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Rebecca Moe
Mr. Dorhout
English 1001-024
9, November 2016
The Good and Bad: War on Vaccinations
There are so many different opinions out there in the world today
about the effects of different vaccinations, whether it be vaccinating yourself
or vaccinating your children. The conservational topic is something people
have to deal with many times in their life time. Figuring out the facts and
myths can be hard with all the different information there is and will continue
to be.
From state to state, the percentage of vaccinations vary, according to
The Times Magazine, The national percentage for three major vaccinations
is rubella being at a 94.7%, Chicken pox at 93.3%, and tetanus being at a
95% rate for being vaccinated (Kluger, Jeffery). In order to obtain herd
immunity, 95% of all children or persons need to be vaccinated. Herd
immunity is the immunity where a certain number of the population has
been vaccinated or has immunity and protects the rest of the population that
has no immunity to a certain virus or bacteria (What is Herd Immunity).
Herd immunity will make it difficult for a virus or bacteria to spread because
there are not enough people in the population who are not immune for the

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virus to survive within the population, which is why there is a 95% rate to
obtain herd immunity.
The reasons people decide not to get their children or themselves
vaccinated are they believe vaccinations are worthless or dangerous. Many
people believe that herd immunity is actually a myth in order for certain
companies to sell the drugs or vaccinations. The families or people that
believe that obtaining a diet full of superfoods, vitamins, and non- GMO
organic foods will build up their immunity and protect them and their
children against viruses and bacteria, therefore not needed different
vaccinations to protect them.
There are certain children who should not get vaccinations due to
certain illnesses or health issues. Children who have weakened immune
systems or issues with their immune system, children with cancer, or
children who are taking steroids due to lung or kidney issues should not get
vaccinations. Vaccinations made with the actual virus can very seriously
harm these children due to their health issues and could even cause death.
Some believe that because there are children in the world with these
weakened immune systems or health issues that it is important for other
children to get their vaccinations to create that herd immunity to protect the
children who are unable to get certain vaccinations.
Some vaccinations have been known to lead to different illnesses.
Studies have definitively shown that vaccines can result in autism, a disease

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that has increased from 1 in 10,000 in 1990, to 1 in 150 in 2000, to the

current rate of 1 in 68 children. According to the CDC, the most recent
numbers breakdown to 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls diagnosed with
autism (Our Children). There are believed to be many other effects of
vaccinations like nervous system disorders, hearing loss, strokes, seizures,
skin disorders, tissue disorders, inflammation of blood vessels, brain
swelling, multiple sclerosis, and the list goes on and on. However, autism (as
well as other illnesses) can he caused by multiple other reasons. Studies
have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing
ASD. In 2011, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on eight vaccines given to
children and adults found that with rare exceptions, these vaccines are very
safe (Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism). The other hand, this source, as well as
many others, show no relation to vaccinations and autism.
People believe that the test used to test different vaccination are not
effective or are inaccurate. Cross-contamination is a concern for many
parents, because when they take their child to the doctors office they are
often giving multiple vaccinations at once. Parents believe that not enough
studies have been done on the effects some vaccinations can have on
another vaccination. When studies are being run on the effects of different
vaccinations, often only one dose of the drug has been given and studied,
but a lot of vaccination require multiple doses or a series of vaccinations.
Parents are unhappy with the fact that they only test some vaccinations for a

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week at most. They do not believe that vaccinations can effectively be tested
in such a short time.
According to the Department of Health,
The creation of a vaccine involves scientists and medical
experts from around the world, and it usually requires ten to fifteen
years of research before the vaccine is made available to the general
public. The first step of this extensive process involves several years of
laboratory research, in which scientists and researchers identify an
antigen that can prevent a disease (Department of Health).
Even after the vaccine has been tested for years and years it still has to go
through a series of other stages before the vaccine becomes available to the
public. The stages after include studying the vaccine on a large amount of
voluntary humans this also includes testing the effects of cross
contamination of other vaccines.
Vaccinations have been believed to drastically decrease the spread of
certain diseases or illnesses. If you look at the history of any vaccinepreventable disease, you will virtually always see that the number of cases
of disease starts to drop when a vaccine is licensed (vaccines.gov). If you
look at a place like South Africa where they do not have access to
vaccinations like we do in America, you can see the rate of diseases and
illness is much higher than here in America. Children in the poorest
countries account for 82% of rotavirus deaths. The tremendous incidence of

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rotavirus disease underscores the urgent need for interventions, such as

vaccines, particularly to prevent childhood deaths in developing nations
(Parashar, Umesh D.).

Although the fact that third world countries do not

have access to clean water or the hygiene that more developed countries do
could also play a role in it.
The war on vaccinations will continue to be a very controversial topic.
Whether you believe vaccines are good or bad, vaccinations save many,
many lives every year and the studies are there to back it up. With the
extensive research, findings, and results, vaccinations will only get better
and better. They will not only save lives, but could possibly make many
diseases become extinct.

Works Cited
Castle, P. E., and M. Maza. "Prophylactic HPV Vaccination: Past, Present, and
Future." Epidemiology and infection, vol. 144, no. 3, 2016., pp.
449doi:10.1017/S0950268815002198.
"Department of Health." The Science Behind Vaccine Research and Testing.
Department of Health, July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Kluger, Jeffery. "The Vaccine Fight Becomes a Slow Trench War." Time. Time,
16 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

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"Our Children Can Be Healthy & Protected Without Vaccination." Stop

Mandatory Vaccination. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Parashar, Umesh D., et al. "Global Illness and Deaths Caused by Rotavirus
Disease in Children." Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 9, no. 5, 2003.,
pp. 565-572.
"What Is Herd Immunity?" Vaccines Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Woniak-Kosek, Agnieszka, et al. "Factors Affecting Decision Concerning
Influenza Vaccination among Students of Medical Faculties." Acta
biochimica Polonica, vol. 61, no. 4, 2014., pp. 829.
"Vaccines.gov." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
"Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism." Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 Nov. 2015.
Web. 16 Nov. 2016.