You have 24 hours to live. Think about that. What would you do? This is what could happen to you or your future children if you neglect the health benefits and medical advances that are now available in the modern United States. According to Scholastic’s article on the advantages of vaccination, “The number of young children who are not fully vaccinated for preventable diseases has been steadily increasing over the last decade.” The number of children in the United States that are not receiving vaccinations is on the rise. This this not only impacts the child or person that does not receive the vaccination, but choosing against vaccinations also affects everyone around that person. For example, a young child that has not received a vaccination can infect an infant with that particular disease, as the infant is not yet old enough to receive that vaccination. Vaccination is not only imperative for us, but for our future generations as well. Disease and illness has impacted us all in some way, shape or form and vaccinations work to prevent them. It is important for people to be informed of the risks associated with choosing against vaccination. The vaccination debate not only affects you, but your future children as well. Consequently, those who choose against vaccination are putting the human race as a whole at risk. Vaccination is necessary and vital for health. People should support and take advantage of vaccination.

To better understand the vaccination debate, let’s go back in time to the man who started it all. The debate was first spurred on by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in 1998. He claimed to have found a linkage between certain vaccinations and autism. Wakefield then published a paper that documented his research and studies, making it available to the public eye. Wakefield’s claims and findings instilled fear and worry in many. The studies that Wakefield published claimed to have found a connection between autism and the MMR vaccine, and in a time where autism rates were growing dramatically in the United States with no explanation, this led many to further question vaccinations. However, it was later found that Wakefield’s studies contained an immense amount of false information. It was concluded that Wakefield’s studies were not based on statistics, lacked control groups, and led to many other vague conclusions. 

Today, Wakefield’s studies have been disregarded and proven to be false. To this day, it is still unknown as to what causes autism. While researchers and experts continue to search for answers as to what causes autism, it can be difficult for parents to accept that there is no known cause yet. However, as a result of Wakefield’s claims, millions of children have now been left unvaccinated. Unfortunately, the fear and uncertainty of autism can be one of the top reasons that parents choose against vaccination. The fear of autism and other health risks that false studies claim to be as a result of vaccination have prevented these children to be given the proper health care that they need and deserve. While many parents believe that they are steering their children away from harmful substances and unnecessary chemicals, it can be proven that vaccination is safe and furthermore imperative. Choosing against vaccination is a devastating choice, not only to the child, but to the rest of the population that that child could affect (Scholastic, 1). According to Scholastic, an unvaccinated child can transfer a disease to an infant who is too young to be vaccinated. To help better understand the reasoning behind parents and people in general that choose against vaccination, it is important to look into the reasons that these people feel this way. One of the most effective ways to convince people of the proper choice is to understand, analyze but ultimately disprove their argument. While there are a few valid reasons that can be convincing to those that are uninformed about the truth of vaccination, it can be ultimately concluded that vaccines can do much more good and wonder than harm.

There are several reasons that people choose against receiving vaccines and why parents choose against vaccinating their children. One reason that people choose against vaccination is because they believe that vaccines can overwhelm their child’s immune system. With this, some parents believe that it is okay to wait on certain vaccines until the child is older. However, this is a common misconception and leads to children contracting diseases and illnesses. Parents underestimate the strength of an infant’s immune system and the ability of vaccines to work together with those immune systems to protect their child. In fact, parents who were born in the 1970s and 1980s were vaccinated against diseases, and these vaccines can also protect their future children. For example, say someone gets a vaccine against meningitis. As a result, this person’s child would receive the immunity to meningitis from the mother. According to Mark H. Sawyer, a professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, “I’m an infectious disease specialist, but I don’t see infections in children after they’ve had all the routine vaccines at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, which would happen in their immune system were overloaded.” It can be deduced from this statement that if children were to react to the immunizations that they are receiving, there would be prevalent trends and errors seen across the country. Since this is not the trend, however, this can be concluded as an incorrect belief. With this misconception, parents are also convinced that they can put off certain vaccinations and that their child will be just as healthy as those children who were vaccinated earlier or at the proper time. However, Dr. Halsey says that this “leads to prolonged periods of susceptibility to diseases like measles.” If this isn’t convincing enough, it has also been shown that delaying certain vaccines, even by a few months, can be a great impact on a child. For example, delaying the MMR vaccine by even three months past the recommended age increases the risk of seizures. The importance of timing when it comes to the vaccination schedule is imperative. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), who gathered an examination of the immunization schedule to date in 2013, “The current recommended U.S. childhood immunization schedule is timed to protect children from 14 pathogens by inoculating them at the time in their lives when they are most vulnerable to disease.”

Another common misconception is that vaccines contain several harmful toxins, and really aren’t that effective anyways. Many parents ask, “Why pollute my child’s body with unnecessary chemicals when the vaccine may not even work?” However, this is only a misconception that can be easily explained and disproven. According to parents.com, vaccines are mostly water with antigens. While vaccines do require certain additional ingredients to balance the solution and increase the effectiveness of the vaccine, certain chemicals that were once linked to harmful side effects have been removed from vaccines. For example, thimerosal, a toxin that was condemned for accumulating in the body and causing harm to children, was removed from all infant vaccines in 2001. Even though it has now been found that thimerosal caused no harm to infants as being part of the vaccine, ingredients like this one continue to be removed from vaccines as a precautionary measure. As for the effectiveness of vaccines, it has been proven that the vast majority of vaccines are 85 to 95 percent effective. Even if a vaccine doesn’t completely “cure” or “prevent” a certain disease or every single one of its symptoms, vaccinations are a much better alternative. Vaccinations work to prevent diseases, or at the very least, reduce the percentage of people that actually contract the disease. If vaccinations were harmful and were not effective, experts and specialists would have condemned them as unsafe long ago.

Almost everyone has heard the claim, “the side effects of some vaccines seem worse than the actual disease.” It is understandable that people and parents alike choose against vaccines for this reason alone. There are several myths surrounding vaccination. However, the truth can once again explain and prove this theory wrong. According to Dr. Halsey, it takes ten to fifteen years of trial and error to ensure that a vaccine is safe and effective. According to the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition, “Vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are continually monitored for safety.” There are four phases of safety-and-effectiveness testing that a vaccine must pass before getting approved. After this, each vaccine is tested on adults before children. To put this into perspective, one must think about vaccines from the point of view of pharmaceutical companies. Why would a company invest in a vaccine that causes worse side effects than the harm of that disease itself? The answer is, they wouldn’t. An agency is not going to invest in a vaccination that is not going to make that hard earned money back and produce a higher profit. There is a major liability issue for approving and investing in vaccinations as well. If a company invests in a vaccination that is not safe, that company would have a huge liability issue at hand if that vaccination lead to hospitalization or in extreme cases, death. To summarize, mild and moderate side effects are rare in themselves, but should be expected and tolerated as an alternative to a damaging, deadly disease that the vaccination is working to protect the body against. 

Lastly, the vaccination debate has also challenged the issue of personal rights that Americans have. Those who are against vaccination have claimed that forcing vaccinations upon people and their children is a violation of their rights. However, the requirements for vaccination of children is simply enforced to protect not only your child, but other children as well. In general, state laws begin to require vaccinations preschool and public school, but even as early on as day care. However, there is good reason for this. It has been shown that children who are not vaccinated against a certain disease or illness can infect infants who are too young to receive that vaccine yet. So, in not vaccinating your child, your child could contract a disease and infect others that are simply too young to receive that vaccine yet. Vaccination laws work to protect these young children. Due to these complaints, however, most states allow exceptions to the vaccination laws. For example, a person may be excused due to religious beliefs. It may not come as a surprise that the disease rates are higher in these states than states such as California, Mississippi and West Virginia, due to the fact that these states do not allow these vaccination exemptions. This leaves many parents angered at the fact that some children still are not being vaccinated, which in turn could harm their child by infecting them with a disease (Department of Philosophy, Oakland University, 1).

Many people have concerns when it comes to vaccination. However, in addition to explaining and disproving many reasons as to why people choose against vaccination, it is also important to understand the reasons that you should support and encourage vaccination. Vaccinations are safe as well as effective, and they can save lives. Certain diseases that were once responsible for the deaths of thousands can now be prevented by a single injection. For example, Polio used to terrorize America and its children. Polio is an incredibly dangerous disease that paralyzes, or in some instances, kills its victims. Today, Polio is extinct due to vaccination. The Polio immunization is just one great example of a disease that has been completely eliminated from the United States due to vaccination. Therefore, it can then be stated that without a doubt vaccination is safe and effective. I mentioned before that a company would not take a risk on a vaccination if it were not 100% reliable and safe, due to liability and monetary reasons. In addition, a healthcare professional would not take the risk of putting any patients or children in danger. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), “Before the ACIP recommends adding a new vaccine to the immunization schedule, it reviews comprehensive data about that vaccine’s safety and efficacy in clinical trials.” There is a lot of time and energy invested in the idea and creation of new vaccines to ensure their safety. The minor sting of a needle is minimal compared to the pain and life altering effects of certain diseases that could be contracted due to the lack of certain vaccines.

Another argument that proves that vaccination is important and necessary is due to the fact that vaccines can save time and money in the long run. As discussed previously, there are requirements in most states for children to receive certain vaccines before entering school or a care center in which other children will be present. These laws are simply put in place to provide protection and safety. If a parent chooses against vaccination, there can be a variety of consequences. For example, a child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or child care facilities, according to vaccines.gov. In turn, a parent would lose income from work because they now would have to stay home and care for their child, as they are not allowed to enter school or day care due to this disease. If this disease is serious or life-threatening, medical bills will rack up and take a toll on the child and their family. In addition, it is cheaper to prevent a disease than to treat one. According to the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition, “The routine childhood immunization program in one birth cohort saves $13.6 billion in direct costs. Every dollar spent on childhood immunizations saves $18.40.” This represents a massive proportional difference between immunizations and treating a full on disease. When parents chose against vaccination for their child, and the child ended up contracting that disease, it cost over eighteen dollars for every dollar that would have been spent on a single immunization shot. In addition, the source reports, “In Colorado, the cost of treating 538 children hospitalized for vaccine-preventable diseases in one year totaled $29.2 million.” While 538 may not seem like an extremely high number, it really is an immense amount of children that were hospitalized for diseases and other conditions that could have been prevented. The impact of the lack of vaccination in this case can easily be represented by the costly amount that was footed by the government, insurance agencies, and the child’s family as well. 

Choosing against vaccination is choosing against the success of the human race. As one of the most advanced and fortunate nations in the world, we should take support and take advantage of modern medicine and technology, since not all countries in the world are nearly as fortunate. A single shot can prevent a lifetime of disease and hardship. It has been proven time and time again that today’s vaccines are safe, cost effective, and beneficial. According to the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition, “Vaccination is not just a personal choice. The vaccinated community helps to protect those who are not yet vaccinated.” Vaccination has the power to prevent illness, disease and death, if only parents are informed of the truth. Your choice affects everyone. After all, your future child’s health lies in your hands. 

I chose to use factual information from this article because the source of information is vastly different from all of my other sources. This article was written by Vivian Chou representing Harvard University, the graduate school of arts and sciences. This is a very credible source and it talks about how the vaccination debate is tied into the recent 2016 presidential election. The article also explains specifically what vaccines do, scientifically. It also uses percentages and visual representation to explain how effective vaccinations are.

This source has a vast amount of evidence to help support my claim. The author of this article is a doctor, which is a very reliable source for this topic of study. This article focuses on fact and opinion. The doctor states her own opinion on the matter (which is in line with my own) and then backs up her opinion with facts and statistics. This source is also fairly recent, which helps me to talk about the way that vaccines are used today. This source is suitable for my project because it gives the perspective of a doctor.

I selected this peer reviewed journal for several different reasons to further benefit my argument. It was written in 2007, so I can use it to show how the vaccination debate has changed over the past ten years. It also features autism, a main influential factor in the vaccination debate. The article discusses how the idea that autism is ultimately caused by vaccinations is influencing public policy. However, studies at this time did not prove that this was true. The author has a clear view that not vaccinating is wrong, which can help me convince my audience that vaccination is important. Lastly, the article gives detail on the history of autism on the vaccination debate. The article gives convincing numerical statistics.

I chose this article because it will help me appeal to pathos in my project. This article discusses the ongoing vaccination debate’s effect on children in pediatric practice. I can use facts and evidence from this article to help appeal to my audiences’ emotions. This article also discusses how medical staff are supportive of vaccinations, so I could use it to strengthen my argument. Pediatric Practices believe in vaccinating children and will urge parents to do so. The author also talks about the parent-physician relationship, which is information that I can use to describe the ongoing debate. The author concludes that it is ultimately the physicians’ responsibility to vaccinate, as the child cannot speak on their own behalf.

This article helps me support my claim and opinion on the vaccination debate even further. Specifically, this article discusses natural immunity and the ongoing debate concerning autism. The facts of this article once again prove that vaccines do not cause autism, and the article uses studies and evidence to prove it. This article was written by the Mayo Clinic, which is a very credible website that is written by medical professionals themselves. It is a trustworthy source and the information can be backed up with the evidence and additional links that are used.

I chose to use this article because it gives a specific example to explain the vaccination debate. I can use the facts and the argument in this article as an example to back up the factual information that I present. It will help intensify my argument and persuade my audience. This article informs the public of a rise in measles cases linked to Disneyland were on the rise back in 2015. The article discusses the background of the vaccination debate and explains how some parents believe that vaccinating their children can lead to autism. This article will help me to discuss the pros as well as cons of the vaccination debate, as well as persuade them of my own opinion.

This source is unique compared to any of my other sources. This is a peer reviewed journal that contains graphs and data tables. This source is going to give me the numbers and statistics that I need in my research to back up my claims. This source is fairly recent (published in 2014), so I can use it to better assert my claims with numbers that are relevant to today. This source is suitable for my argument because it offers me information through inartistic appeals.

This source is a TED talk that discusses the dangers of vaccination. Michael discusses why people are afraid of modern science, but warns that this in itself is dangerous. This source also factors in the autism debate. This TED talk is a bit older, but this could actually help my argument. I will use it to show how the debate has changed over the last few years. This source is suitable for my argument because the video goes into greater depth in explaining the vaccination debate. It is also unique and different from my other sources.