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The Argumentative Essay: The Anti-Vaccine Debate

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While going about your day, you may have overheard others conversing about vaccines. Perhaps you have been involved in such a conversation, as the vaccine debate is presently a prominent topic of discussion. Ever since the late 1700s, when vaccines were first invented and used by Edward Jenner (Levine, Miller 1020), there have been copious amounts of pro-vaccine advocates. However, overtime anti-vaccine campaigners have accumulated as well, thus creating the ever-present vaccine debate. Not solely in our modern times, but throughout history, pro-vaccine supporters have been disputing with anti-vaccine supporters, constantly presenting new reasons to either love or despise vaccines. Foremost, vaccines consist of killed or weakened forms of …show more content…

Anti-vaccine supporters strongly protest against vaccines primarily because they contain harmful ingredients. Indeed, this is true, but many pro-vaccine supporters urge that these ingredients are found in such minuscule quantities that they are deemed harmless. In fact, they claim that “Children are exposed to more aluminum in breast milk and infant formula than they are exposed to in vaccines.” Not to mention, the CDC and the FDA insist that vaccines are thoroughly tested and made safe. Although countless anti-vaccine protesters believe that vaccines are the origin of many autism cases, there is no definite evidence proving a link between vaccinations and autism. In 1998, scientist Andrew Wakefield published an article stating that his experiment has proven that vaccines cause autism. Eventually, it was uncovered that lawyers paid Wakefield hundreds of thousands of dollars to forge the results of his experiment, reinforcing the fact that there is no proof that vaccines cause autism. Furthermore, anaphylaxis occurs in only “one per several hundred to one per million vaccinations” ("Should Any Vaccines Be Required for Children?"). On the other hand, “Studies have shown that influenza vaccine is 70 percent to 90 percent effective in healthy adults younger than 65” (Bren). Due to vaccines, millions of children are

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However, the anti-vax lobbies and groups believe that the “risks of vaccine outweigh the benefits, despite what science says” Mrs Suthers said.. “They have a strong belief that the pharma industry or the government is out to get them” she added. Ms Stephanie Messenger talks of her concerns of vaccinating children in her recent book “Melanie’s Marvellous

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In his book, Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All, Paul A. Offit, M.D. presents us with a thoroughly in-depth look behind the veil of the vaccine controversy. Specifically here in the United States. Offit starts us off with the history of vaccinations giving insights into not just their creation but the controversy that has surrounded them since the beginning. We learn how these questions around safety and personal rights started and who have been the major decision makers in history. We hear about the groups and people that support vaccinations and those that do not.

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Seth Mnookin’s powerful stance on the issue is clear in the chapters of the book; vaccines do not cause autism. Throughout the book, Mnookin approaches the growing controversy by presenting medical facts and proof as support. In this book report, I will summarize the main ideas of the book surrounding the vaccine-autism controversy. Which are the author’s reason for writing the book,

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Through the development of this investigation I have explored the variety of ways of finding information, In addition, I have faced some of the challenges that historians faced. First and foremost one of the primary sources which I used-- “Vaccine War” an interview featuring Jenny McCarthy was raw information, meaning that it was one of a few stories of concerns parent who told media they had believed that the vaccine was the cause autism in their children. Although this interview does raise questions and include evidence both firsthand and handed down; it is not reliable in a sense that it has almost no scientific foundation. Unlike scientist who have a constant result that never changes, historians on the other side will get different stories

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One of the previously mentioned arguments for anti-vaccers was the argument that the vaccine would cause teenagers to act more immorally. This is proven to be false when Dr. Saslow, the lead author of the cancer society’s, updated guidelines and firmly states that there is “no direct connection between the vaccine and sexual activity and no reason to suggest one.” Brody’s mention of the famous doctor effectively persuades the reader to see the truth behind the research. The mention of parents being concerned about the effects these vaccines is considered a rhetorical cannon of relationship. The supposed relationship between the vaccine and physical consequences encountered after being vaccinated is a the main elements behind the anti-vaccers argument.

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Vaccination Nation is about the controversy of vaccinations causing autism. The United States federal court denied any link between autism and vaccines, more specifically the MMR vaccine. Vaccines causing autism has been the talk on news, celebrities and magazines. Despite scientist denying that there is no connection this topic has gained several legal claims against vaccines. This has led parents into panic about autism.

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In the article Vaccines and the Great Denial; the author provides many evidence

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The Vaccinate All Children Act of 2015 bill was introduced as a bill of protection. The bill states that all children in elementary and middle school must be vaccinated against disease. There are currently a lot of debates over its authorization – worried parents that say no, and medical professionals that say yes. The passing of this bill will create a generation free of disease. How the Bill Came to Be Introduced on May 1st by Frederica Wilson, the Vaccinate All Children Act of 2015 is causing major controversy.

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The number of people who choose not to immunize is steadily increasing, and has been on the rise since the 1980 's. Should children’s health be at risk for the greater good of community health? The news today is full of tragic stories about complications of vaccine use and there have been injuries from the beginning of vaccine use due to incomplete data on the side effects. The injuries have also brought about changes in the way vaccines are manufactured. The only way to get around the vaccine is to claim religious or medical exception.

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A vaccine contains a weakened antigen, or a specific part of a bacteria or virus. However, the weakened bacteria or virus is not strong enough to infect you with a disease. Instead, the weakened bacteria or virus will be spotted by one of your antibodies and send a signal to your internal adaptive system to build a long lasting antibody that will kill the weakened bacteria or virus, and remember it’s identity. If parts of the bacteria or virus was injected from the vaccine, then your antibodies will remember how to defeat incoming bacteria and viruses of the same kind for many years to come. On the other hand, if a whole weakened bacteria or virus was injected, your memory cells will remember the bacteria or virus for the rest of your lifetime according to the New York State Department of Health, “...B cells [and the antibodies they create] can stay in your body for a lifetime and allow your body to remember the germ that stimulated their creation.

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However, there are more resounding evidence that disproves the relationship between vaccines and autism that can’t be ignored. The study, published by the Lancet in 1998, conducted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield ignited a controversy in the medical world. 12 children believed to have developed autism participated in a study that reviewed their medical histories and evaluated their developments. They were reviewed for any underlying biological/physiological factors that could affect the child’s health.

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One of the many benefits of vaccinating children is it saves them from life-threatening diseases. The many diseases which children are immunized from include, Measles, Mumps, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough), Polio, Hepatitis A and B and much more. Long before the time of vaccines, there was a shocking rate of deaths that occurred worldwide.

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Many people may think that vaccination is a bad thing, that instead of preventing it causes illness, that is not natural. Natural or not, there are many reasons as to why we should vaccinate us and the younger generation. Most of the time children don’t like vaccination because it hurt, but is the responsibility of a parent to seek the wellbeing of his or her child. Vaccination it’s a preventive measure of various diseases. Unfortunately, things like the anti-vaccination movement, the misinformation on the Internet, and the believe that vaccination causes more damage than is worth, have led our society to think that it’s right not to vaccinate.

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Modern medicine provides people with the ability to protect themselves from the world’s most fatal diseases. Merely a century ago, it was not uncommon for a child to die as a result of diseases such as polio, pertussis, and tuberculosis. Today, it is highly unlikely for a person to contract these diseases, let alone die from them. However, refusal of vaccinations has been increasing throughout the years due to the anti-vaccination movement. This movement declares mandatory vaccines unconstitutional and vaccinations overall as the cause of autism.

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News Flash! Recent outbreaks of what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) call vaccine-preventable diseases demonstrate the effects of the anti-vaccination movement. “Antivaxxers” as they’ve come to be called, as noticed on this author's Facebook page, are a population of parents who make a conscious decision not to vaccinate their children. The goal of this paper is to shed some light on the Antivaxxers, their arguments for choosing not to vaccinate their children, and research that proves the Antivaxxers’ theories are wrong. After all, vaccines aren’t something to be concerned about, they are proven to be effective.

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