The Importance of Childhood Vaccines
Whether to vaccinate a child or not is a hotly debated topic. Some parents believe vaccines are harmful while some are completely pro-vaccine. When it comes to such a crucial subject as vaccines, it is important to be completely educated. However, due to potentially unreliable stories of children becoming disabled from vaccines that circulate through the media, many parents may become confused about vaccines or even turn against vaccination. Fake information is starting to overshadow the truth when it comes to vaccines. Disease outbreaks and premature deaths are sweeping the nation as parents refuse to vaccinate their children. Although some parents avoid vaccines for a variety of reasons, all healthy children should be vaccinated because current vaccines are safe and because public health relies on individual vaccination.
Measles is a common disease that children are vaccinated against. Measles causes brain damage, deafness, and in extreme cases, death (Johnson). Recently, due to lack of vaccination against it, there has been an increase in outbreaks of measles in the United States, especially in Clark County, Washington, where it was declared a medical emergency. There were seventy-nine reported cases of measles in the United States from January to February 2019. Forty-nine of those cases came from Clark County. Most of the infected people were children ages ten and younger. This outbreak comes as no surprise because Clark County is the least vaccinated county in the state of Washington. Another recent measles outbreak was in Brooklyn, New York. Unvaccinated children visited Israel, contracted the virus, and brought it back to New York. This outbreak resulted in sixty-four reported cases of measles (Johnson). There are countless other stories of unnecessary disease outbreaks that could easily be avoided with vaccination.
A common misconception surrounding vaccines is that they cause children to be autistic (Gerber and Offit 456). Many people suspect that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is one of the culprits. Research conducted by Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist, and his colleagues found that the eight children they studied showed signs of autism one month after receiving the MMR vaccine. Wakefield suggested that the vaccine caused gastrointestinal inflammation, which affected brain development and therefore caused autism. An issue with Wakefield’s results is that only eight children were used for the research. Because Wakefield observed such a small number of children, his results prove nothing. The study was also not controlled so the results could be a coincidence. Children usually show signs of autism at ages one and two which happens to be the same ages they receive the MMR vaccine. Another issue with Wakefield’s research is that gastrointestinal problems have no link to autism. Also, the MMR vaccine has not been found to cause gastrointestinal issues (Gerber and Offit 456). Due to his fraudulent research attempting to prove that vaccines are harmful, Andrew Wakefield lost his license to practice medicine in the United Kingdom in 2010 (Park).
There is plenty more evidence that defeats the misconception that the MMR vaccine causes autism. The Journal of the American Medical Association produced a study that observed 100,000 children who had received the MMR vaccine from birth to age five. The research concluded that the vaccine is in no way linked to autism. In another study, over fifteen million children who received the MMR vaccine were observed by Cochrane (a global network of research professionals). No evidence that linked autism to the MMR vaccine was found (Carroll). Because of social media hype and personal websites, some parents are still convinced that the MMR vaccine causes autism, so they choose to not allow their children to have that vaccine. The MMR vaccine protects against measles along with mumps which causes deafness and sterility, and rubella which can cause babies to have severe birth defects if their mother contracts the disease while pregnant (Offit and Salisbury 18). Since the delusion surrounding the MMR vaccine has been debunked, there is no reason for a child to not receive it, barring health issues.
However, because of the hype surrounding vaccines and autism, another theory emerged. This theory hypothesizes that injecting multiple vaccines at once compromises the immune system and affects the nervous system, which can cause autism. Some people believe multiple vaccines should not be given at once (Gerber and Offit 459). A large problem with that theory is that there is no evidence linking autism to the immune system (Gerber and Offit 460). Vaccines also do not put a strain on the immune system or body. If someone received eleven vaccines at once, it would only require the use of around 0.1 percent of the immune system. Multiple vaccines should be received all at once for two reasons. First, the longer a child goes without a vaccine, the more susceptible to disease it becomes. Secondly, multiple trips to the doctor to receive a vaccine will expose a child to sickness more times than necessary (Carroll).
Some parents that choose not to vaccinate their children argue that their choices are of no concern to others. While that may seem like a fair argument given that they do have the right to personal choice, the decision not to vaccinate one's own child has a butterfly effect. When parents choose not to vaccinate their child, they are hurting others too. Children too young to be vaccinated along with people that have compromised immunity (such as chemotherapy patients) rely on herd immunity to keep them from getting the diseases that vaccines prevent (Offit and Salisbury 19). Herd immunity allows those who cannot be vaccinated to be protected from diseases that people in their community have been vaccinated against. If the number of vaccinated people in an area decreases significantly, the herd immunity that protects the people who cannot receive vaccines is lost. Small children, elderly people, and extremely sick people have an even higher chance of catching diseases such as measles, mumps, and influenza which can ultimately end their life (Bearman 113). Most of the parents that choose not to have their children vaccinated probably never think about all of the life-altering consequences of their decision.
A viable solution to the lack of vaccination would be the creation of laws that require children to receive vaccinations. According to Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, “…vaccine mandates are the best way to ensure protection from illnesses that have caused so much needless suffering and death.” However, David M. Salisbury, director of immunization at the Department of Health in London believes that mandating vaccines is unnecessary. Salisbury states that people could easily opt out of vaccination by claiming it does not follow their philosophical or religious beliefs. There is also not much evidence that shows that mandating vaccination has increased and maintained the number of vaccines given (Offit and Salisbury). While Salisbury makes valid points, they are not enough to shut down the idea of mandating vaccination. The numerous stories of disease outbreaks causing unnecessary sickness and death along with the major risk of disease contraction involving babies and those that are terminally ill are factors that are too important to not take action.
Requiring certain vaccinations by law is a good idea for another reason. If most childhood vaccines are mandated, not only suffering will be saved but also money and time. The tetanus vaccine protects children from tetanus (also known as lockjaw) which is usually acquired by a break in the skin caused by a rusty object. Tetanus is rare because most children receive the vaccine. However, recently an unvaccinated child from Oregon contracted the disease by scraping his head on an object while playing on a farm. The child spent fifty-seven days in the hospital, one month of which was spent on a ventilator. When he finally got over the disease, the total hospital bill was around $800,000. The child was in excruciating pain, isolated, and had severe involuntary muscle spasms during the time spent in the hospital. When he finally became well, the parents still declined any vaccinations (Mervosh). If the tetanus vaccine was mandated, the child would have avoided suffering and given that the family declined further vaccination, potential future suffering. Also, the family would not have a medical bill of almost one million dollars. If the child had simply been vaccinated, the time and resources used to treat the disease could have gone to people with illnesses that are not preventable.
However, mandating vaccines is not the only solution to people’s aversion surrounding vaccination. Proper education is a major factor in putting an end to the belief of fake news involving vaccines. One way to promote education on the subject would be for pediatrician offices to offer handouts or mail information packets to their patients. Another solution that promotes vaccines would be for schools, daycares, and businesses (especially those like trampoline parks and arcades) to require children to have certain vaccinations before entering. This would help prevent the spread of diseases such as measles and influenza.
In regards to the health of friends, family, and the public, one of the best thing parents can do is make sure their children are vaccinated. Instead of turning to articles on social media that could be written by anyone, parents should instead read medical journals written by professionals. The wellbeing of everyone would be greatly improved if every parent makes the educated choice to have their child vaccinated.