatbecausethosediseaseshavebeeneradicated,parents

forgetaboutthem.Itisimportanttorememberthatthereareriskswithanythinglike

drivingyourcartothegrocerystoreyetparentsdothateveryday.Whycantparents
realizethatthereareriskswithvaccinesbuttheyworkandareinstrumentalinkeeping

childrenhealthyanderadicatingdiseases.Allparentswantwhatsbestforchildreneven

iftheirviewsaredifferentthanothers.Insteadoftryingtoscareparentsintovaccinating

childrenwithstatistics,doctorsshouldacknowledgeparentsworriesovervaccinesand

helpthemmakeaninformedandeducateddecision.Theresalotoffalseinformation

andworryontheInternet.Addressingtheconcernsaboutvaccineswouldhelpparents

becomemoreinclinedtovaccinatechildrenandfeelliketheirvoiceisimportant.This

wouldeliminatediseasesandkeepchildrenhealthy.Ifwestoppedblamingonesideor

theotherandinsteadlookedatthefacts,wewouldbefurtheronourwaytoahealthier

anddiseaseriddenenvironment.Therecentmeaslesoutbreakhasbeenawakeupcallfor

some,andshouldremindparentsthetollthatnotvaccinatingchildrencanhave.Evenif

onechildisnotvaccinated,thatcandisrupttheherdimmunityandwreckhavoconan

otherwisehealthygroupofindividuals.