Summary: The Importance Of Vaccinations

As August rolls around kids begin complaining about the idea of having a needle break their skin as they are required to get their back to school shots. The phrase “Do I have to?” is overused and many tears are shed. Today there is great controversy over whether children should actually be required to get vaccinations. According to Sinan Akkoseogue from University Wire, “Although there is strong scientific and medical evidence in favor of the benefits of vaccinations, many still state they don’t work and may be harmful” (Akkoseogue). Despite the minor side effects that are a part of many medications, they should still be mandatory. Immunizations have put a stop to major epidemics, saved kids lives as well as prevented major diseases from spreading …show more content…
Major epidemics such as smallpox, yellow fever, the Spanish flu and polio have all been defeated thanks to research and immunizations. Not only do vaccines protect you but also everyone you come in contact with. If one person in a community comes down with a disease everyone who is not immune, because they were not vaccinated, will be impacted. However, even with vaccination, some people are still vulnerable to catch the disease. On www.vaccineinformation.org and in the artlicle “Importance of Vaccines”, the Immunization Action Colaition states “Vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough are still a threat” (Importance of Vaccines). In the chart below from the article “Why Vaccinate?”, the amount of measles and mumps cases have decreased by a combined 195.6% since the 20th …show more content…
A key role in parenting is deciding things for their child because they are not old enough or experienced enough to make decisions on their own. Children are definitely not educated enough about vaccinations to make such an important decision such as what vaccinations they should receive. The American Academy of Pediatricians sponsored an article on healthychildren.org that stated “Beacuse of the success of the immunizations, most parents have never seen a child with whooping cough, tetanus, polio or meningitas, so they are not aware of how serious these diseses can be” (Weighing the Risks). Even some parents are not educated enough to realize what an important role immunizations could play in their child 's life. As some people look to their doctors for advice, others look to the government to make the call on if their kid should be required to accept