Early Childhood Vaccines

Disease kills more than 172,000 people a year. So why not prevent it? The easiest way to prevent getting a disease is with a vaccine. A vaccine contains weakened antigens which carry the disease. An antigen is a molecule that causes your immune system to produce antibodies--- proteins whose main purpose is to kill antigens. When a vaccine is injected into your body, your body thinks that the vaccine is the disease so it creates many antibodies. Then, if you come in contact with the disease, your body will fight it with the antibodies it already produced and you will not contract the disease. The first vaccine was made by Edward Jenner in 1796 and was later developed in 1798. Jenner injected a young boy with a cowpox serum, that later successfully prevented the boy from contracting smallpox. After many medical and technological changes made to Jenner’s vaccine, smallpox was soon eradicated. When a disease is eradicated, it is completely destroyed. In the middle of the 20th century scientists and researchers grew viruses in labs which led to rapid discoveries on many childhood vaccines which are still used today. People should get vaccines because they are safe and effective, they save generations to come, and they protect others who cannot get vaccinated. One of the reasons to get a vaccine is because they are safe. On July 1, 1902 the Government created the Biologics Control Act. This act made the federal legislation have control over the quality of drugs. Since then the government has been monitoring the quality, efficiency, and safety of drugs that go out to the public. Today all vaccines and other food and drug products are constantly being monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All vaccines that are made have to be approved by the FDA. Vaccines are ensured to be very safe, and they have had to have gone through many tests and experiments to finally be approved and used. Vaccines are effective because they save people a lot of time and money. The actual vaccine costs less money than the amount of time and money it will cost someone if they caught the disease. Children under 5 years old who get the flu are sick for about 8 days. According to a 2012 CDC study, “[Sick children] cost their parents an average of 11 to 73 hours of wages (about $222 to $1,456) and $300 to $4,000 in medical expenses.” The child's parents are losing money and have to pay a lot of money for medical expenses when they can just get the vaccine. Also if a student is sick, they are losing class time and will have to get it later. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, or Obamacare) people can get many vaccines without copay. This is very beneficial because it will cost little to no money on getting the vaccine rather than spending up to $1000 of medical expenses if you get the disease. Another reason why vaccines are effective is because people will not catch the disease it is meant to immunize. …show more content…
This is so important because it keeps children and communities safe and has the ability to completely eradicate a disease. This is also very beneficial for travelers and doctors because they can come in contact with the sick, however the doctors and travelers will be protected of certain diseases. Some diseases that killed and injured people in the past are now not as common. Vaccines also have the ability to save lives. According to a United Nations Foundation partner organization, vaccines saved approximately 2.5 million children every year. That's 285 children saved every hour. People should also get vaccines because they save future generations. Rubella and Zika are both viruses that can affect unborn babies. The Rubella virus is passed when an infected person coughs or sneezes. A mother can transmit the virus to her unborn baby and that causes serious to fatal effects. The Zika virus is passed through infected mosquitoes and it can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus, which can cause other defects in a baby such as developmental delays, seizures, hearing and vision loss, and stunted growth. A current