The Importance of Vaccines for People of All Ages Each year, vaccinations prevent more that 2.5 million deaths, and with new medicine coming over the next few years, that number could jump up to 4 million per year (11 Facts About Vaccines). This startling statistic is why almost all medical professionals would agree that vaccinations are necessary for a healthy life. Vaccinations are important not only for a person’s own health and their child’s, but also for every family member and friend that will encounter that person for the rest of their life. Vaccination, by definition, is “the administration of antigenic material to stimulate an individual’s immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen” (Vaccination, 2017, para.1). Vaccination
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There are many different vaccines for numerous diseases, such as smallpox, tetanus, measles, influenza, and polio. Some of these, like smallpox, have been eradicated because of vaccinations, and others diseases such as polio are soon to be eradicated. The first vaccine created was for smallpox in 1796 by Edward Jenner, a British physician. By the time smallpox was eradicated in 1979, an approximate 300-500 million people had died from this contagious disease, all who were not vaccinated (Vaccination, 2017, para. 1-3). Anyone can see that vaccinations are extremely important and obviously recommended by medical professionals. Today, there is a lot of controversy over whether vaccinations are necessary or not, but scientific evidence proves the former. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which is a certified department to give medical advice and factual evidence, immunizations can save a child’s life from a disease that once killed thousands. Many of these deadly diseases have now been eliminated because of vaccines. Polio is a great example of this, considering that the disease “was once …show more content…
1-2). Vaccination also protects more than just one’s self from disease, but also those who are unvaccinated, babies that are too young to receive vaccines, pregnant women, the elderly, those with weakened immune systems from asthma, chronic illness, or undergoing treatment for cancer, and those who are allergic to vaccine components and cannot be vaccinated (Benefits vs. Risks, 2017, para. 4). This information came from an article that is written to inform the reader of statistics such as how vaccination will impact those around you, and on the subject of those who are not vaccinated, the article states “When less than 90% of children are immunized in a particular community, these pockets of low vaccination create an environment where infectious diseases can take hold and spread. Only a very small percentage of children in the U.S. are completely unvaccinated—about 3%—however, they tend to cluster in certain geographic areas” (Benefits vs. Risks, 2017, para.
There are many different vaccines for numerous diseases, such as smallpox, tetanus, measles, influenza, and polio. Some of these, like smallpox, have been eradicated because of vaccinations, and others diseases such as polio are soon to be eradicated. The first vaccine created was for smallpox in 1796 by Edward Jenner, a British physician. By the time smallpox was eradicated in 1979, an approximate 300-500 million people had died from this contagious disease, all who were not vaccinated (Vaccination, 2017, para. 1-3). Anyone can see that vaccinations are extremely important and obviously recommended by medical professionals. Today, there is a lot of controversy over whether vaccinations are necessary or not, but scientific evidence proves the former. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which is a certified department to give medical advice and factual evidence, immunizations can save a child’s life from a disease that once killed thousands. Many of these deadly diseases have now been eliminated because of vaccines. Polio is a great example of this, considering that the disease “was once …show more content…
1-2). Vaccination also protects more than just one’s self from disease, but also those who are unvaccinated, babies that are too young to receive vaccines, pregnant women, the elderly, those with weakened immune systems from asthma, chronic illness, or undergoing treatment for cancer, and those who are allergic to vaccine components and cannot be vaccinated (Benefits vs. Risks, 2017, para. 4). This information came from an article that is written to inform the reader of statistics such as how vaccination will impact those around you, and on the subject of those who are not vaccinated, the article states “When less than 90% of children are immunized in a particular community, these pockets of low vaccination create an environment where infectious diseases can take hold and spread. Only a very small percentage of children in the U.S. are completely unvaccinated—about 3%—however, they tend to cluster in certain geographic areas” (Benefits vs. Risks, 2017, para.