Childhood Vaccinatons
The development of vaccines is one of the greatest achievements in modern medicine. While critics of vaccinations claim that vaccines can cause serious and sometimes fatal side effects, there is no scientific proof of this claim. What has been proven by the Center for Disease Control is an “87-99% reduction in most vaccine-preventable infections in U.S. children demonstrating the dramatic success of immunization on public health” (Hedden, 2012, p. 1). Vaccines save children’s’ lives, protect future generations and may eventually eradicate the diseases we are currently immunizing against.
Saving Children’s Lives
Vaccinations are part of raising strong, healthy children. Yet, some parents are fearful to vaccinate their children due to stories they have heard about vaccines possible serious side effects ranging from autism to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and speech delays. Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist in the United Kingdom published a damaging article in 1998 claiming that the measles vaccine caused inflammatory bowel disease, allowing harmful proteins to enter the bloodstream and damage the brain spurring on fears of autism (Wakefield, et al., 1998, p. 637). The validity of his claim was questioned and investigated by the UK General Medical Council which showed that Wakefield had falsified his
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History has shown us that by using vaccines worldwide, we can eradicate a disease and eventually stop needing its vaccine. The U.S. has successfully eradicated smallpox and polio and worldwide, polio is now 99.9% eradicated. The statistics on disease control are encouraging. Statistics show that “in the past two decades, immunization has prevented an estimated 20 million deaths globally. Measles deaths have decreased globally by 78% and the number of new cases of polio has dropped 99%, leaving the world nearly polio-free” (Shot@Life,