Give it Your Best Shot to Prevent Disease

Vaccinating children is more beneficial than not vaccinating because people can be

protected from many diseases and this can save their lives. By getting vaccinated we are saving

the people around us and future generations. If we keep vaccinating, a disease of today will no

longer exist in the future. Vaccines will help the world to be a safer place. Many people have

protesting vaccinations and the consequences of this is being openly revealed to the world.

People think that vaccines were invented a short time ago, but actually, they were used by

the Chinese in 1,000 C.E. They started to spread throughout the world in 1796. They spread

because Edward Jenner, a scientist, wanted to stop smallpox from killing more people. He gave

people cowpox, a weak form of smallpox, and these people developed an immunity to smallpox.

This idea changed the world.

Vaccines work by giving a weakened, or dead, form of the unwanted pathogen. The body

kills the pathogen by making antibodies. Antibodies are chemicals that are made by white blood

cells, and they help the body's immune system destroy the pathogen. Therefore, the next time the

body encounters the pathogen, the stored antibodies will be there waiting to destroy it. Some

vaccines are genetically engineered to mimic the virus. This is considered to be very safe since

there is no actual pathogen that is entering the body. Throughout the history of vaccines, they

have evolved, become much safer, and have increased their effectiveness. "A November 28 New

England Journal of Medicine article concluded that vaccinations since 1924 until now prevented

103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis. While

the NEJM article did not calculate the number of deaths avoided as a result of vaccination, one of

the study’s authors estimates that number is between three and four million."(Reason.com)
Vaccines saves children's lives. They protect of humans all around the country through herd

immunity. This is when almost all people are immune to this disease, thereby insuring that

people who are not immune, cannot get infected. People who are not capable of getting

vaccinated because of age rely on herd immunity.(procon.org) This is disappearing before our

eyes. Before the measles vaccine was introduced, measles averaged 530,000 cases and 440

deaths per year. (Reason.com) In 2006, there were only 55 cases and no deaths. (Reason.com)

There have been massive outbreaks of measles due to anti-vaxxers."Officials say they have been

taken aback by more than 22,000 cases in 2014 and the first months of the year."(bbc.com)

"Anti-vaccination folks are taking advantage of the fact that most people around them have

chosen the minimal risk of vaccination, thus acting as a firewall protecting them from disease.

But if enough refuse, the firewall comes down and other people get hurt."(Reason.com)

Diseases can be eradicated through herd immunity. The virus has no one to leach on to

and will be destroyed. This has occurred with several diseases such as smallpox and polio has

almost been eradicated. "In the twentieth century, there were 16,316 deaths from polio and

29,004 deaths from smallpox yearly in the United States; in 2012 there were no reported cases of

polio or smallpox."(procon.org)

Vaccines are superior to antibiotics because vaccines prevent infections and antibiotics

are only used when people are already infected. Vaccines can defend against many infectious

diseases, especially bacterial and viral infections. People that are vaccinated will be much less

prone to getting sick than those that aren't vaccinated. Cost is not an issue because vaccinating

people and preventing diseases is cheaper than treating people with medicine. Vaccination is an

effective and safe way of preventing disease.

 Despite all the benefits of vaccines, they are not perfect. Vaccines can give the disease

they are trying to prevent, and they can cause skin infections. According to the CDC, all vaccines

can be fatal because they carry a risk of a fatal allergic reaction. Vaccines can contain harmful

ingredients such as Formaldehyde. Even pro- vaccine organizations admit that natural immunity

is more effective than vaccination because it may take several vaccinations to become immune.

Thankfully, these bad side-effects are very rare and the benefits outweigh the risks by a long

shot. The allergic reaction that can be caused affects one per million children and you are 110

times more likely to get struck by lightning than suffer from a fatal allergic reaction in the

measles vaccine. It is true that natural immunity is more effective, but it is not guaranteed that

one will recover from this disease. It is also less painful to be injected with shots than contract a

disease. There hasn't been any proof of negative long-term effects. It is true vaccines can make

a child cry, but in the long run the vaccine may very well save this person's life. (procon.org)

Many people claim that vaccines cause autism. Autism is the pervasive development

disorder of children, characterized by impaired communication, excessive rigidity, and emotional

detachment. The claim that vaccines cause this condition is totally false! At one point, Andrew

Wakefield, a scientist who studies vaccines, publicized this belief, but his data was investigated

and found to be made-up. Ten of his twelve co-authors have retracted from this statement and

have concluded the study had insufficient data and the MMR vaccine has no relation to

vaccinations.(wordpress.com) Additionally, there have not been any other studies that have

connected vaccines to autism. People that are anti-vaccines claim that many recent diagnoses of

autism is related to the increased amount of vaccines in the world. However, they do not account

for the fact that the amount of people getting diagnosed might be a result of the fact that we have

more doctors available now. Additionally, the concept of autism didn't exist fifty years ago, so
previously undiagnosed patients are now being called autistic. In reality, of the people that do get

vaccinated, it is extremely rare for them to become autistic.

In conclusion, vaccines can shape the history of the world. Parents that shirk vaccines put

themselves and their children at risk. Anti-vaxxers are instigating people to not get vaccinated

meanwhile vaccines don't only save the present children but the children of the future. A disease

of today will no longer exist in the future. Vaccines stop epidemics from occurring and if no one

was vaccinated people would be scared of dying every second of their lives. People would be

dying every day even though they shouldn't be dying since we have the ability to protect them.
 Works Cited

"Vaccines ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015.

"WHO 'taken Aback' by Measles Outbreaks - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015.

"Refusing Vaccination Puts Others At Risk." Reason.com. N.p., 06 Dec. 2013. Web. 31 May 2015.

"Padraig Colman." Padraig Colman. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015.