Controversial Topics: Vaccinations

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A Students View on Controversial Topics: Vaccinations
A little girl lays on a cold hospital bed; her parents are told her body is being ravaged by the measles virus that leaves her in a vegetative state. She did not receive this virus from a foreign disease ridden country, but from her classmate whose parents chose not to get their child vaccinated. Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children, even with a vaccine available (World Health Organization). Even with the very real threat posed by measles and its counterparts, some others still believe that the same vaccine made to save lives are a risk to our health even with overwhelming evidence that proves their stance as invalid. There are many reasons why all parents should
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The safety and effectiveness of vaccines have been one of the most heavily debated topic of this century. Vaccines have extensive research done to ensure their safety. Typically, before a vaccine is sold 10-15 years of research is done to prove the vaccines’ safety. There are laws set in place to protect citizens against tainted vaccinations. The Biologics Control Act passed in 1902 ,signed by Theodore Roosevelt in response to two deaths of children from a tainted vaccine, was made to “ensure purity and safety of serums, vaccines, and similar products used to prevent or treat diseases in humans.”(Food and Drug Administration.) Consequently, most, if not all, of the worlds most accredited doctors believe that vaccines are safe and effective. 93% of doctors agree with the vaccination recommendations for children given now. The question of vaccine safety should not be brought up because there is more evidence than not that state that vaccines are quite safe and …show more content…
Most of these very small few believe that giving your child vaccines leads to the development of autism. Among these people includes Dr. Andrew Wakefield, gastroenterologist, and his colleagues who conducted a study with results that stated autism was a byproduct of vaccinations. However, the major flaw of this study is that Dr. Wakefield only studied 8 children, far less than a credible study should have. In contrast, The American Academy of Pediatrics, a far more credible source, report: “Central nervous system disturbances, such as encephalitis, have been reported with a frequency of less than one per 1 million doses of MMR vaccination”. There have been several clinical reports done by accredited and unbiased professionals that confirm the safety of vaccines to satiable level, and that is why many of the worlds most progress physicians recommend vaccination. One of these studies includes that of Dr. Madsen and colleagues done during 1991-1998 where they studied 537,303 children.In their study they found no link between autism and vaccinations. There are studies that proclaim that vaccines are not always safe and effective, but so is every type of medicine in the world but we continue to take them. 57.9% of people experience side effects when using ibuprofen; 32.1%-41.1% more than the average

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