Whether or Not to Vaccinate - Essay Example

Childhood Vaccinations/Whether Or Not to Vaccinate Childhood vaccination is greatly exercised in the 21st century with some parents and medical practitioners having little knowledge about the activity. An explanation for the increased levels of vaccinations could be that preventive care is the most preferred form of intervention in matters concerning health. With the initial discoveries of vaccines made in the 20th century, most infectious diseases were contained or even eradicated from the population like in the case of smallpox. The numbers of childhood deaths have also reduced greatly and more vaccines introduced to children and adults. Despite the obvious advantages of vaccination, several controversies surround the practice and several questions have been raised by different people. To begin with, some medical practitioners do not give the required emphasis on vaccination exercise as it is supposed to be done. According to Chatterjee and O’Keefe, a survey carried out on physicians and medical practitioners indicated that “11% of the physicians did not recommend to parents that children receive all available vaccines” (497).This is because, suffering caused by diseases such as polio and measles is no longer common, and the practitioners may overlook the importance of vaccination. In addition, parents assume that since physicians do not advice them to get all or some vaccines for their children, then the vaccines in question may not be very important. Questions of whether the vaccines are completely effective as it is widely publicized also contribute to the controversy. There have been questions from parents and some medical practitioners challenging the effectiveness of some vaccines. For example, Gervais states that a survey conducted by Dr. Michel Odent demonstrated that “children receiving the Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, were six times more likely to develop asthma than children not receiving this vaccine” (1). This is definitely a big concern to most parents and the results of this survey can result to reduced number of children being vaccinated against whooping cough. In addition to the concern about effectiveness, the minimum number of vaccines recommended for each child also worries the parents. Many vaccines have been discovered and put into practice in many places in order to combat different infectious diseases among them measles, Haemophilus influenza type b disease, and pertussis. According to Bronfin, a survey conducted showed that “nearly 25% of parents reported their impression that children were receiving too many vaccines and felt that this could result in a weakening of their immune systems” (1). This is undoubtedly expected, this is because, health sectors in different countries give directives to medical practitioners to administer several vaccines to children at specific age. Another interesting form of controversy is where most parents question the effects of specific contents in a vaccine. Many vaccines contain additives along with the main active ingredient for example, preservatives, adjuvant, and residuals, which help to improve potency of the vaccine (Brown 5). These additives are feared to cause some unknown reactions to the recipients. Other past studies have also shown that indeed vaccines contain impurities (Room 16). According to Room, the first pertussis vaccine injected into children contain impurities since it was “unknown how to separate antigens from impurities” (16). Even with the advanced technology, fear of incomplete separation of antigens from other interfering components still exists among many people. Besides, many parents have experienced situations where children develop fever or other abnormal symptoms after immunization and this farther increases concern about the effects of the additional components in a vaccine. More often than not, many people have questioned the methods preparation and storage of vaccines. According to Gervais, “live virus vaccines require incubation in animal tissues” (1). This is the basis of the controversy surrounding vaccine preparation. There are concerns of whether the animals used in the preparation vaccines could produce additional components together with the targeted product. In addition, concerns about whether mutation of the antigen in question could occur as a result of using animals as the basis of vaccine production. Various vaccines require special form of storage after production in order to maintain their potency. Since most forms of vaccines are either non-virulent or less-virulent, failure to store them in the prescribed condition can lead to increased virulence of the antigen. According to ProCon.org, “Vaccines can trigger auto-immune disorders such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), and other disorders.” This makes many parents debate much about whether or not to accept vaccines totally. In addition, there are chances that even if the vaccines are stored as required, the storage equipment might become faulty without the physicians knowledge. Social and religious perspectives of different people also form a basis of controversy about vaccination. ProCorn.org acknowledges that “vaccines interfere with natural law and Gods plan for humanity.”Diseases were created to be part of human being life and any intervention to stop disease occurrence will be contradicting with the natural law. In addition, the use of animals for trial examination farther contributes to the religious controversy. This is because, some animals used in the experiments may be considered as ‘god’ by some religions. Therefore, members of such religious denomination may campaign against childhood vaccination. To top it up, the regulatory authorities have also been given place in the controversies surrounding vaccines. Health care governors recommend that several vaccines be administered to children as a law in order to reduce national outbreaks of particular preventable diseases. For example, Bronfin states that about 19 injections are recommended for the first two years of a child’s life. This makes parents to feel that they lack control and right to make choices over their own children (ProCon.org). In addition, some legislation on vaccines have been made without consultation from the experts. Further, the regulatory authorities have not educated the pubic effectively on the importance of childhood vaccination. Lastly, some parents and medical practitioners believe that some vaccines are promoted with an aim of making profits. This concern is generated on basis that some diseases do not require immunization and that the immune system can adapt to protect such kind of diseases without necessarily introducing an antigen. This is supported by Gervais report on children who did not develop asthma despite not receiving Pertussis vaccine. In addition, most vaccine manufacturing institutions carry out strong advertisements and promotions to encourage vaccination but with a core aim of making profits. In conclusion, it is evident that despite the controversies surrounding childhood vaccination, children mortality rates have greatly decreased over the years due the practice. In addition, most diseases have been contained and health status of children improved. Therefore, it is important that the controversies are cleared and parents to be informed on the importance of vaccinating their children. However, governments should take the initiative of educating the medical practitioners so that information can be easily and conveniently passed over to the parents. Moreover, parents can easily accept physicians’ comments on childhood vaccination. Works Cited "Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?" ProCon.org. n.d Web.26 Mar. 2014. < http://vaccines.procon.org/> Bronfin, Daniel R “Childhood Immunization Controversies: What Are Parents Asking?” The Ochsner Journal (2008). Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Brown, Ari. Expecting 411: Clear Answers & Smart Adviceyou’re your Pregnancy, Baby 411, and Toddler411. Windsor : Windsor Press, 2010. Print. Chatterjee, A and O’Keefe, C. “Current controversies in the USA regarding vaccine safety.”Expert Rev. Vaccines 9(5), (2010) 497-502. Web.26 Mar. 2014. < http://www.utmb.edu/pedi_ed/HealthDev/Articles/controvsersies%20about%20vaccines.pdf > Gervais, Roger R. “Understanding the Vaccine Controversy.” Natural Life Magazine (1996). Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Articles/controvsersies%20about%20vaccines.pdf>. Room, Aviva J. Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parents Guide : How to Make Safe, Sensible Decisions About the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives / Aviva Jill Romm. Rochester, Vt: Healing Arts Press, 2001. Read More