Activity 4

Immunization Case Appreciation

1. What is your role as a health care provider in this scenario?

As an overview, a vaccine is a biological substance that is intended to protect

humans from bacterial and viral infections. For further protection, these vaccines take
advantage of our natural immune system's ability to prevent infectious illness. In this
sense, vaccines are among the most effective public health tools for promoting health
and mitigating the impact of infectious diseases. They result in significant
socioeconomic returns not only in terms of child health, but also in terms of poverty
reduction, equity, education, and overall health system strengthening. Since patients
lack knowledge about healthcare nowadays, it is our duty as healthcare providers to
assess them to pinpoint the best way to educate them about their health and determine
how much they already know about their medical condition. In connection to this, we
must ensure to innovate tools to build capacity and support towards behavioral changes
in an appropriate setting. Based on the given situation, the mother clearly has a
negative attitude towards vaccines. If this goes on, her situation could be a major public
health concern as her child’s immunity is compromised. With that being said, I believe
that it is my responsibility to educate the mother, using science as a means of allaying
her fears and biases towards vaccines.

2. Should child vaccination be mandatory?

In the past, there was a baby who died from polio. A family lost their son, and the
doctors were blamed for his death because of medical malpractice. The family filed a
lawsuit against the doctors and the hospital. Their son died from a disease that could
have been avoided with vaccination. If the doctors had listened to the parents' concerns
about not vaccinating their child, this case could have been avoided. However, anyone
reading about this case can see that the baby was simply given the wrong vaccine. He
died from a completely preventable disease as a result of his vaccination. In the end,
the family's case was dismissed.

Based on the given example, mandatory vaccination for children is a serious issue
because parents should be able to choose whether to vaccinate their children. Indeed,
they have the right to make their own decisions about their children's health, and these
decisions should not be taken away from parents. A major concern with the government
forcing parents to vaccinate their children is that it exposes all children to preventable
diseases. Measles, mumps, chicken pox, whooping cough, and rotavirus are examples
of these diseases. The vaccine to prevent these diseases can cause adverse effects,
and the vaccine to prevent them could cause such. As a student nurse, parents who
oppose mandatory vaccination should be supported, and the government should not put
them under any pressure. However, all parents must acknowledge that it is the
government's responsibility to protect their children from these diseases. It is critical for
the government to be involved in promoting public health and raising disease
awareness. In turn, parents should understand the consequences they might face in the
future, such as severe symptoms from a particular disease.

Therefore, the importance of mandatory vaccination cannot be overstated because

we can protect our children's health by vaccinating them against diseases that are
extremely dangerous to their health. Moreover, it is critical that children are protected
from diseases and that parents make the decision to vaccinate their children. On the
other hand, the government should oversee public health promotion, and they should be
more aware of diseases such as whooping cough and measles.

3. What would you tell the single mother about her views on vaccination?

Vaccines have been around long enough that many young people and parents are
unaware of the devastation caused by infectious disease around the world.
Furthermore, many people believe that these vaccines are no longer required because
of vaccine hesitancy. If I were the nurse handling the single mother, I would tell her that
vaccines are extremely important because these vaccines will protect the child before
the disease strikes. To ease her anxiety about its side effects, I would tell her that
immunizations rarely trigger serious problems wherein this is associated with a history
of allergies to food or medicine. There are concerns, many of which circulate on the
Internet, that some vaccines are linked to multiple sclerosis, sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS), and other issues. In today’s application, no studies have found a link
between immunizations and these conditions. As a matter of fact, millions of children
are vaccinated safely and very few experiences adverse effects.
With regards to “autism-causing” vaccines, I would tell her that numerous studies
have concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism. Similarly, the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a groundbreaking report in 2004 concluding that
thimerosal does not cause autism. On that account, her claims are highly invalid
because numerous studies have already retracted the vaccine’s dangers. Even though
there are some risks involved in getting vaccinated, all vaccines are overwhelmingly
safe for children if they are not contraindicated by their health. Therefore, I would advise
the mother to conduct deeper research in gathering facts before making a risky
decision. It is important for her to learn what ingredients are used to make a vaccine
and how they can affect the child’s health through immunity.