In today's world, the subject of vaccination is always in the headlines and ignites a debate whenever mentioned. Vaccines are substances created to protect individuals from contracting certain diseases (Tolsma). Vaccination is widely considered a universal method for disease prevention. It is scientifically proven that vaccines prevent serious diseases, and for this reason they are needed in society. Vaccines are beneficial to society because they protect the community, eradicate disease, and prevent disease. 

Vaccines, as practiced today, came to the United States of America in 1796 when the cowpox vaccine was given to an eight year old boy. Cowpox is very similar to smallpox, except it is found in cows and, in the past, was used to prevent the smallpox disease. This modified vaccine eradicated smallpox two hundred years later (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). In 1801, Benjamin Waterhouse, physician and cofounder of Harvard Medical University, began promoting the use of this smallpox vaccine in Massachusetts. Massachusetts became the first state to widely promote vaccination, making many other states follow in their lead. This created a domino effect. Schools began requiring vaccines for all children and many vaccine organizations were made. By 1905, mandatory vaccination was implemented by over half of states (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). Later, procedures were put into place for people who experienced adverse reactions from vaccines. 

In 1986, the National Childhood Injury Vaccine Act was passed in response to claims of injury due to vaccines. This act protects medical professionals and manufacturers from being sued due to adverse effects of vaccines. The act established that all claims must go the US Court of Federal Claims, instead of filing directly against physicians or manufacturers. People filing injury claims are not required to prove negligence. They are only required to show that the vaccine caused injury or death (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children).  While reactions from vaccines are rare, they still occur. Most reactions from vaccines are only mild, and children or adults fully recover from them. 

Now, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that children receive twenty eight doses of ten different vaccines by the age of six. Even though this is not mandated, all fifty states require certain vaccinations to attend school. Most states compensate for religious, medical, and philosophical reasons for not receiving new or old vaccines. New vaccines are being created rapidly and established vaccines are being used at a higher rate. With more usage and creation of vaccines, monitoring their safety is very important (Duclos and Ward 451). To ensure vaccines are safe, the FDA requires at least ten years of testing for all vaccines. After, they are still monitored by the CDC to ensure safety is retained (Glanz and Daley). There are many types of vaccines and many ways they are made to ensure optimal safety.

There are many ways that vaccines are created. The first method is to inject the weakened version of the virus. By weakening the virus, it cannot produce inside the body. Normally, when a virus enters the body, it reproduces thousands of times. By weakening the virus, it only reproduces around twenty times. This allows the body to identify the virus without actually contracting the illness. The measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, and shingles vaccines are created using this method. This method is used when long term immunity is needed. One injection of this vaccination will last a lifetime. However, this kind of vaccination cannot be given to people with weakened immune systems (Making Vaccines: How Are Vaccines Made). For example, persons that have AIDs, cancer, or the elderly cannot receive this vaccine without immunological consequences occurring. 

The second method involves killing the virus with a chemical and then injecting the vaccine. By killing the virus, "it cannot possibly reproduce itself or cause disease" (Making Vaccines: How Are Vaccines Made). The polio, rabies, and influenza vaccines are created this way. The benefits of creating a vaccine this way are that the immune system still knows how to protect the body, without the possibility of being infected, and this vaccine can be given to people with a weakened immune system. The fallback to this type of vaccine is that it takes many doses to achieve immunity (Making Vaccines: How Are Vaccines Made).

Vaccines are also created by using part of the virus. The protein on the surface of the virus that provokes the immune response is removed and used to create the vaccine. This can also be done with virus causing illnesses. Pertussis, diphtheria, HPV, and tetanus vaccines are synthesized this way. These vaccines can also be given to persons with weakened immune systems and produce long lived immunity after three doses (Making Vaccines: How Are Vaccines Made).  

This same method can be used in bacteria causing illnesses. They make these vaccines by using part of the sugar coating on the bacteria. By using the sugar coating and not the entire bacteria, the person receiving the vaccine will not get the disease. However, young children do not provoke the needed immune response to create antibodies, which is the whole point of receiving vaccines. So, the sugar coating is linked to a harmless protein so immune response is provoked. This type of vaccine is given to people with weakened immune systems, but it takes many doses to achieve immunity (Making Vaccines: How Are Vaccines Made). 

Vaccines are beneficial to society because they create herd immunity, which protects a community. Recently, there have been disease outbreaks that can be prevented by vaccination. In 2010, ten children in California died from the worst whooping cough outbreak for the state since 1947 (Daley and Glanz). The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recorded ten measles outbreaks in the first six months of 2011. These outbreaks are occurring because of the lack of herd immunity in society. Herd immunity is a concept that explains the correlation between vaccines and the community. In order for vaccines to be effective, eighty or ninety percent of the population must be vaccinated. When the amount of people in the community that are vaccinated decreases below this percent, breakouts begin. More breakouts are occurring because more and more healthy people are choosing against vaccination. This is a problem because persons with weak immune systems cannot be vaccinated like the elderly, infants, and persons with suppressed immune systems from disease (Heyworth). So, when healthy people choose not to be vaccinated, they are putting thousands at risk. When eighty to ninety percent of the community are vaccinated, the community is protected. In 2011, forty nine US states did not meet the ninety percent threshold needed for herd immunity to be effective. This resulted in a pertussis, also known as whooping cough, outbreak that infected 42,000 people. This was the largest outbreak recorded since 1955. In 2005, an eighteen month old contracted polio and spread it to four other children. But, because the community met the herd immunity requirements, there wasn't a large polio outbreak (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). Herd immunity protects society by reducing outbreaks and diseases in general, making that particular community a safer place. The concept of herd immunity shows that vaccines are needed in order for society to stay a safe, disease free place.  

One common myth about vaccines is that they are not effective. Many opponents of vaccination believe that certain diseases would be eradicated with or without vaccines. They also believe that vaccines aren't effective at all. These theories have been disproved by science time and time again. They believe that vaccines do not work because most people who contract an illness during an outbreak were vaccinated. But, if we look at the data, we see that this is just because only a small number of people have been vaccinated. For example, if there are one thousand children in a school and forty four of them contract an illness, more than half of the children that contracted the illness would be unvaccinated. Only a few of the children, probably because of a weakened immune system, would contract the illness. Since they were vaccinated, their bodies are better prepared to fight the infection off. This shows that children who aren't vaccinated are ten times more likely to contract an illness compared to vaccinated children (Lannelli). 

Vaccines are proven to eradicate disease. Diseases that killed thousands of people years ago are now nonexistent. This is all because of vaccines. Polio and smallpox are only seen in history books now and are not prevalent in society. As said by Andrew Campbell, "In 1988, there were approximately 35,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. In 2000, due to vaccination, 2,880 cases were reported in 20 counties. By 2004, polio existed in only 6 countries: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, and Niger. This is indeed enormously important and vastly helpful to all humankind". As shown by Campbell, vaccines have greatly reduced disease and death all around the world. Without vaccines, the world would be full of death and tragedy. But, vaccines spare us from this. This alone proves that vaccines benefit society as a whole. 

Many opponents of vaccination believe that clean water and healthy eating were the causes of disease eradication, not vaccines. They believe this because in the old days, kings and queens were the ones that had access to the best food and water and were the ones that never got sick. The peasants were the ones to contract deadly illness, and they didn't have access to the fresh water like the elite did.  But, science also disproves this. If clean water and better food were the cure, wouldn't every disease have been eradicated at the same time? Smallpox, diphtheria, polio, and measles were all eradicated at different times. Also, very wealthy people, like presidents, died of polio and other disease. This proves that even the best water and food would not prevent disease. If this theory were strong, all diseases would've been eradicated simultaneously. Certain diseases didn't decrease until vaccines became available much later (Lannelli).

Vaccines also make illness less lethal when contracted. For example, if someone who's been vaccinated contracts the flu, it's less severe than if they weren't vaccinated. A child's immune system that hasn't been vaccinated has a hard time fighting off the disease. The child will have full blown symptoms, while the child who was vaccinated will have minor symptoms and recover more quickly. This proves that even if vaccines do not fully prevent the disease, they still help fight the disease faster and more efficiently. 

Vaccinations also prevent disease. By being vaccinated, children are less likely to contract the measles, flu, chicken pox, tetanus, polio, and other harmful conditions. By keeping these numbers down, it also reduces the spreading of these illnesses. For example, 12,000 women and 7,000 men develop cancers caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (Schwan). The HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine protects persons at risk from these cancers. Vaccines help to keep disease and death rates down, while strengthening our society. Vaccines can also protect future generations. Vaccinated mothers can protect their unborn child from viruses that cause birth defects (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). Vaccines save children from disease. Ninety percent of vaccines given to children are effective in preventing disease. Vaccines save 2.5 million children from disease every year (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) also states that "732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination" (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). Without vaccines, thousands of children would be dead or severely disabled. These facts show that vaccinations prevent disease and reduce death rates. Vaccines create a safe, disease free place for children to live, and immunosuppressed persons to reside. 

Opponents of vaccination say that vaccines cause autism in children. This was brought about by Andrew Wakefield. In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield posted a study that indicated the development of autism in eight children after they received the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Dr. Wakefield conducted the study at the key time in a child's life when they start showing signs of autism. Dr. Wakefield also had no control group to compare his findings, making them invalid. It is likely that Dr. Wakefield found association, which should not be confused with causation (Tolsma). Wakefield study was rebuked, and he lost his medical degree for falsifying results. These facts make this argument against vaccinations false and further supports the theory that vaccinations benefit society. 

Persons against vaccination also say that vaccines contain harmful chemicals and have dangerous side effects. But, if the facts are examined they show otherwise. Vaccines contain ingredients such as formaldehyde, aluminum, mercury, antibiotics, and proteins. These chemicals may sound harmful but, they are only harmful in large amounts. Matthew Daley and Jason Glanz explain that "children are exposed to more aluminum in breast milk and infant formula than they are exposed to in vaccines. Paul Offit, MD, notes that children are exposed to more bacteria, viruses, toxins, and other harmful substances in one day of normal activity than are in vaccines". Many major medical organizations also support vaccines, proving they are safe. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization, and many others support the statement that vaccines are one of the safest medical procedures available to the public (Daley and Glanz). 

Also, side effects from vaccines are extremely rare. The most common side effect, anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction), occurs in one out of many thousands compared to the millions of vaccines received each year. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon says, "You are 100 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to have a serious allergic reaction to the vaccine that protects you against measles" (Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children). 

Many parents fear vaccines because of the horror stories they see on the news, in magazines, and many other places. And, not all parents are reassured by the facts they receive from their physicians or nurses. Many parents have seen children with autism, but very few have seen a child with polio, making them fear one over the other. Many parents are now choosing to delay vaccination for their children due to these fears. This is the main reason why herd immunity is becoming rare and more children are contracting diseases that have vaccines for them. At the end of day, the choice of vaccination is given to each and every person to decide. But, this decision affects more than just one person, causing a rise in death and illness.  

According to Maglione et all, "Vaccines are considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century for their role in eradicating smallpox and controlling polio, measles, rubella, and other infectious diseases in the United States".  Vaccines are proven to eradicate disease, prevent disease, and protect the community. Without vaccines, society would be disease and death consumed. With more people choosing against vaccination, certain illnesses are becoming more prevalent. Vaccines are beneficial to society because they reduce certain diseases, and protect the community. 

