Jack Stewart

Ms. Gardner

Honors English

31 October 2017

​ In two thousand eleven I stood in line with many of my fellow community members. (Personal

Address) ​The reason? A swine flu vaccine that was being doled out to the patient families of

Petaluma and the reason that we all decided to get the vaccine was obvious. Now the swine flu

may not be the most life-threatening sickness, but one that is life-threatening, and long lasting is

measles.

Measles is a disease that most people have no reason to worry for, if they are vaccinated,

but to the unvaccinated it poses a serious threat. According to the CDCA the Somali community

in Minnesota this year the vaccine rate has dropped to just forty-two percent, and the

consequences were tremendous. In Minnesota alone there were seventy-eight reported deaths

due to measles,and that outnumbers the total deaths to measles in all of twenty-sixteen in the

the United States (CDC). Children susceptible to the spreading disease benefit from herd

immunity, but it is not enough. Those numbers alone are enough to prove that a decrease in

vaccinations will lead to an increase in deaths due to disease.

Vaccinations are a life saving scientific discovery, and most parents care strongly about their

children’s lives and their own lives, but some parents are skeptical of the negative effects of

vaccines.​ One of the many aging concerns of vaccines is antigens​.(alliteration) An antigen is a

toxin or other foreign substance that induces an immune response in the body, especially the

production of antibodies. A child is recommended to receive forty nine doses of fourteen

vaccines by the age of six, and parents are concerned by the number of shots, and the amount
of antigens that the child will receive is less than the amount received one hundred years ago,

and children encounter thousands of foreign antigens each day. Antigens may weaken a child's

immune system, but in the end, it protects their lives. To address the concern of the number of

shots, pediatricians would not recommend them if they were dangerous in any way to the child’s

life.

Another concern of parents is thimerosal. Thimerosal is a preservative component prevalent

in vaccines, but the problem that people want to find is that Thimerosal contains ethylmercury,

which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury, which is found in

specific kinds of fish, and is highly toxic in large doses. Ethylmercury is less likely to cause any

harm. The amount of thimerosal in vaccines is incredibly minute, and there are even vaccines

without thimerosal, so this should not be any concern to parents. ​The chemical is not a

threat.(short sentence after longer ones)

False links to Autism are also a misconception associated with vaccines, and it is all due to

the falsified lab results of former doctor Andrew Wakefield. In his research he only tested twelve

children, then falsified the results of the research to make Autism and vaccines appear linked.

The study was published in 1998, but was retracted by the Lancet after the truth of the study

was revealed. But in recent years a well known man has been spreading false information about

vaccines and Autism. The man is the current president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

President Trump during his campaign at the second Republican debate stated that “Autism has

become an epidemic” and “Just the other day, two years old, two and a half years old, a child, a

beautiful child went to have the vaccine, and came back, and a week later got a tremendous

fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic.”​ Such a man, a leviathan with his ability to influence

the public, should not be spouting irrelevant, and incorrect nonsense! (Metaphor, allusion,

imperative)​ The influence of social media, and “alternative facts” has such a large effect on new,
concerned parents and it is creating controversy, giving an air of safety in a hostile

environment, and destroying lives. My plea to concerned, or confused parents is to ask your

doctor or just do research of your own. Through an hour of research any questions that could

even be asked can be answered. ​Is being skeptical about a safe, temporary procedure worth

your child's life?(Rhetoric question)​ ​To avoid more deadly outbreaks, to clear the minds of

cautious parents, to build a safer society I am pleading out to you, my fellow citizens, please

vaccinate your children, and do not let the opinions of social figures sway your choices.

(Anaphora)
 1. The Second Republican Debate
http://time.com/4037239/second-republican-debate-transcript-cnn/?utm_source=feedburner&ut
m_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fswampland+(TIME%3A+Swamplan
d)

2.​ Using the combined vaccine for protection of children against measles, mumps and
rubella
http://www.cochrane.org/CD004407/ARI_using-combined-vaccine-protection-children-against-m
easles-mumps-and-rubella

3. Here’s How Many Lives Vaccines Save Each Year

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-how-many-lives-vaccines-save-each-year_us_5727
8a3ee4b01a5ebde634c0

4. CDC Measles
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html