I take the position that vaccinations are safe and the benefits outweigh the risks. The issue of whether or not to vaccinate children has been a controversial topic for many years. Vaccinations have been described as one of the greatest achievements to public health saving millions of lives by reducing or eradicating infectious diseases. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children be vaccinated to protect against the spread of disease. According to these agencies vaccines are safe and non-toxic with only some mild side effects. Opponents argue that vaccines contain harmful ingredients that should not be injected into children because they can cause serious side effects. …show more content…
The risk of an allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis happens in about one per million children who receive a vaccination. Critics also state that a bowel blockage called intussusception is linked to the rotavirus vaccine and affects one per 20,000 children in the United States. CDC The vaccine given for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) has side effects causing comas, seizures, and brain damage. The greatest argument critics have against vaccines is that it causes autism. The debate on whether or not vaccinations actually cause autism has been widely publicized and has been going on for …show more content…
Due to advances in modern medicine diseases such as polio, small pox, rubella, and diphtheria have been eliminated completely in the United States. Vaccination do have some mild side effects such as fever, pain and tenderness at the injection site, but compared to the diseases they are preventing I think that vaccinations are better. The critics that argue the side effects are dangerous and cause more harm than good are not looking all the medical evidence that shows serious side effects and allergic reactions are very rare. In regards to the critics arguments that vaccines have been linked to autism has also been deemed untrue through medical research. The study that started the debate over autism was done in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield with a paper he published. He stated that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines contributed to autism. Studies were done that showed his claims were not true and not based on scientific evidence, but concerned parents were beginning to question the safety of vaccines and so the debate continued.