Is It Right to Utilize Immunization in the Prevention of Diseases and Infections - Essay Example

Vaccination against small pox ‘Vaccination against smallpox’ refers to a publication by Edward Jenner on his research about creating the smallpox vaccine. Jenner’s theory on creating the vaccine was founded on the folklore from his countryside that the milkmaids who milkmaids who suffered the less fatal disease of cowpox never contracted smallpox. Jenner came up with ways to test and prove this theory by inoculating a small dose of cowpox into a person and he observed that it gave the person immunity against smallpox (Jenner 32). Through his experiments, the smallpox vaccine recorded one of the most vital scientific breakthroughs. His experiments lay the ground for the process of immunization. Since his breakthrough, further infectious agents have become targeted for immunization programs thus widening the spectrum of adverse events linked to vaccines. Using Jenner’s research and given the devastating nature of smallpox and the risk it posed to community health, it is possible to justify that it is right to utilize immunization in the prevention of diseases and infections even when it comes at adverse costs. Jenner’s research gave birth to the process of immunization. Immunization is a process whereby an individual is made to become resistant or immune to a disease or infection through the administration of a vaccine. Before Jenner’s findings, the only way people could become immune to disease was through contacting the disease and surviving it. Immunization has become a proven tool to prevent and eliminate life-threatening infectious diseases and is approximated to prevent 2-3 million deaths a year (WHO). Immunization has allowed for the prevention of devastating diseases such as polio and measles. Population growth has led to the destruction of natural habitat and in the process exposed man to more infectious agents. It is vital to note that with continued vaccination, human beings are able to secure their health and limit the number of potential annual deaths. Immunization should be encouraged to prevent disease, and limit the number of possible deaths caused by preventable diseases (Jenner 76). Immunization also helps to improve the quality of lives of individual who might have ended up incapacitated by a disease such as polio which causes paralysis. It is unfathomable to imagine the potential number of human beings who would have become incapacitated had they failed to undertake vaccination against polio. Such a scenario would cause a humanitarian crisis. Immunization should be spearheaded to assist in averting such potential crisis globally. Technological advances have ensured that modern day vaccines have become purer and safer compared to their historical counterparts. This has assisted in reducing the adverse effects that may be posed by vaccines in the present era. For example, developed countries have changed to the inactivated polio vaccine and quit using whole-cell vaccines that cause considerable rates of febrile convulsions, arm swelling, and periods of unresponsiveness (Kwok 436). Researchers and health officials have become increasingly vigilant on the distribution and surveillance of vaccine safety. Such efforts are assisting in reducing the adverse costs if any of vaccines. Researchers are increasingly and sometimes searching for vanishingly small risks. It is also vital to note that vaccines undergo stringent safety tests before they get distributed. Surveillance efforts are conducted by health officials to monitor the safety of vaccines, which generate report on potential side effects. Surveillance efforts ensure that unsafe vaccines become suspended once it is reported that they cause harmful side effect. Technological advances and the stringent measures employed in the field of vaccines assists the argument of supporting the immunization technique. The number of individuals who report potential side effects from immunization is minimal compared to the number of those who benefit from the process. Opponents of immunization have argued that possible side effects from vaccinations include paralysis, seizures, and death. It is true that a few individual cases have reported potential side effects that may have been contributed by immunization (Kwok 436). However, the number of potential side effects reported falls far behind the number of people who benefit from the process. The number of risks and costs offered by a lack of vaccination is significant. It is necessary to judge the effectiveness of immunization from a communal perspective and not to simply pick out individual cases. It is also crucial to realize that most vaccine reactions are usually minor and temporary. Also, adverse health events reported from immunization campaign are extremely rare and get carefully monitored and investigated. It is also noteworthy that an individual is likely to be more adversely affected by a vaccine-preventable infection than the vaccine itself. For example, polio can cause paralysis while some vaccine preventable diseases may even result to death. The number of lives that have been saved and improved through immunization far outweighs those that have been lost or reported side effects (Davis 174). Improvement in vaccine research methodology has also allowed for researchers to find those individuals who are at more risk than others. Reducing the number o at risk individuals ensures that Jenner’s theory gets practiced with minimal regard to the cost of adverse effects. Research has indicated that people with little immunity get discourage from receiving live-virus vaccines. Researchers continue to hope that doctors will finally become able to screen people with genetic predisposition to vaccine side effects (Kwok 437). This would be an improvement on Jenner’s theory and would help to reduce the numbers of those at risk of side effects. Furthermore, such screening would allow making the risks and benefits of immunization more explicit. With such a discovery, the adverse costs of conducting immunization will be greatly reduced and more lives will be saved. Researchers have become much aware of the dynamics involved in immunization in regards to the at-risk population and this assists in reducing the potential of adverse costs and effects. Improvement of research methodologies has assisted in spearheading immunization with disregard to its costs. The cost of conducting immunization is much less cheaper than treating a disease. Jenner’s procedure provides a prevention formula in the fight against diseases. As the adage goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’, the cost of treating a disease is more expensive than that of immunization. Most countries through partnerships with health organizations conduct free immunization campaigns for their citizens and especially children (Kwok 437). This free immunization campaigns greatly assist populations in saving lives and preventing their loved ones from dilapidating diseases that can become quite costly or ultimately result in death. The cost of carrying out immunization is, therefore, less compared to the actual occurrence of disease. Countries have adopted prevention as a cost-effective method of fighting and eradicating disease which immunization helps to attain. The potential benefits of employing Jenner’s theory of vaccination in the fight against infections and diseases far outweighs the potential adverse effects resulting from the process. Jenner’s theory of vaccination has assisted in the prevention of community health catastrophes and averted potential threats from preventable infections and diseases. The benefits of vaccines and immunization still greatly outweigh the risks involved. Growing scientific evidence continues to support the famous process started by Jenner and its benefits. As human action and globalization take their toll on the environment, and for the continued survival of mankind generation, it is necessary that immunization gets practiced. Works Cited Davies, Hugh. "Ethical reflections on Edward Jenners experimental treatment." Journal of Medicine (2007): 174. Jenner, Edward. Vaccination Against Smallpox. New York: Prometheus Books, 1996. Kwok, Robert. "Vaccines: The real issues in vaccine safety." Nature (2011): 436-438. Organization, World Health. Immunization. 21 February 2014. 21 February 2014 . Read More