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Kendall Claffey

Kate Sutton

English 102-054

16 October 2019

Positive Effects of Vaccines

As medicine is modernizing, there are new ways of receiving vaccinations. These new

techniques are increasing immune system responses which allow the vaccines to be more

effective. With these new, more effective, vaccines, people fear many things. They fear that

receiving the vaccine will give them the disease, they are nervous around needles, or they believe

vaccines cause autism. New methods of vaccinations lead to a safer more efficient way to protect

against deadly diseases and outweigh the cons against vaccinations.

The first vaccines were created in the beginning of the 20th century and were created to

protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (TDP). If these diseases were contracted, they

would lead to serious physical health concerns and/or death. The first vaccine was created to

build up the immune system by injecting small doses of the disease into human muscle. “After

the success of this vaccine in the late 1950’s people eagerly awaited the vaccinations against

smallpox, and polio” (Offit).

Vaccines are made of small doses of disease germ and many other components. “Most

vaccines have: preservatives in them to prevent contamination, adjuvants, to help boost the

body’s response to the vaccine, stabilizers, keep the vaccine effective after manufacturing,

residual cell culture materials to grow enough of the virus or bacteria to make the vaccine,

residual inactivating ingredients, to kill viruses or inactive toxins during manufacturing, residual

antibiotics, to prevent contamination by bacteria during the vaccination manufacturing process”

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(“Vaccines: Vac-Gen/Additives in Vaccines Fact Sheet”). These products are safe for the human

body and promote health benefits when given with the small dose of the disease germ.

Vaccines are small doses of deadly diseases entered into human muscle. When people

hear this, they become concerned that if a doctor is injecting them with the virus, they will

contract the virus. That is exactly the opposite of what will occur. The small dose of the disease

enters in the muscle and allows the body’s immune system to build up a tolerance against the

disease. Once the body has a strong immune system against the disease, a person is extremely

less likely to contract the disease if they come into contact with it.

There was a study released that spread rapidly throughout social media that caused

people to stop receiving vaccines. The anti-vaccination movement picked up strength when

Andrew Wakefield conducted a research study “linking MMR vaccine to autism” (Shelby). The

effect of this study “created a substantial amount of vaccine hesitancy in new parents, which

manifests in both vaccine refusal and the adoption of delayed vaccine schedules” (Shelby). The

major argument of the anti-vaccination movement is that some vaccines have increased the

chances of autism. The only backing to this claim is Wakefield’s study, that doctors have now

claimed was a “fraudulent study”. The reason this study gained so much support is because the

study circulated around social media (Twitter and Facebook) and caused people to believe it.

Brian Deer, a journalist, launched an investigation to find the falsification of data in

Wakefield’s study. Deer found, “The Office of Research Integrity in the United States defines

fraud as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. Deer unearthed clear evidence of falsification.

He found that not one of the 12 cases reported in the 1998 Lancet paper was free of

misrepresentation or undisclosed alteration, and that in no single case could the medical records

be fully reconciled with the descriptions, diagnoses, or histories published in the journal”
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(Godlee). What he found is that none of the cases that Wakefield researched could be believed

because of the falsification of data. The Wakefield study was finally retracted after 12 years of

being available for the public to read. This study caused major distrust with physicians and what

they told their patients about vaccines. This study launched the anti-vaccination movement and

led to the thousands of fake articles that spread around social media.

False information on vaccines has strengthened the anti-vaccination movement. Martin

McKee helps combat false information on the internet with a case about the measles. McKee

uses the example, “In April, 2019, Unicef and the World Health Organization highlighted a

global surge of measles” (McKee). McKee then states that over 966 measles cases in the UK

were confirmed in 2019, which is four times more than 2017. McKee explains that the problem

is tied to false information being shared on Facebook and Twitter. The main claim of this source

is that people need to stop sharing information they read on social media, unless it has medical

data to back the claims made in the article.

Another way to combat false information spread on social media is through more

educational material being open to the public. The author Jean Pierre Baeyens urges credible

medical sources to produce more “motivating educational material” to the public to promote the

good things about vaccines (Baeyens). He suggests that medical sources have to be “transparent”

when giving information about vaccines to gain the trust of the public. Baeyens also suggests

that medical offices need to find ways to help people who are “house-bound” receive their

vaccines. This article is written to push medical offices to produce more positive informative

articles and find ways to help everyone get vaccines.

Low-income countries do not have the financial resources to afford the best vaccines for

their residents. For example, there are two main types of influenza vaccines: “inactivated
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seasonal trivalent influenza (TIV), and quadrivalent (QIV) vaccines” (Hendriks). “In high-

income countries, there is an increased tendency to replace TIV vaccines with QIV vaccines as

these are considered to give a greater public health benefit” (Hendriks). Low-income countries

cannot afford to replace the TIV vaccines with the QIV vaccines which have a lower public

health benefit. Therefore, some lower-income countries do not see as much impact using

vaccination versus not using vaccinations. Vaccines are beneficial in large communities that are

mostly vaccinated. In low-income countries not everyone can afford the vaccines, making it less

effective in such a community. Low-income countries need to narrow down which vaccines they

need most and focus their money on buying mass product of those vaccines. Then they need to

focus on giving them to as many people in a community as possible to increase effectiveness.

One way to help people move past their fear of vaccines is developing new ways to

receive vaccines. People are nervous about vaccines for multiple reasons. One reason is that

people get “woozy” around needles and blood. To combat this common fear doctors have created

a pill that uses the stomach to inject insulin into the body. This pill is the size of the pea and is

consumed orally. The pill uses the humidity of the stomach to release a small needle in the

stomach wall which is the thickest part of the GI tract. However, there are still small issues with

this device which is why it is not universally used. One defect of the pill is that the needle device

can become unstable if it attaches to the stomach wall on its side or upside down. The pill is still

in testing stages on pigs and has yet been released for human testing. Once developed correctly,

this could change the way vaccines are injected and people to be more comfortable when

receiving vaccines.

Biotechnology has also helped create an edible vaccine using the edible parts of plants.

The edible vaccine would use “edible parts of a plant that has been genetically modified to
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produce specific components of a particular pathogen to generate protection against specific

diseases” (Concha). However, these vaccines are involved in an ethical debate. Some people do

not support genetic modification, and therefore would not want to receive a vaccine this way.

Although, once this technology is perfectly developed and is universally used, it can allow some

patients to be more comfortable while receiving the vaccines that they need to stay healthy.

One of the most promising alternatives to intramuscular vaccines is the intradermal

vaccine. The most common vaccine used today is the intramuscular vaccine. This is a needle that

is inserted into the dermis, skin, and injects the small dose of the disease into the muscle of the

patient. Vaccines are put into the muscle because it has the greatest immune response which

protects people the best against the disease.

Intradermal vaccines are safer and more effective than intramuscular vaccines. To

promote the idea of intradermal vaccines doctor’s list the potential benefits, “Delivery of

antigens to the skin, as opposed to the muscle of subcutaneous tissue, could result in

quantitatively or qualitatively superior immune responses” (“Intradermal Delivery of Vaccines”).

This gives potential patients the possible benefits of an intradermal vaccine. The main goal of a

vaccine is to strengthen the immune system to better prevent someone of contracting the disease

in the future. This source tells us that intradermal vaccines could result in a superior immune

response which leads to a better chance of your body not contracting the disease.

Intradermal vaccines are “Live-attenuated vaccines that have been successfully delivered

intradermally and should be good candidates for intradermal delivery providing that appropriate

formulations can be developed” (Hickling). Intradermal vaccines are beneficial if the right

formulations can be developed for a majority of diseases. Most vaccines are formulated for

intramuscular injections, but with new technology the new way to have more beneficial vaccines
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is through intradermal injections. Therefore, it will take time to make new formulas for the

intradermal vaccine. However, once new formulas are made, intradermal vaccines have the best

outcome when it comes to strengthening the immune system against diseases. This is a positive

view on vaccines because modern medicine is creating a safer and more efficient vaccine, which

should help create more positive press on vaccines.

As intradermal vaccines have become more effective, scientists have developed a way to

receive the influenza vaccine intradermally. A study was conducted where two random groups of

people participated. One group received the intradermal influenza vaccination and the other

group had the standard influenza intramuscular vaccination. In conclusion “intradermal

administration of one fifth the standard intramuscular dose of an influenza vaccine elicited

immunogenicity that was similar to or better than that elicited by intramuscular injection”

(Kenney). This proves that the intradermal vaccinations were beneficial, and they only used a

fifth of the dose of a standard intramuscular vaccination. Although more testing has to be done

on the intradermal vaccination, it looks to be a more effective and cost-efficient option.

Intradermal vaccines have been found to boost immunity against diseases. The method

scientists and doctors are trying to perfect “is the precise delivery of solution in the upper dermis,

which ensures enhanced immunity” (Ogai). Scientists are using microneedles in a patch which

will decrease the amount of solution needed and reduce hospital costs and waste. These

microneedles are attached to patches which will be more comfortable to patients and reduce the

amount of waste hospitals have. By using the microneedle patches, scientists have determined

less of the antigen (solution) is needed per patch. This would lower the costs hospitals pays for

the vaccine which makes it more affordable for mass amounts of people. This is another way
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vaccines are being tested and reimagined, making it safer and more effective to get the

vaccination.

There are five main reasons why parents need to vaccinate their children from an early

age. The five reasons are “immunizations can save your child’s life, vaccination is very safe and

effective, immunization protects others you care about, immunizations can save your family time

and money, immunization protects future generations” (“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate

Your Child”). All of these reasons promote health benefits for children and financial benefits to

families.

The first main reason why parents should get children vaccinated is because it can save

the child’s life. Due to current medical research, there are so many vaccines available that could

prevent children from contracting extremely deadly diseases. For example, “Polio was once

America’s most-feared disease, causing death and paralysis across the country, but today, thanks

to vaccination, there are no reports of polio in the United States” (“Five Important Reasons to

Vaccinate Your Child”). With the polio vaccine children are most likely never going to catch

polio and is one less thing parents have to worry about.

The second main reason why parents should vaccinate their child is because vaccines are

very safe and effective. Vaccines go through developmental stages, animal testing and human

testing. They are reviewed by countless numbers of doctors and scientists to ensure that they are

effective and safe for humans. Overall, the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to vaccines.

Although, “vaccines will involve some discomfort and may cause pain, redness, or tenderness at

the site of injection, but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the

diseases these vaccines prevent. Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe

allergic reaction, are very rare” (“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child”). There may
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be side effects that can seem scary; however, they go away within a week or two. If someone

contracted the deadly disease the effects are much worse and can lead to death.

The third main reason why parents should vaccinate their children is because

immunizations can protect others you care about. Parents should vaccinate their healthy children

because, “some babies are too young to be protected by vaccination, others may not be able to

receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies, weakened immune systems from conditions

like leukemia, or other reasons. To help keep them safe, it is important that you and your

children who are able to get vaccinated are fully immunized” (“Five Important Reasons to

Vaccinate Your Child”). By vaccinating your children, parents are preventing them from

contracting deadly diseases. If children are around young babies and other children with

weakened immune systems, vaccines ensure that those people will not contract the deadly

disease that their body can not physically handle.

The fourth main reason why parents should vaccinate their children is because

immunizations can save families time and money. Children can be turned away from schools if

they have diseases that could have been prevented by a vaccine. This puts a financial burden on

the family because they need to spend money on medical bills and spend time and money finding

a school their child can attend. Therefore, “In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases

is a good investment and usually covered by insurance. The Vaccines for Children program is a

federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income

families” (“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child”). Most vaccines are covered by

insurance which causes less of a financial burden on the family and will allow the child to go to

school.
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The final reason parents should vaccinate their children is because immunization protects

future generations. Vaccines have the power to completely eliminate diseases. “For example,

smallpox vaccination eradicated that disease worldwide. Your children do not have to get

smallpox shots anymore because the disease no longer exists” (“Five Important Reasons to

Vaccinate Your Child”). Another positive effect of vaccines helps mothers, “By vaccinating

children against rubella (German measles), the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on

to their fetus or newborn has been dramatically decreased, and birth defects associated with that

virus no longer are seen in the United States” (“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your

Child”). Vaccines have statistically proven to eradicate deadly diseases and keep mothers and

their unborn babies safe from rubella. If vaccines keep being used, there are so many other

deadly diseases that can be completely eradicated from the human population.

The vaccination movement has had to overcome many hurdles and become more elastic

with the way vaccines are given. In the early 20th century many people wanted vaccines because

it ensured them that they would not contract diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis

(TDP). Once this vaccine gained popularity, scientists developed more vaccines to protect people

from polio and influenza. Since then vaccines have become safer, more effective, and developed

to eradicate many deadly diseases.

The anti-vaccination movement gained popularity when the Wakefield study was

released to the public connecting the MMR vaccine to autism. This caused fear in parents and

caused people to turn against vaccines. This unfortunately led to the outbreak of measles which

was close to becoming extinct. Fortunately, scientists and journalists found that the study had

fraudulent data and was retracting 12 years later. This study led to an outbreak of false
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information of vaccines which spread through social media websites such as Facebook and

Twitter.

People are nervous about vaccines for many reasons. Therefore, scientists and doctors

have developed new ways to give patients vaccinations. Some of these ways include pill

vaccines, edible vaccines and intradermal vaccine. The pill and edible vaccines are still under

developmental and animal testing before being released for universal use. They both allow for

patients who get nervous around needles and blood to be more comfortable while receiving their

vaccines. Intradermal vaccines seem to be the most promising alternate way to receive vaccines.

There are multiple ways to receive an intradermal vaccine that are less painful than intramuscular

vaccines and that allow for a greater immune response to protect the patients from the disease.

Finally, parents need to vaccinate their children to help keep them safe, others safe and be

more financially responsible. By vaccinating children, parents can protect them from extremely

deadly, contagious diseases. Children are more likely to be let into the school systems and

parents will have to pay less in medical bills. This allow allows future generations to not have to

worry about eradicated diseases. Vaccines save lives and keep you and your loved ones safe.
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Works Cited

Baeyens, Jean-Pierre. “Ensuring the Willingness to Vaccinate and Be Vaccinated.” Expert

Review Of Vaccines, vol. 9, no. 3 Suppl, Mar. 2010, pp. 11–14. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1586/erv.10.28.

Concha, Christopher, et al. “Disease Prevention: An Opportunity to Expand Edible Plant-Based

Vaccines?” Vaccines, MDPI, 30 May 2017,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5492011/.

“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child.” Vaccines,

https://www.vaccines.gov/getting/for_parents/five_reasons.

Godlee, Fiona, et al. “Wakefield's Article Linking MMR Vaccine and Autism Was

Fraudulent.” The BMJ, British Medical Journal Publishing Group, 6 Jan. 2011,

https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452/.

Hendriks, Jan, et al. “Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccines in Low and Middle Income Countries:

Cost-Effectiveness, Affordability and Availability.” Vaccine, vol. 36, no. 28, June 2018,

pp. 3993–3997. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.05.099.

Hickling, J. K., et al. “Intradermal Delivery of Vaccines: Potential Benefits and Current

Challenges.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 89, no. 3, Mar. 2011, pp.

221–226. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2471/BLT.10.079426.

Intradermal delivery of vaccines: a review of the literature and potential for development for use

in low- and middle-income countries. Seattle: Program for Appropriate Technology in

Health (PATH); 2009. Available from: http://www.path.org/files?TS_opt_idd_review.pdf

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Kenney, Richard T., et al. “Dose Sparing with Intradermal Injection of Influenza Vaccine.” New

England Journal of Medicine, vol. 351, no. 22, Nov. 2004, pp. 2295–2301. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1056/NEJMoa043540.

McKee, Martin, and John Middleton. “Information Wars: Tackling the Threat from

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Offit, Paul. “Wakefield Study Linking MMR Vaccine, Autism Uncovered as Complete

Fraud.” Healio, https://www.healio.com/pediatrics/vaccine-preventable-

diseases/news/print/infectious-diseases-in-children/{24b5933b-b212-4b86-b170-

d8097c205a64}/wakefield-study-linking-mmr-vaccine-autism-uncovered-as-complete-

fraud.

Ogai, N., et al. “Enhanced Immunity in Intradermal Vaccination by Novel Hollow

Microneedles.” Skin Research & Technology, vol. 24, no. 4, Nov. 2018, pp. 630–

635. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/srt.12576.

Shelby, Ashley, and Karen Ernst. “Story and Science: How Providers and Parents Can Utilize

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Immunotherapeutics, vol. 9, no. 8, Aug. 2013, pp. 1795–1801. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.4161/hv.24828.

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https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm
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