What are vaccines? In general, a vast majority of the public could answer this question. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics endorses at least 14 vaccines for infants by the age of two (AAP.org). The vaccine is considered by many doctors, scientists, and experts to be one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine and the idea of a vaccine, itself, is radical. Essentially, a vaccine is a weakened, usually dead, strain of a disease or virus. In response to this strain, antibodies are created, the body’s immune system defenders, against the targeted virus. For a very high percentage of people who receive vaccinations, they will now be immune to the disease. In saying this, receiving vaccines seems like a no-brainer. Of course,
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At first, the refusal to vaccinate your kid seems like a strange, diabolical plan to not protect them. With a closer look though, the situation is not that simple. It is easy to dismiss the anti-vaccine community as ignorant, uneducated, or even downright crazy. In contrast, this is just not the case. The general demographic for those against vaccines is upper-class whites between 30 and 40 with college degrees (pewresearch.org). This may be surprising. Usually, this demographic is not associated with being crazy and obviously they are educated. So why the rebelliousness? Well, first off, vaccines are not 100 percent safe. There have been some instances of harsh side effects. According to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, to date, there have been roughly $2 billion dollars doled out through 2,398 claims against the government due to problems with extreme side effects as a result of a vaccine. Evidently, there have been some problems, but 2,398 is a minuscule fraction of the total vaccine recipients in the United States. The probability that you will face any harm by way of vaccine is small. In fact, the chances that a kid could have brain swelling as a result of the DTaP (whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria) shot is 11 in one million. Though rare, there still is a possibility. On the other hand, if diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough are contracted, they are fatal in 1 in 20 cases, 1 in 10 cases, and 1 in 1,500 cases, respectively (parents.com). The chances that kids end up with a harsh side effect are slim. However, the probability of children surviving one of these diseases is not too high. This relates to another point that anti-vaxxers (against vaccines) employ; the principle of herd immunization. Herd immunization is when the spread of a disease is limited due to a large percentage of the people being immune to that disease. Indirectly, this saves people that are not actually immune. Believing in this
At first, the refusal to vaccinate your kid seems like a strange, diabolical plan to not protect them. With a closer look though, the situation is not that simple. It is easy to dismiss the anti-vaccine community as ignorant, uneducated, or even downright crazy. In contrast, this is just not the case. The general demographic for those against vaccines is upper-class whites between 30 and 40 with college degrees (pewresearch.org). This may be surprising. Usually, this demographic is not associated with being crazy and obviously they are educated. So why the rebelliousness? Well, first off, vaccines are not 100 percent safe. There have been some instances of harsh side effects. According to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, to date, there have been roughly $2 billion dollars doled out through 2,398 claims against the government due to problems with extreme side effects as a result of a vaccine. Evidently, there have been some problems, but 2,398 is a minuscule fraction of the total vaccine recipients in the United States. The probability that you will face any harm by way of vaccine is small. In fact, the chances that a kid could have brain swelling as a result of the DTaP (whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria) shot is 11 in one million. Though rare, there still is a possibility. On the other hand, if diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough are contracted, they are fatal in 1 in 20 cases, 1 in 10 cases, and 1 in 1,500 cases, respectively (parents.com). The chances that kids end up with a harsh side effect are slim. However, the probability of children surviving one of these diseases is not too high. This relates to another point that anti-vaxxers (against vaccines) employ; the principle of herd immunization. Herd immunization is when the spread of a disease is limited due to a large percentage of the people being immune to that disease. Indirectly, this saves people that are not actually immune. Believing in this