Introduction
Vaccination is a method by which antigens, also known as vaccines are administered to a person’s body so as to stimulate the immune system. The body develops an adaptive immunity to a particular pathogen, and thus, one will not get the disease. Vaccination is mostly used to prevent infectious diseases and prevention of occurrence of some like measles, polio, and tetanus. WHO have approved twenty-five vaccines to immune against preventable diseases. Some of the vaccines are given to children under the age of five (Dellepiane, & Wood, 55). The purpose of the paper is to discuss the pros and cons of vaccinating children.
Pros/Benefits
The primary purpose of vaccination is to save lives. WHO says that one of their greatest achievements in the 20th century is vaccination (Dellepiane, & Wood, 56). It has helped to reduce deaths than any other method like hygiene, sanitation and timely access to medical attention. Vaccinations protect the child from many diseases and thus, decrease the risk of mortality. The same diseases that were once a threat and killed many children in the past have been eliminated through vaccination while others are very close to extinction. For example, polio was a major threat disease in America. It caused deaths and paralysis of many children. There are no more registered polio cases in America due to vaccination. For complete elimination, there is a need to administer vaccinations on a regular basis. For example, polio vaccine is still administered to American children even if there are no more registered cases. Lack of immunization may make a child venerable to the disease as the causing pathogens still exist.
Vaccinations are very safe and efficient methods of preventing diseases. For a vaccine to be administered to children, they must have been approved by all concerned bodies. They must have passed many years of careful research and reviews by doctors, scientist, and healthcare professionals (Dellepiane, & Wood, 57). Some may take more than a decade before being approved just to make sure that they are safe for use and do not have side effects. A vaccine whose side effects are more than the benefits or whose side effect may permanently affect the life of a child can never get approved for use. Some of the vaccines may cause discomfort, pain, and redness when administered mainly inform of injection. However, the child trauma, pain, and discomfort will be more if he or she gets a disease not vaccinated. Parents should ensure that they only vaccinate their children through approved medical care so that they can avoid the dangerous vaccine.
Vaccinations protect a child from contracting diseases from the surrounding environment. Children and adults still contract some of the vaccine-preventable diseases. A good example is a whopping cough and measles that have been observed in the USA for the past few years (Dellepiane, & Wood, 56). There have been ten to twenty cases of children contracting the diseases and dying in every year (Dellepiane, & Wood, 56). Those who contracted the disease were too young to be vaccinated against them. Others could not receive the vaccine due to a weak immune system like leukemia, severe allergies among other reasons. The only way to keep such children safe is to vaccine the people around them and thus preventing spreading the diseases to them. The children who have not been vaccinated will be more venerable in a population that has such diseases.
Immunization is the best way of saving time and money for the family. Some vaccine-preventable diseases like polio can cause a lifetime disability (Whitney, et al., 352). Maintaining such a child will require more funds and money than could have used in the vaccine. The hospital bills and facilities needed to care for such children may be too high for some families. The government funds children’s immunization program. Thus, no parent can cite cost as the reason of not vaccinating their children.
Cons/Risks
However, there are also risks of immunizing children just like any other pharmaceutical product. One risk is that some kids may be allergic to some of the products in the vaccines (Song, 547). If the parents do not know that the child is allergic, they will vaccinate the child and in the end, cause harm to the child’s body. These reactions may be due to genetic differences, environmental exposure, development stage, and intervening illness among others.
Some of the vaccines recommended by the Government health officials have complication risks like brain inflammation that may cause immune system and brain damage or death to a child (Song, 545). Also, poor storage of vaccine may cause harm when administered to children. It is important for a parent to understand the signs of vaccine effects as some may be reversed. The symptoms include, excessive swelling, excessive bleeding, muscle weakness, joint pains, social withdraw among others.
Conclusion
Vaccination is a way of administering antigen against a pathogen to boost a person’s immune system. WHO says that vaccinations have helped to reduce child mortality than any other method like hygiene and sanitation. Vaccines are safe as they have been studied and approved by different bodies concerned with human health. They also help to prevent diseases to children who cannot get vaccinations for various reasons. The reasons might be that they are too young or their body immunity is too weak to receive the immunization. Furthermore, it is an alternative way of saving time and money. Vaccine programs are funded by the government while related diseases are time-consuming and costly to treat and maintain. However, it is associated with some risks. A child body may react to the vaccine and thus cause body harm. Some vaccines may cause complications like the brain or immune system damage. Parents should know the signs of a backfired immunity so as to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
- Dellepiane, Nora, and David Wood. “Twenty-five years of the WHO vaccines prequalification program (1987–2012): lessons learned and future perspectives.” Vaccine 33.1 (2015): 52-61.
- Song, Geoboo. “Understanding public perceptions of benefits and risks of childhood vaccinations in the United States.” Risk Analysis 34.3 (2014): 541-555.
- Whitney, Cynthia G., et al. “Benefits from immunization during the vaccines for children program era—the United States, 1994–2013.” MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 63.16 (2014): 352-355.
