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With the existing option of protecting your childs life further than any physical
possibilities, it is hard to believe there is any chance of rejecting such a claim.
Vaccinations have been readily available to the public for various decades, however, their
usage rate, has not been that favorable. Despite a plethora of vaccination cases, which
resulted in the prevention of diseases, there are many arguments posed against this
procedure. Childhood vaccination has been highly favored by doctors; yet, claims made
by parents have led to an outbreak in anti-vaccination movements. There are many
Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD), which have favored vaccines in an ongoing debate
over the necessity of parents to get their children vaccinated. With substantial evidence
pointing towards a decrease in outbreaks of VPDs, there should be more favorable
discussions for the implementation of vaccines and their financial, societal, and medical
results.
Straying away from the main factor of the debate, decrease and prevention of
diseases, there exists many financial benefits to increasing childhood vaccination rates.
Firstly, vaccines across the world have been structured to be affordable to the majority of
income classes. There is a wide range of prices for vaccines clearly fluctuating due to
the severity of the disease being prevented yet the range remains at an average of $40
USD. With an already seemingly affordable price, pro-vaccination health care companies
and physicians have been working to make vaccines even more affordable to a vast
majority of the global population. Subsequently, the incurring costs, which would spur
from a child being infected of a VPD or serious infection, such as medication and
treatment, can be diminished and/or prevented by the proper implementation of
vaccination.
Along with the financial benefits is the societal issues being resolved by the
increasing vaccination rates. The root of this argument is embodied by the fact that
members of society must not only think for themselves. In other words, implementation
of vaccinations in a society can only be deemed successful if the majority of the members
of this society are supportive. If there are a large number of children vaccinated in a
society, there will clearly be a smaller chance of outbreak of a VPD. Although some
children will be susceptible to the disease or infection, the unique genetic make up of the
disease may not be prevented. This stresses the importance of maintaining a uniform
process in protecting the health of these younger individuals. Nevertheless, this factor
also works vice-versa. If there are a greater number of children unvaccinated, there is a
higher probability that the children that have been vaccinated may still be infected by a
combination of infections. Claims made about children who do not get vaccinated have
been focused on the spreading of diseases that have been seemingly dormant for years
such as measles. It was in the year 2000 that the United States announced the successful
elimination of measles. However, in his journal entry Understanding Public Perceptions
of Benefits and Risks of Childhood Vaccinations in the United States, Geoboo Song
states:
Since then, the importations of measles into the United States continue to
occur, posing risks for measles outbreaks and sustained measles
transmission. In fact, during 2011 alone, a total of 222 measles cases and
17 measles outbreaks were reported to the CDC, compared with a median
of 60 cases and four outbreaks reported annually from 2001 to 2010.
there could be a surprising increase in cases, which have not been dealt with in many
years. Progress in medicine has come to see a lack of these diseases and can potentially
be caught off guard if there is a resurgence of such impacts. There is a possibility to avoid
this if proper work is done. Therefore, more time must be spent focusing on the success
of childhood vaccination, rather than putting increasing efforts into extracting or creating
controversial negative impacts.
REFERENCES:
Keselman, A., Smith, C. A., & Hundal, S. (2014). Library workers' personal beliefs about
childhood vaccination and vaccination information provision.Journal Of The
Medical Library Association, 102(3), 205-210. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.102.3.012
Song, G. (2014). Understanding public perceptions of benefits and risks of childhood
vaccinations in the United States. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 34(3),
541-555.
Song, G., Silva, C. L., & Jenkins-Smith, H. C. (2014). Cultural worldview and preference
for childhood vaccination policy. Policy Studies Journal, 42(4), 528-554.
doi:10.1111/psj.12076