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Purpose Of Vaccines

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Jeffery Kluger, an advocate for childhood vaccinations, once said, “Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. It’s a simple message parents need to keep hearing.” Throughout the United States and countries across the world, the safety and necessity of vaccines ignite debate. Over the past decade, vaccine rates declined drastically due to vaccine hesitancy and fear. Parents need continual reminders regarding the safety and benefits of vaccines given to their children. Merriam-Webster defines a vaccine as a “preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms which is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease”. Vaccines intend to reduce the amount of disease and increase the nation’s immunity, not to cause harm in the lives of children. Vaccinations are necessary and safe, and they provide many benefits while promoting a healthy community. Vaccinations hold a long term history throughout the world with a clear reason for their enduring existence. Paul Offit and Charlotte Moser claim in their book, Vaccines & Your Child: Separating Fact from Fiction, “vaccines provide the immunity that comes from natural infection without the consequences of natural infection.” They believe looking at the source and examining the origins of vaccines help people better understand their purpose and use. The late 1700s introduced the first vaccine by physician Edward Jenner attempting to cure smallpox (Offit

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