Childhood Vaccination Essay

It is interesting to learn that the Immunization Action Coalition works closely and partly funded by the CDC. They maintain and posts various vaccines for state mandates and policies.

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is a national non-profit advocacy organization established in the early 1980s in an effort to create transparency and dialogue regarding childhood immunizations (NVIC, 2016). The NVIC is one of the most prominent consumer led organizations that have led the pursuit of “advocating for vaccine safety and informed consent protections in the public health systems” (NVIC, 2016, para.1). The NVIC advocates for an

Choosing to vaccinate or not vaccinate children has become a large topic of contention between parents and medical personnel. Rates of non-medical vaccine exemptions for children entering public school continue to increase across the country. This increase has coincided with a resurgence in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, or VPDs (Lynfield, 2014, p.1). There are a variety of reasons why a family might apply for a non-medical exemption and the validity of these exemptions varies from state to state. Regardless of the justifiability of an exemption, growing numbers of non-vaccinated children entering school will increase the prevalence and mortality from VPDs (Lynfield, 2014, p.2).

Hendrix, Kristin S., et al. "Ethics and Childhood Vaccination Policy in the United States." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 106, no. 2, Feb. 2016, pp. 273-278. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302952.

By the time fully vaccinated American children they are six years old, they have received about three dozen immunizations consisting of nearly fifty vaccines (Largent 34). C. While their bodies are still rapidly developing, children are given many vaccines over a rather short period of time. D. Moreover, concern is raised among parents not just about the amount and timing of vaccinations, but also the authenticity of the government promoting immunizations and how safe they

“Monitoring and improving health in children” contributed to the decrease in childhood mortality and morbidity (Singh, 1996 ). The decline in mortality and morbidity in children one through four in the 1950s through the 1980s was due to many factors. “Immunization and vaccine preventable disease” and community health programs had a reduced effect on mortality and morbidity rates (Ahmad, Lopez, & Inoue, 2000). Children were required to have immunization shots before attending school. This is to keep down the spread of communicable diseases. Also, federal programs, such as Medicaid helped children that were poor (Centers for Disease Control

vaccine has been approved for all U.S. infants at birth. A $475,000 payment was given

Vaccinations have had a huge influence on enhancing the health of kids across the country, yet every year, regardless of the health department’s efforts, the number of parents opting out of vaccinating their children continually rises. This essay explores various articles, journals and facts about vaccinations in an attempt to convince the audience that this is a serious enough issue that warrants their immediate attention. The vaccination prevents dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases. One of the most effective ways for a parent to protect their child is to have them immunized. The vaccination does not only protect the individual child but also aides in the protection of the community in which the child lives. Opponents of vaccinations,

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 732,000 American children have been saved from death and about 322 million from vaccine-preventable diseases. The US Department of Health and Human Services states that vaccines are among the most effective healthcare innovations ever created (Vaccines ProCon, 2018). Vaccines are also much easier and cheaper to manufacture than it is to treat infectious diseases. There are 48 antigens give in 34 injections from birth to age six to prevent children from contracting these diseases (Welch, 2014). The usual state-mandated vaccines for children entering public school are for mumps, measles, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and varicella (chickenpox). All 50 states require children entering public school to be vaccinated; however all allow medical exemptions with 47 offering religious exemptions (except for California, Mississippi, and West Virginia), and 19 for philosophical reasons (Vaccines ProCon,

In 2013 it was reported that over 90 percent of children had received vaccinations, and

The recent measles outbreak occurring at Disneyland in December 2014 became widespread news and rekindled an ongoing debate of childhood vaccination. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is the United States government agency responsible for the protection of Americans from health threats, there were 159 incidents of measles arising from this outbreak (“Morbidity and Mortality” 373). Considering this outbreak, it is not unexpected that the role of vaccination would come to the forefront. The CDC presently advocates 29 vaccinations for children from birth through the age of six years old (“2016 Recommended Immunizations” 1). However, each state respectively establishes the laws for vaccination and corresponding vaccine medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions. For comparison purposes, in the early 1970’s, only three vaccinations were recommended (The Merck Manual 1462). This growth is a 314% surge in the number of vaccinations encouraged by the CDC. Thus, the subject of vaccinations and corresponding exemptions is contentious, divisive, and widely debated. Indeed, some believe that childhood vaccinations should be mandatory in order to protect every individual from preventable diseases (Gostin 1100). Instead, vaccination should be an informed parental choice, not mandated by the federal government, because vaccine safety is questionable, diseases being vaccinated against have fundamentally

Immunizations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are important in helping to protect individuals from potentially harmful, and even fatal, vaccine-preventable diseases. The CDC recommends routine vaccination to prevent 17 vaccine-preventable diseases that can occur in infants, children, adolescents, and adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Adhering to vaccine schedules and completing vaccine series according to state specific age requirements may help with decreasing disease outbreaks, decrease missed school days for school age children due to illness, and decrease socioeconomic loss that may happen secondary to parents missing work to stay home to care for a sick child. According to the CDC (2011), vaccines are administered consistent with age-specific risks for disease, age-specific risks for complications and age-specific responses to vaccination. Within a primary care clinic setting, especially a pediatric practice, completing vaccines as scheduled by the CDC recommendations is ideal.

While the benefits of receiving scheduled vaccinations are cost efficient long term, many families are unable to afford the cost

Throughout history, it has been shown that vaccines make a significant impact on the health of our communities and “administration of these vaccines led to dramatic reduction in the number of cases of, as well as deaths from smallpox, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps and preventable diseases” (Jacobson, 2012, p.36). Generally, those involved in campaigns for and research in these preventable diseases attribute vaccines for children as the main contributing factor to the overall decline in diseases such as measles, mumps, smallpox and pertussis (Jacobson, 2012). In the public health setting, there are many issues that threaten the health and safety of the public, not just in the local community but the nation and world-wide. One such issue, surfacing in public health, is the issue of vaccinations; those who choose to vaccinate, those who choose not to vaccinate and those who do not

Despite significant progress in the fight against preventable disease, millions still die needlessly each year. According to UNICEF, originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, a vaccine preventable disease is responsible for 2 million fatal infections worldwide each year. About 75% of these deaths occur in children under five years of age. (N) In more vivid terms, UNICEF notes that vaccine-preventable diseases kill a child every 20 seconds. (D) Due to high rates of childhood vaccination, the United States has experienced a dramatic reduction in such deaths. A comparison of the years 1950 and 2010 clearly illustrates the benefits of vaccinations. During this 60-year period, deaths from diphtheria reduced from 410 to 0, tetanus from 336 to 3, pertussis from 1,118 to 26, and polio from 1,904 to 0. Measles deaths dropped from 468 in 1950 to 0 in 2008, the last year a United States death rate was recorded. It’s not surprising that vaccinations have been touted as one of the top ten health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).