(Marissa)Looking back on my inquiry thesis, I realized that I am not only speaking

to my classmates, and the rest of the University community but I am speaking to the people

who decide not to vaccinate. The parents who decide not to vaccinate their children and the

children who grow up and never decide to vaccinate themselves and their children. Like

Jimaree also stated, I would like to understand why. Why would you not want to

vaccinate? Or why wont you? It gives me the idea that yes some people are just stubborn

but others are simply uninformed. Instead of just providing information I would like to

provide personal experiences and inputs to persuade the anti-vaccination crowd.

(Jimaree)This process was an interesting one. while attempting to keep in mind my

audience, the students of my University as well as individuals interested in the discussion

on vaccinations, I found it very difficult to provide equal opportunity to the opposing side. I

found it difficult, however, because of the Stark lack of information that supports the

dubious notions found within the anti-vaccine movement. Much of the information, as well

as concerns that are held within the anti-vaccine movement, are General

misunderstandings, or simple lack of knowledge. Consequently, the biggest question that I

have is: What is it about vaccinations that scare you? What is it that I can inform you on to

help alleviate that fear? Are you even willing to open your mind to the possibility that

vaccinations are good?

In modern America, health, style, and fear have become commonplace in everything

ranging from private lives to political and business agendas. Specifically in the field of medicine,

as it relates to vaccinations, we have seen the greatest insurgence in the fears of health related

subjects.. As a result, we have seen a great increase in the anti-vaxxer movement. Individuals
participating in the anti-vaccine movement believe that the practice of vaccinating does more

harm than good. Some such concerns include deadly side effects, harmful long-lasting effects,

cost, and freedom of autonomy. However, those in favor of vaccinating maintain that any

negatives resulting from vaccinations are rare and pale in comparison to the vast advantages that

vaccinating has on not just the individual, but the community as a whole. Some such advantages

are those of improved health, decreased frequency and prevalence of deadly diseases, and

reduced costs in the long run. This paper is meant to discuss some of the concerns on both sides

while discussing the overarching effect that vaccinations have on us, and the community.

First and foremost, I believe it is important to understand exactly how vaccines work.

Upon receiving the injection, the pre-killed or weakened virus is introduced into the

bloodstream. This triggers an immune response, causing the body to attack the disease and

produce antibodies against it. This way, the next time the virus is reintroduced to the body, via an

infected person or object, the body already has built up defenses to the disease and can more

easily fend it off. Occasionally, however, the presence of the pre-killed/weakened pathogen does

not elicit a strong enough response, and so the doctors introduce different ways to amplify that

response. One of the more primitive methods is through extremely minute and trace amounts of

various metals and chemicals. By introducing these trace amounts of foreign debris, the immune

system responds far more aggressively and attacks all the foreign intruders, including the

pathogen, resulting in an increase in antibodies against said pathogen. The second method is

through a series of shots. By constantly reintroducing the pathogen, the body is not only allowed

multiple times to guard against it, but it also amplifies the immune response for each subsequent

introduction of the pathogen. This is due to the already high volume of antibodies relevant to the

pathogen, and them all immediately responding to it at once, triggering a large and widespread
immune response. This amplified immune response is often times the cause of extraneous

symptoms that result from vaccines, such as flu like symptoms or colds, and is in fact, not the

individual reacting because they are truly infected with the pathogen.

One of the first topics often discussed within the realm of vaccinations is in regards to the

safety of vaccinations. It is common for those not in favor of vaccinating, as well as those

anxious about vaccinating, to discuss the various contents within vaccines, as well as the side

effects they may or may not have. One such side effect often mentioned within the realm of

vaccinating is the risk for autism. The claim that vaccines are linked to autism began in 1998 by

British surgeon Andrew Wakefield who claimed to have found a link between Autism and

vaccines. Upon closer study, it was revealed that the study performed by this British surgeon was

flawed in multiple ways. This study had no statistical data backing it up, made vague

conclusions, relied almost exclusively on human memory as opposed to Scientific data, and

failed to produce re-creatable data. On ingredient in particular caused great concern. It is known

as thimerosal, a mercury-based organic chemical, that was used as a preservative and to prevent

cross-contamination. Resultantly, the government decided to remove thimerosal from vaccines

entirely. Even still, the CDC conducted multiple research studies and concluded that there was,

in fact, no link between Autism and vaccines.One such study performed by the CDC observed,

"the number of antigens (substances in vaccines that cause the bodys immune system to produce

disease-fighting antibodies) from vaccines during the first two years of life. The results showed

that the total amount of antigen from vaccines received was the same between children with

ASD and those that did not have ASD."(CDC) Furthermore, the US Department of Health and

Human Services has made public statement that, Vaccines are some of the safest medical

products available.(USDH) Even the WHO, World Health Organization, has done their own
testing and said, Vaccines are safe. Any licensed vaccine is rigorously tested across multiple

phases of trials before it is approved for use, and regularly reassessed once it is on the

market.(WHO) The multiple statements from various official departments, including the

department that oversees global health, WHO, furthers the fact that vaccines are safe. Despite

this, the public continued to remain apprehensive, leading to the large movement of anti-

vaxxers that we see today.

Another reason that many people feel as though vaccinating is not important is the belief

that the diseases that vaccines typically target have been eradicated. Although it is true that many

of the vaccines that we are subject to today target diseases that have dropped in prevalence to

being almost non-existent, that is not the same as them being completely eradicated. One such

example often given in favor of the argument that the diseases are eradicated, is the disease

known as polio. The polio disease has been considered eradicated from the United States since

1979, however, that is not to say it has been eradicated from the entire world. We are still highly

recommended to receive the polio vaccine to this day because of the risk of its resurgence due to

possible contamination from outside countries where polio is still prevalent.

One Source utilized was that of the famous Netflix show, Bill Nye Saves the World,

wherein they go to India to demonstrate that polio is still a very dangerous and very relevant

disease even today. During this particular episode, they also discussed the importance that we

continue to vaccinate so that are general population does not have to suffer the horrors that polio

causes. This data then concludes that just because a disease may not be relevant to you, the

individual, in This Moment, does not mean that the disease may not be relevant to Future

Generations who could be subject to such diseases due to a lack of preventative care in this

generation.
 The debate on the advantages and disadvantages continues. The sources that I chose to

represent the scientific data that I utilized generally represented vaccination in a positive light.

Each source agreed with the other sources by means of strengthening and backing up each other's

data. However, one Source I used, in order to provide just views to the opposing side, did

provide many disagreements and resulting data to back up their ideas. Overall, however, I

believe that vaccinating is an important part of maintaining Health as an individual as well as

health as a community. Vaccinations will remain an important part of our society, and if we

should falter we risk the Resurgence of many deadly and crippling diseases. After observing all

of the data presented, I believe that it is important to realize the importance of vaccinations, and

the effects they have on our community and on our generations to come.

Another front to observe when considering vaccines is the ethicality of it. More than 3

million individuals die from vaccine preventable diseases, and half of those individuals are under

the age of 5. A vaccine is defined as a biological preparation that provides active acquired

immunity to a particular disease. Since the 80s vaccinations have been on the rise, preventing

(on average) more than 2.5 million deaths each year and being on its way to eradicating its

second disease, polio. I noticed that my articles were relevant to our inquiry proposal question

but also brought up the To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? question. Here I covered the topic from

an emotional and ethical standpoint, acknowledging the impact that vaccinations can have on a

community and the people living in it, specifically children.

I can honestly say I covered the question biasly, with being on the pro-vaccination side,

of course. One of my sources provided me the idea of using pathos in my thesis. It was an article

from Times magazine that discussed a study that recently took place in communities in

Washington State. The study consisted of vaccinating parents providing non-vaccinating parents
with positive opinions and feedback on vaccination use on their children. Over the 3 year period

that the study took place, the vaccination hesitancy percentage has dropped from 23% to 14%.

Another one of my sources was blog based, Growing Up Unvaccinated. It was written in 2013

by a woman named Amy Parker. She was not vaccinated as a child and she gave details of the

experiences she went through of being unvaccinated and how she has now decided to begin

vaccinating her own children. This was the first article that I found for the inquiry project and I

chose to use it for one of my sources for my annotated bibs because it stuck out to me. Here is a

woman who grew up with no type of medical intervention for diseases and although having one

of the healthiest diets and lifestyles known to man, courtesy to her mother, ended up contracting

5+ types of diseases that couldve been easily prevented with a vaccine. The pain and long

hospital nights that Parker describes seems unbearable and I would not wish that suffering on

any child. So my question is, why would you?

An exemplary thesis:

*demonstrates nuanced understanding of the subject matter,

good

*anticipates readers knowledge, attitudes, and needs,

good
 *discusses connections among your thoughts and the other voices/sources brought

into the essay,

Good. last page a bit of an add on

* strives to teach the reader new things, shift the readers understanding, and/or

convey new perspectives.

good

* uses correct documentation (in text citations/Works Cited) and standard

grammar.

Proof carefully