Many parents are able to enjoy their children’s developmental milestones because of

vaccinations. It’s hard to believe that is was less than 70 years ago that children where constantly

dying and having irrevocable neurological deficits from diseases that had no cure. Today we are

able to say that many of those diseases are no longer found here in the United States. While

being eradicated from the United States those same diseases are still found in many other

countries. This diseases are harmful to a child’s development and to their overall health.

Vaccinations help stop the spread of those diseases.

What is a vaccination? A vaccination is a substance used to stimulate the production of

antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative

agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without

inducing the disease. In more simpler words vaccines mimic the disease agent and stimulate the

immune system so that your immune system can build up defenses against them. The immune

system protects your body from pathogens. Vaccines are fake pathogens, they look like the virus

and trick your immune system into building up the defense all without making your body sick.

There are three major types of vaccinations. They are live or attenuated, inactivated/killed

or subunit and conjugate vaccines. Live or attenuated vaccines are viruses that are weakened or

altered so that when injected into the body they will not cause illness, only a defense response to

help the immune system protect against that specific virus. Some examples of live vaccinations

are measles, mumps, rubella commonly known as MMR and varicella more commonly known as

chickenpox
 The next type of vaccination is inactivated/killed. This type of vaccination uses heat or

chemicals to kill the live pathogen so it cannot replicate in the body. When it is injected into the

body the immune system can recognize it but since it is inactivated it will not harm the immune

system. With an inactivated vaccine the protection length is shorter, thus requiring booster shots

every couple of years to help create long-term immunity. Some examples of inactivated vaccines

are polio or IPV and the flu shot.

Lastly, subunit and conjugate vaccines. Subunit either uses part of the pathogen ( a specific

protein) or it is a genetically engineered vaccine. the immune system will recognize the protein

and provide future protection. (Hist.OfVacc) An example of subunit vaccination is human

papillomavirus also known as HPV. Conjugate vaccines are made using two components such as

the carrier protein and the bacteria, this generally a stronger immune response. A type of

conjugate vaccine is DTaP.

Vaccinations can not only help stop the spread of diseases but they can also save lives.

Many people may argue that vaccinations do more harm than good. There has been many

questions that have been asked if the pros of vaccinations outweigh the cons. While nothing is

ever 100 percent many researchers have found that rare side effects affect 1 in 10.000 vaccine

doses (Law). One major controversy surrounding vaccinations is autism syndrome disorder

(ADS) and its link to MMR. Also scrutinized is Thimerosal, a mercury containing preservative

used in some vaccines and how it may be related to autism. Thimerosal has not been used in

childhood vaccinations since 2001, the only exemption is that is still used in some flu shot

vaccinations. The Institute of Medicine compiled a comprehensive study on the relationship of

mercury in vaccinations and neurodevelopmental disorders. In their final report on the subject

they rejected any type of association between thimerosal and autism. In regards to the link
between MMR and autism it has since been found that the doctor who conducted the study was

fabricating evidence to support his hypothesis that was funded by lawyers with the intention to

sue vaccine manufacturers. Since then the possibility of a link between autism and MMR has

been studied comprehensively and there has been no reputable findings. While a possibility of a

link between autism and vaccinations has been the major question as to if a child should be

vaccinated, there is no scientific proof. So why are people still hesitant to get their children

vaccinated, probably because they do not believe that child should be vaccinated for diseases that

have been eradicated.

While polio has been eliminated from the United States, it is still active in other parts of

the world. Polio can be spread by contact with an infected person, it can also be spread by

consuming contaminated food or drinks. All it would take is one infected person from another

country where it is still active to come to the United States and polio would spread to those who

are unprotected. While many people that become infected with the polio disease have no

symptoms, there are some that can result in permanent disability or paralysis leading to death.

Still to this day there is no cure for polio after infection but it can be prevented through

vaccination. The polio vaccine was introduced in 1955 and since then it has saved thousands of

people from paralysis and death.

In 2004 Rubella, or German measles or three-day measles, was declared eliminated from

the United States. In the rubella epidemic between 1964-1945 more than 12.5 million people

contracted the disease, resulting in 11,000 miscarriages, 2,100 dead newborns and 20,000 babies

born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). When a pregnant woman is contracted with

rubella it passes congenital rubella syndrome to the baby that is developing in the mothers

womb. Since becoming phased out in 2004 there has been eight reported CRS cases to the CDC.
These cases occurred when the mother was unvaccinated and traveling/living in an other country.

Symptoms of CRS include deafness, heart defects, intellectual disabilities and brain damage. To

help prevent the spread of rubella the CDC recommends that all children at the age of one get

vaccinated. The vaccination for rubella is more commonly known as MMR. Which has been the

subject of controversy.

Vaccinations are important to a child’s development. Mainly because without

vaccinations there is always a risk of death and severe neurological deficits (Scheifele). When a

child gets vaccinated they continue to stay health and develop normally. Without vaccinations a

child is subject to all types of deficits if they contract a disease. Many deficits are listed above

with polio and rubella, but those are only two types diseases. There are still many more diseases

that vaccinations help prevent.

Vaccinations help save lives, there has been numerous lives saved since vaccinations

were introduced. Not only have lives been saved but deficits have been prevented. I personally

think that all children should be vaccinated to help prevent the spreading of diseases. Children

are more susceptible to these diseases since their immune system is not fully developed. When a

child’s immune system is not developed it leaves them open to all kinds of bacteria that can do

irreversible damage. We all should do what we can to help keep the future generations health.

Cognitive development is a major stage in a persons growth. We use our brains for a lot of things

and when deficits are present it slows down our learning. Learning is crucial when a child is

developing because it comes the cornerstone of everything.

In conclusion, vaccinations do more harm then good. The pros definitely outweigh the

cons. When everyone is vaccinated then diseases become eradicated and we go on to live

healthier lives. While there are still many questions about the link between vaccinations and
autism there has been no scientific evidence suggesting that is a possibility. Many people who do

not do their research will continue to say that vaccinations are bad and lead to more neurological

deficits. Therefore, vaccinations are safe and extensively tested before being released to the

public.