AJ Taormina

Mrs. Acof
English 12
4/24/15
Topic: Vaccines
I.

Introduction to Vaccines
A. Never in human history has something that has saved so many

lives been so
controversial.
B. Some believe that vaccines aren't safe. Now we must ask the
questions: do vaccines

cause autism, and should we be giving

them to our children?

C. This issue could impact the health of our society and our ability to
fight disease.
II. Analysis of Survey
A. A total of 20 people took the survey.
B. The results show that the class is very split on the safety of vaccines
and their

implementation.

C. The average survey taker somewhat agrees that vaccines are safe
for everyone,

that the benefits outweigh any potential risks, and

that they should be

III.

The Argument Against Vaccines

mandatory.

A. Vaccines should not be used on children because they can lead to

an increased
risk of autism.
B. Autism rates have increased since vaccines have become more
widespread.
Ingredients in vaccines such as Thimerosal can cause autism when
used on infants

(Mooney).

C. Vaccines are dangerous for young children and should not be used
on them.
D. Thesis
1. Vaccines are safe.
2. They help those who can't take them.
3. They help prevent millions of cases of infectious diseases.
IV.

Why Vaccines are Safe

A. There is no link between autism and vaccines
B. "Dangerous" ingredients in vaccines are in extremely trace

amounts("Vaccines" CDC).
Multiple scientific studies have found no evidence of these
ingredients causing
autism ("Vaccines" CDC).
1998 study finding autism link was fraudulent and researcher had
medical license
revoked (Mooney).

C. Multiple studies have found no link between vaccines and autism

(Mullen).
D. There is no reason to fear that vaccines will harm children.
V.

Benefits of Vaccines
A. Vaccines help protect people that can't take them.
B. People who are immuno-compromised can't take vaccines.
i. These people can be more easily infected and are put at

greater risk when they

get them (Craven).

ii. Herd immunities of at least 90-95% are needed to protect

these people from
VI.

getting infected (Craven).

More Benefits of Vaccines

A. Vaccines have prevented millions of infectious and potentially

deadly

diseases (Szabo).

B. Vaccines have eradicated many deadly diseases from the U.S., such
as Smallpox and
Polio (Szabo).
i. Since 1994, vaccines have prevented an estimated 322 million
cases of

infection (Szabo).
ii. Vaccines have saved the lives of an estimated 732,000

children (Szabo).
C. Vaccines have greatly improved our overall health (Szabo).
D. Therefore, vaccines should continue to be used to further benefit
the health of our

society.
VII. Conclusion
A. Vaccines are safe, efective, and life-saving.
B. Vaccines have been instrumental in creating today's modern
medicine.
C. The anti-vaccine movement threatens to derail centuries of medical
advancement,
something we as a society cannot aford to lose.

Works Cited
Craven McGinty, Jo. "How Anti-Vaccination Trends Vex Herd Immunity". Wall
Street Journal

Online. 06 Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

Mooney, Chris. "Why Does the Vaccine/Autism Controversy Live on?".

Discover Magazine. 06 May 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Mullen, Jethro. "Another Study Finds no Link Between MMR Vaccine and
Autism". CNN. 22 Apr.

2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

Szabo, Liz. "CDC: Vaccines Save Hundreds of Thousands of Lives". USA Today
Online. 24 Apr.

2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

"Vaccines do not Cause Autism". CDC. 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.