Effects of Vaccination - Literature review Example

number Effects of Vaccination Introduction According to Hillstorm (pg. 42), a vaccine is a product that has medical features and designed to protect from diseases. There are four main types of vaccines that used for immunization (43). Live attenuated, inactivated killed vaccines, the toxoid and the subunit conjugate vaccines. The vaccine for measles, rubella and mumps fall under the live attenuated. Polio and Hepatitis A fall under the inactivated killed vaccines and The Toxoid include Diphtheria and Tetanus. Lastly, the subunit conjugate vaccines include influenza, Hepatitis, HAemophilius, Pertussis, meningococcal and pneumococcal. Vaccines are for children who are between the ages of two months to the ages of twelve months (55). Apart from preventing an individual from getting certain diseases, there are several side effects associated with vaccination. The American Association for Pediatrics came up with a schedule for vaccination that recommends at least thirty-five immunizations before a child hits one year and six months. Vaccines prevent diseases, nevertheless, the continued lack of research on the ingredients and chemicals used to produce these vaccines in addition to the high doses to the children cause side effects (Hillstorm, 76). Narration Vaccination precisely stops the disease-causing organism from multiplying and making someone sick. Most vaccines do not prevent the pathogens from entering the body but strengthens the immune system to be able to eliminate and block them (Maurice & Sheila, 54). Edward Jenner spearheaded Establishment of the vaccines. He did note that milkmaids did not contact smallpox. He suspected that they might have been protected since the disease was rampant during his time. He took an experiment in the late 1790s by using the fluid from a cowpox blister and rubbed in on the arm of a boy who did not have smallpox or cowpox. The boy was infected with the virus. After one month and two weeks, he injected the boy using fluid from a blister with smallpox, and the boy did not become sick. He discovered that a foreign organism that is harmless could be a source of protection against a deadly organism closely related to it. It is since then that this prevention of pathogens from causing sickness was named Vaccination. After several years, Louis Pasteur did discover vaccines for anthrax, cholera and rabies. Most of the side effects associated with vaccination are short-lived and mild. It is common for children to develop swelling or redness around the site where the vaccine was injected but within time it goes away. The children will sometimes have slight temperature changes and get a bit irritable and unwell. In some cases, individuals will have severe allergic reactions after a short period when a vaccine gets into the body. Medical practitioners refer to this condition as an anaphylactic reaction. The condition can result to breathing difficulties, and a person may collapse at some incidences. These conditions are however rare since the staff that is entrusted with the vaccination process is well trained on how to intervene for the condition. The reactions are reversible when treated promptly. The vaccine for whooping cough (Pertussis) does not seem to cause serious problems. However, there is a reaction that presents itself in several people who receive the combined tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine. It is referred to DTap. With the use of DTaP, permanent brain damages and long-term seizures are no longer regular as it was with the DTP vaccine. Scientists and medical practitioners have engaged in debates concerning the safety of combining various vaccines and using a single shot to inject into an individual (Maurice & Sheila, 25). For instance, the mumps, rubella and measles (MMR) vaccine is the most commonly used vaccines globally. The rates of a vaccine reverting to a form of virulent and causing adverse effects are quite similar for the vaccines combined and those that are offered singly. The main benefit of combined vaccination shot is that the child only takes fewer shots at the right age (Hillstorm, 105). According to Steen, David & Howard, MMR vaccination has been on debate due to its connection to a condition referred to as autism (120). The Institute of Medicine made findings and concluded that there were no evidences of MMR vaccine and autism linking. Since the late 1990s, the deaths because of measles have fallen by more than sixty percent; however, the disease is still a threat. Parents who opt to use the MMR vaccine put their children at potential risk of serious health complications. The effects of vaccines do not present to the children only but to the adults too. The Centre for Disease and prevention made recommendations for a yearly-inactivated influenza vaccine for individuals who are over the age of fifty. In addition, it was recommended for individual suffering from chronic diseases, pregnant women and individual who have weak immune systems (165). Dormitzer et. al (2011) found out that new vaccines have continued to be discovered such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), childhood hepatitis A, and varicella-zoster virus vaccines. In addition, a bird flu vaccine has been established to take care of a possible bird flu pandemic. HPV was licensed in mid-2006 and is recommended for females from the age of eleven and twelve. Its administration occurs at the age of nine. It offers protection against the strains associated with HPV that are the common cause of cervical cancer and genital warts. The varicella zoster vaccine was also licensed in the same year to intervene for shingles. It is a condition caused by the virus for chicken pox. It is recommended for individuals who are over the age of sixty in order to ease pains associated with shingles. Medical practitioners will always adhere to the guidelines provided by the Center for Disease Control when it comes to vaccination. According to Offit, Paul & Charlotte (2011), the risks that are caused by vaccines are much lower as compared to the risks of the disease that it prevents. Most of the common effects include temporary pain, short-lived flu symptoms and soreness at the vaccination spot. According to statistics, these effects are evident in one out of four children who participate in vaccination. They will present themselves immediately of shortly after being vaccinated and remain for up to two days. Needle phobia is one of the most common effects of vaccines. Medical practitioners advise parents to ensure that their children are clam before they receive vaccines. When an individual is vaccinated, it is normal to experience incidences of vomiting, stomach upsets, mild fever, headache, loss of appetite and fatigue. A vaccine will perform its work by copying or rather imitating the infection it is preventing a person from. It does not cause infections but takes the body through a training to come up with the best response to block the viruses from infecting and surviving. There are convincing evidences that link vaccines to several health risks. For instance, Chickenpox vaccine known as varicella zoster may result into encephalitis, pneumonia, hepatitis or meningitis in people who have weak immune systems. MMR also has abilities to cause encephalitis, febrile seizures for the young children and arthralgia, which is joint pains experienced by children and women (Steen, David & Howard, 166). Most vaccines are associated with anaphylaxis which is a severe allergic reaction that is life threatening. In addition, the recent discovered vaccine, HPV, has potentials to cause anaphylaxis for people who are sensitive to yeast. It is common for people to faint when they receive injections for vaccines. According to Hillstorm, many individuals who experience reactions because of vaccination have personal susceptibility that may pose a higher risk of getting chronic and acute health problems (Hillstorm, 118). Conclusion Most individuals will have short-term effects such as redness and temporary pain shortly after being vaccinated. It is rare to find severe side effects associated with vaccination. It is recommended that parents should be keen to observe any changes that present themselves when their children are vaccinated (Howard, 198). Any changes on behavior or high fever and body weaknesses should be reported. In addition, symptoms such as paleness, increased heartbeat, dizziness, difficulty in breathing, wheezing, sourness and hives should be noted, and a doctor contacted within the shortest time possible. Vaccination can save the life of an individual since it is effective and have gone under various reviews by scientists and doctors. In addition, it protects the future generation by eliminating diseases and cases of severe disabilities and deaths. Works cited Dormitzer, Philip R, Christian W. Mandl, and Rino Rappuoli. Replicating Vaccines: A New Generation. Basel: Springer, 2011. Internet resource. Hillstrom, Kevin. Vaccines. Detroit: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. 42-124 Maurice, J M, and Sheila Davey. State of the Worlds Vaccines and Immunization. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2009. Print. 12-98 Steen, David B, and Howard L. Dyson. Vaccinations: Types, Potential Complications, and Health Effects. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2009. 113-203. Offit, Paul A, and Charlotte A. Moser. Vaccines & Your Child: Separating Fact from Fiction. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011. Internet resource. Read More