Every year, thousands of children receive vaccinations from their pediatrician’s office. According to the Centers for Disease Control, vaccination rates for the most common vaccines; measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) and Varicella fall between 93-96 percent in Kindergarten age children ("Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2012–13 School Year," 2013). Vaccinations have been credited with saving thousands, if not millions, of lives since their inception by the Chinese in 1000 CE. In 1796, Edward Jenner successfully created an immunity to smallpox, and by the 1930’s there were vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella and polio. No longer did America’s children
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Children who are too young or immunocompromised are unable to receive a lot of vaccines due to their bodies inability to handle the added strain, having communities of unvaccinated children does away with “herd” vaccinations, and thus allows them to become even more ill. There is no good that can come from leaving our children vulnerable to diseases that science has made obsolete. Moreover, I do not understand the belief that our bodies should be allowed to fight off diseases that will place small children on breathing machines and cause paralysis. My opinion of that is if all parents allowed their children’s bodies to fight off every illness by themselves, we would have a lot more children dying from cancer than we already do. The human body is an amazing machine. It has the ability to withstand incredible things and it can heal in ways that is nothing short of remarkable. However, all things have their limits and I don’t understand why the adults in our society are allowing our children to be the ones who suffer for and deal with the consequences of a small minority of the populations decisions. As a mother, my position is, I see no reason to not entrust in our doctors for the care and wellbeing of our children. Our children are our future, why then are we gambling on their health and standing on their backs to attempt to prove a point that has been debunked several times by science? I feel that by not having a society of children who are completely vaccinated, it opens the door to terrible consequences that I don’t believe those who are opposing vaccinations are able to grasp and
Children who are too young or immunocompromised are unable to receive a lot of vaccines due to their bodies inability to handle the added strain, having communities of unvaccinated children does away with “herd” vaccinations, and thus allows them to become even more ill. There is no good that can come from leaving our children vulnerable to diseases that science has made obsolete. Moreover, I do not understand the belief that our bodies should be allowed to fight off diseases that will place small children on breathing machines and cause paralysis. My opinion of that is if all parents allowed their children’s bodies to fight off every illness by themselves, we would have a lot more children dying from cancer than we already do. The human body is an amazing machine. It has the ability to withstand incredible things and it can heal in ways that is nothing short of remarkable. However, all things have their limits and I don’t understand why the adults in our society are allowing our children to be the ones who suffer for and deal with the consequences of a small minority of the populations decisions. As a mother, my position is, I see no reason to not entrust in our doctors for the care and wellbeing of our children. Our children are our future, why then are we gambling on their health and standing on their backs to attempt to prove a point that has been debunked several times by science? I feel that by not having a society of children who are completely vaccinated, it opens the door to terrible consequences that I don’t believe those who are opposing vaccinations are able to grasp and