As society continues to develop and new ideas grow and form that question the authority and rules that are in place in that time. There is an issue that has gradually gaining attention from society which is the anti-vaccination movement. The anti-vaccination movement itself is when the individuals in the society deem that vaccinating children has lead serious repercussions and that the vaccine has no benefit. The movement of the anti-vaccination activists have made a tremendous impact on the doctors and society through the web and misleading ideas about the movement itself, which has caused outbreaks of illnesses and distrust in health care professionals. The words that they believe however are heavily misguided which is why the arguments that most anti-vaccinationist will be put to question such as the ingredients of the vaccine, the evidence behind the vaccine itself, the effects after receiving the vaccine, Evidence against the use of vaccines, and the trust in the authorities behind the vaccine. 

To first understand the war against vaccines is to first understand vaccines themselves. The majority of the population only see vaccines as a shot to become immune to the flu. And as simple as that sounds, the vaccine is not just something that you take and assume that you are instantly safe from everything. The vaccine itself is a substance that is put into the body, typically in the form of a shot. Inside the substance itself is the weakened form of the virus itself and/or other weakened viruses. This weakened strain of the virus allows the body to produce antibodies and cells that help fight this specific strain. Therefore when the body comes in contact with the virus full-on, there are already antibodies ready that recognize this virus and will attack it right away. (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/index.html) 

There are arguments that say there are harmful ingredients within the vaccine, but the ingredients found in the flu vaccine are egg protein, preservatives, stabilizers, antibiotics, polysorbate 80, and formaldehyde. Although, it sounds odd that things such as formaldehyde, polysorbate 80, and thimerosal are found in here, when they could possibly pose health risks, there are specific reasons why each of these ingredients are found in here. The majority of flu vaccines are made by growing the viruses in fertilized chicken eggs which means that there are small amounts of egg protein found within the vaccine. In recent studies, there are new versions grown in animal cells, called Flucelvax. (http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/flu-shot-ingredients#ingredients2) The manufacturers who make the vaccine add preservative thimerosal to multidose vaccine vials to prevent dangerous bacteria and fungi from ruining the vials. The thimerosal that is added can contain mercury which worries a great deal of people. Mercury is most commonly known to be a metal that induces neurological and behavioral disorders if a human is exposed to it. However, since then, mercury has been taken out of vaccines. Stabilizers are also found within the substance that are used to keep the vaccine itself stable. With sucrose, sorbitol, and monosodium glutamate (MSG), they prevent the loss of potency of the vaccine when it is exposed to heat and light. Sucrose being just sugar, sorbitol being an artificial sweetener, and MSG as a flavor enhancer. These ingredients are found in very small amounts. The antibiotics found are neomycin, gentamicin, and a few others which stop the bacteria from contaminating the vaccine. Another thing found in vaccines is Polysorbate 80, which is an emulsifier that keeps all the ingredients evenly distributed. Formaldehyde is the last thing found in vaccines. This natural compound is used to inactivate virus toxins. All of these ingredients are vital for the vaccine to do its job correctly. 

Some say that the ingredients are very harmful to people where they can cause neurological disorders. One of the main arguments anti-vaccination activist have is the fact that Mercury is very dangerous to the human body. Since 1999, *()* Mercury was greatly reduced in the vaccine and then eradicated. Even with this metal being taken out, there were still uproars of the ingredients within the vaccine that made children develop some neurological disorders, such as autism. There has then been more researches on the ingredients within the research itself and there has been no correlation to the disorders with the amounts of each ingredients in the vaccine that was given to a child. 

However, after receiving a vaccine, especially the flu vaccine, there are a few things that one should be careful of. The flu vaccine itself, contains the weakened strain of the virus that doctors believe to be the most dangerous or common flu virus that is around at that time. With that being said, the flu virus changes all the time because as a prokaryotic, the virus is susceptible to many mutations over time. Because the virus mutates so much and so often, that is the reason why there is a new flu vaccine every season that will help one become immune to that virus during that season. Right after receiving the vaccine, one is still susceptible of getting sick with the flu because the body has not had the time to fight the weakened virus to provide the antibodies that will fight the virus at its full power. The body is also more susceptible to other diseases, such as pneumonia, at this time, since the body is having to focus most of its energy into accepting the works of the vaccine. Having a two-week period to be careful and take good care of yourself is important so that there is very little chance of becoming sick right after the vaccine is received. 

Even after getting the vaccine, many people say they experience bad symptoms and side effects of the vaccine, some would even go far as to say that they got the flu after receiving the vaccine. There is a precaution when getting the vaccine which could include soreness, swelling, low fevers and aches. Most of these side effects only last for one or two days but many people tend to mistake these symptoms for symptoms of the actual flu itself. There are also cases where these symptoms could be part of an allergic reaction. There has also been talk of the immune system becoming weaker due to the vaccine and the proof behind it is the body getting weaker after being injected with the vaccine. That is almost the complete opposite since the entire reason for vaccines is to improve the immune system so that the body can fight against the virus. 

Many people think that there is lack of evidence that a flu vaccine is necessary, which then prevents them from allowing their child to get vaccinated. With studies shown on the internet or news constantly coming up that say there is no correlation between the flu vaccine and immunization to the flu, it is incredibly hard to not believe what one sees. With words like “Systematic review of 51 studies involving 260,000 children,” it sounds as if the statistics are reliable. However, with 51 studies that prove against vaccines, there have been thousands of studies that prove that vaccinations are necessary which very well put these studies only at a 1% reliability. Then to compare with the amount of children that were under these studies, (260,000) to the tens of millions of children that were within the studies that helped prove vaccines are not harmful, puts this as less than 1%. To look at these studies individually however, many of them have been reconciled or debunked for that matter. To say the very least, most of the problems come with the ethicality of all the studies and how they chose to study the children. 

When mentioning the evidence that is provided with all the medical journals that were published, it is important to look at one and really determine the value of it. One of the very large published journal that made this movement take flight was written by former Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Within his experiment, he tested the correlation between the flu vaccine and the development of autism. To conclude his study, he determined that children became autistic when they were vaccinated. However, there were many flaws within this study that make people looked over very briefly. First, the experiment he performed was very unethical where he took blood samples from children at his own child’s birthday party and then afterward compensated the parents. With the small amount of data that he collected, he determined that the vaccine was the cause of autism, but with about 15 children being tested, there was no statistical significance that allowed him to prove this. Then even after he finished his experiment, the data that he concluded did not match up to what actually happened. Because there is such thing as an ‘autistic scale’ Wakefield was able to record more “autistic” children then there were. In the end, his paper was published and then taken very seriously where more and more people started to think that vaccines were the cause of their child’s autism. He did try using a vaccination company in order to receive money as well as getting his name out in the open, so there is more casual conversation about his work.  His published report was eventually repealed and deemed unreliable and Wakefield had his license revoked. However, even though this study was proven to be false, there are still people who know of this article without knowing what became of him and his work. Therefore, there are constant questions and skepticism regarding vaccines. To this day, even being stripped of his license, Wakefield has made a movie about the anti-vaccination movement called “Vaxxed” which portrays his once again revoked experiment. So even though, medical journals are supposed to be deemed reliable and honest because they are made and reviewed by doctors, that doesn’t mean one should wholeheartedly trust the paper before reviewing other sources. Although most doctors do have the patient’s best interest in hand, there are still a few corrupt figures that do put themselves first before caring about what happens to the population. 

There are many concerns however which the ages that the vaccination is supposed to help, especially with all the side effects that have been found when the vaccine is given. Although there are known side effects, many parents complain about their child  developing pneumonia, ear infections, and bronchiolitis. When children are first vaccinated, their immunity is lowered for the time being because their body is very sensitive when it is trying to fight this virus to make them immune to it, the next time they are exposed. However, since children are smaller, and their immune systems are not entirely developed, the side effects may seem worse than normal which is completely normal since the symptoms will eventually go away after battling the foreign pathogen in the body. 

Then there is the other side of the spectrum, where it questions if the flu vaccine is safe for the elderly. With studies also saying that the flu vaccine has caused Alzheimer’s in patients older than 60 and that when getting continuous flu shots for 3 to 5 years, there is a ten-fold chance of developing this disease. However, there is only one study that has proven that, so with only one study that it compares to, there is very little data to conclude anything drastic. With this one study, there is still very little information behind this claim, so without other experiments and studies done, there is nothing to say that there is an increase chance of getting the flu. On the other hand, there are still claims of the vaccine making the immune system weaker which lowers the ability to fight off infections. If this was true, it would only be for a short while when the vaccine is first administered. If the fear of getting the flu is less than the fear of immensely small chance of developing these illnesses, than the elderly should not get the flu vaccine. However, there are cases that have said that the flu could also cause other illnesses, and in the worse case, death. Whichever the choice, it is dependent on the person and what they think is the greater evil. 

The last argument of the anti-vaccination activist are the authorities who enforce the laws that require immunizations to do certain things. The most important law that requires vaccination is the federal law that require children to be vaccinated before they are allowed to be enrolled in public schools. The law is made by the CDC, Center for Disease Control, by the appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), who are responsible of deciding the laws for vaccination. The committee is made up of doctors and professionals who are knowledgeable in vaccinology, immunology, pediatrics, internal medicine, nursing, family medicine, virology, public health, infectious disease, and/or preventive medicine, and to be appointed to this position, they are selected through an application and nomination process by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All of these people certainly have the skill and knowledge to be able to decide for the population through their many years of schooling and the time they have given up in their life to be able to serve others and care for others. Even with that in mind, people are still skeptical of those on the ACIP because of their financial investment in vaccinations which could seem as if they are on this board for the money. With suspicion in the air, there is also a doubtful attitude towards the effectiveness of the vaccines that are provided as well. What is to be said first and foremost, is that this committee chose to force vaccines onto the population out of the good for the entire population (herd immunization), but it is also hard to assume that the reason that they want to imply vaccines is just out of the goodness in their heart, however, it is best to trust those who know more than the majority of the population. There is always that other argument where vaccines could be less costly if there were not any financial investments, but that is an entirely different conversation to be made. Either way, the committee is a democracy as well which represents the population. 

A great deal of people also do not believe in herd immunization which is the largest reason why immunization is important. The theory of herd immunity is that when the majority of a population is vaccinated and immune to a disease, than the little of those who are not able to be vaccinated are still protected from the virus because of its inability to infect anyone. With herd immunity implanted within a population, there is very little chance of the virus becoming an epidemic. However, with the anti-vaccination movement gaining momentum, there have been outbreaks of diseases and viruses that have thought to be eradicated, such as the mumps and measles. The north eastern and western parts of the U.S. have reported abnormally large cases of these diseases, noting that these are the more heavily populated areas, these outbreaks are quite frightening because of the growth of them since the start of the 21st century. 

As of now, vaccination is implied by law, but as time goes on, and there is a larger amount of those who are joining the anti-vaccination movement, to be vaccinated is one’s choice. There are new bills being produced that allow those who are not vaccinated to be enrolled in schools, where they are excused with a medical excuse, but they are first informed of all the risks and dangers that they are in by being unvaccinated. This bill starting in Texas is starting to make its way across the states little by little. However, with the process of vaccinations, ingredients of vaccines, rumors of the vaccines, risks and dangers of being vaccinated, and the outcome of vaccines explained, the choice still remains in the hands of the people and what they chose to do. 
