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Alfredo Garza
Professor Madden
ENG 1201.B55
21 July 19
The year is 2000 and the United Sates has declared that measles has been eliminated. Fast
forward 19 years and the CDC has stated 1,000 cases in 28 states. “Between the years of 2008-
2015 there was 1,330,987 cases of outbreaks of measles.” (CDC) That is a million plus cases that
could have been prevented. Looking at graph below that is only one disease globally not to
mention the other few that are mentioned. Immunizations shield those from a sicknesses that can
become widespread, will cripple or kill 1,000s to 1,000,000s if we do not protect ourselves. So,
do shots do better for the human immune system than harm? the risk of acquiring the diseases
that they are made to block and protect us from, subsequently for the well-being of the
population.?
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Some may wonder or even ask why must child get their flu vaccine every year whereas
some other vaccines are just done once in their lifetime? So, each year research is done on which
strain may be circulating more frequently so when a vaccine is put out it will be one that will be
most effective for that particular strain. This is just not something we are encountering here in
the United States, but the ongoing fight to get people immunized is global. However, in doing so
people always want what best, but still hesitant when it comes to immunizations. That’s where
scientific studies take place in order to get all the pertinent information gather and then
distributed to the public, so they get a better understanding on why and how these vaccinations
work.
Though most of the talks about vaccinations and whether they are safe and effective is
seen taking place here in the United States it does not mean that we are the only ones putting in
the time and effort to continue improving our studies within vaccinations in order to protect the
people from preventable diseases. In a study conducted in Veneto a region located in the
Northeast part of Italy, Dr. Carlo Giaquinto along with 11 other medical professionals looked
into the effectiveness of the vaccine ProQuad which could potentially prevent the virus varicella-
zoster also known as chicken pox. How serious is the virus varicella? Although the virus is
viewed as only mild and if contracted it can lead to work and school absence it may also lead to
other more serious complications. Varicella is typically found in children who are not
vaccinated. Additionally, if the child has contracted the virus once varicella is highly contagious
and the likely hood of an unvaccinated child being susceptible to the virus is “60 % to 100%.”
vaccine.” (Carlo) In more layman’s terms the one vaccine of ProQuad would cover MMR and
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varicella. That is 4 diseases that could be prevented in one single dose in a vaccination. This
would in the eyes of a mother who does not like the thought of her child getting numerous
vaccines possibly more appealing. ProQuad just like MMR II vaccine would still be
immunologically equivalent. When the study was conducted those children that were born in
06/07 and eligible were administered a dose of ProQuad and followed up to the age of 6 where
they either contracted the virus or did not contract the virus ending the period of the study. Of the
2357 children that were vaccinated with ProQuad only 43 cases of those 2357 were reported to
still contract the virus. That is a low 1.82% rate when being vaccinated compared to the
unvaccinated group. The unvaccinated group in which of the 912 children there were 287 cases
When thinking about vaccines one does not think about how not only it will benefit the
individual getting the vaccines, but also for those individuals that may not be able to. So, in
protecting ourselves we are also in a sense protecting those around us by preventing the possible
spread of a viruses and diseases. You may be thinking to yourself, “Well why get myself
vaccinated and my children vaccinated to protect others? Shouldn’t they vaccinate themselves to
protect themselves?” Picture this the immune system is the body’s defense system against
infectious organisms. Some individuals in the world’s population are born with a disorder called
autoimmune deficiency. What this means is the body’s defense system is disrupted in the ability
to fight against viruses, organism and bacteria. So, introducing a vaccine which carries a small,
but safe amount of the virus it’s made to fight against could very well compromise that
Reports and figures proved on how harmless and how effective vaccines can be.
However, there seems to be that black cloud that hovers over a group and blocking out the truth
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behind what exactly immunization can really do in a positive way for the community. British
researcher Mr. Wakefield who said the M.M.R did not assist in shielding the individual, but
instead caused people to develop autism as a result from getting vaccinated. Since Mr. Wakefield
allegation on vaccines causing people to become autistic over the years thereafter analyses
proved the truth behind Wakefield’s accusations were false and nothing more than assumptions
So, is it true that you can find thimerosal in some of these vaccines? What is thimerosal?
thimerosal compounds methylmercury and ethylmercury. Ethylmercury was the one found in
vaccines but because of the low levels used the body breaks it down and clears it out of the blood
more quickly than if it was methylmercury. So why was when and why was it removed? In the
90s the Food and Drug Administration by law was to look into all products containing mercury.
After its assessment it took precautionary steps in removing as much mercury from vaccines that
may have had it, because just like any type of medical drug or treatment for a patient they
wanted it to be as safe and effective as possible. Thimerosal was at one point was being used in
vaccines to prevent growth of hazardous bacterium however, it has been 20 years since “Public
from childhood vaccines as a precautionary measure.” (Thimerosal in Vaccines) Even with all
the precautionary steps to making vaccines safer some vaccines still utilize thimerosal. Since the
production for flu vaccines are at times made in multi-dose vials thimerosal is still used as a
preservative in those vials. However, single dose vials for the flu vaccines will be without
thimerosal seeing the preservative is only used to keep from cross contamination on the multi-
dose vials. British researcher Andrew Wakefield claimed just as others do nowadays that
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thimerosal can cause these children who are getting vaccinated to develop autism. Nonetheless,
no reputable scientific studies have found any type of link between thimerosal in vaccines and
autism. This only leads us to consider that all those parents who use pseudoscience as their
reasoning that thimerosal may cause autism as a way of not getting their children vaccinated can
Amid the testimony on vaccines being undamaging and efficient the significant thing one
can appreciate is the stats being a positive and showing true facts when it comes to receiving
vaccinations. When it comes to assessing if a vaccine should even be introduced the World
Health Organization gets that say. The WHO is a dedicated agency who main priority is the
concern of international public health. Some questions that are asked by the WHO as follows:
does the disease cause significant burden? WHO states that the liability of a disease that can be
averted by the vaccine is a huge part that will justify the need for a vaccine. This further
solidifies that vaccines that are given to children are no just because, but it has been justified that
it is in the best interest of the people to get certain vaccines. The Who goes on and ask does
preventing the disease contribute to the national health and development plans? What this
translates to is does align with the goals that countries have developed for themselves in reducing
child mortality. Vaccines that can substantially reduce this then are usually considered to be put
in use. As stated throughout this paper the main goal when getting people, a vaccine is not only
protecting them from potential diseases and viruses but getting them the vaccine in a safe and
effective manner. This is also stated by the WHO. For a vaccine to attain licensure, there needs
to be sufficient data on its efficacy in preventing the disease. These questions are just a small
amount of questions that are asked by the WHO before giving the ok. So where does it go once
the ok is given? There are a few stages in getting the vaccine safe and effective and making sure
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it’s approved by all organizations and administrations to include the FDA and the WHO. Some
manufacturing and quality control. In the clinical stage there are three phases. In these stages the
Food and Drug Administration sets rules for the stages to ensure the protection of those
partaking in trials. During the trials the vaccines are tested on adults first. The first phase small
group of about 20-100 health volunteers receive the trial vaccine. Then scientific data is
collected on whether or not the vaccine is safe? Does the vaccine seem to do what it was
developed to do? What if any are the side effects of the vaccine? How is the size of the dosage of
the vaccine administered linked to side effects? In the next phase known as phase two the
number jumps from the previous phase from twenty to hundred volunteers to several hundred. In
this phase researchers define short-term side effects that may be developed from the vaccine and
along with the they are observing how the immune system of the several hundred in phase two
responds to the vaccine. Finally, this brings us to phase three. In phase three the numbers once
again rise now to potentially thousands of volunteers. In this phase researchers determine how
people compare from those who get the vaccine to those who don’t. Furthermore, the question
that concerns parents most is asked in the final phase and that is if the vaccines is safe and
effective and what potential side effects they may have. As you seen every stage uses the
possible vaccination on a small crowd then slowly building up into a larger in number group not
only to get a better understanding of what the vaccine may or may not do but it also allows
researchers to get all credible information off of the phases to make sure the injections are not
going to cause any ham and keep the side effects to none or as low as possible. This would in
return make the shots effective and that the benefits do outweigh the risks. (The Journey of Your
Child’s Vaccine)
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Besides the WHO having a say on whether or not a vaccine should be put into place for
the world to use after doing their research, the United States has ACIP also known as the
Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices which is another group of medical and health
experts, and the AAP also known as the American Academy of Pediatrics to oversee further
considerations. Some of the considerations are the safety of the vaccine at which age it is given
to the children. Researchers further take note on how well the vaccine works at specific ages.
One of the bigger considerations is how many children would get the disease the vaccine was
implemented for if such vaccine was not available. So, what if this wasn’t about how vaccines
are not safe and effective? What if parents were not sure about getting their children vaccinated
not because of no other reason than that of the lack of trust in their medical providers?
In an article written by Nikki Eller where she conducted a study on parents and
their trust in their health care providers and how it affects them in making the decision on getting
their children vaccinated, she discovers that the unknown does consequently sway parents one
over the other. Eller along with two other professionals conducted a secondary analysis from
mothers of healthy newborns. They inspected the relationship between the parent’s confidence in
their health care professionals and vaccine report. In this article Eller states that it may be
possible that parents elected not to vaccinate their kids due to the possible trust lost or not there
to begin with health care providers. During this study it was found that there was a greater
percentage of less trusting mothers who reported other sources such as internet, family members,
of vaccine injured children and alternative medicine providers as their source for vaccine
information.
I am the father of a healthy 5-year-old son who has received all vaccinations that are
recommended for children. Additionally, he has received the flu shot every year just so he
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can attend his daycare because without the flu shot and immunizations he would be turn
away. Here in the next month or so he is scheduled for another set before he goes into
Kindergarten. I have like others wondered about a lot of the frequently asked questions most
of which I covered. However, I myself never could take anything serious from celebrities
that made false claims or even social media post that put a black cloud over vaccinations.
Instead I asked the professionals questions and I looked at how well it’s not only worked out
for myself, my family before and now my own child. Everyone is entitled to their opinion,
but I believe is a parent is not going to get their child vaccinated then I hope it’s more so for
a religious belief or because maybe that individual cannot for health reasons. I just don’t
believe one should overlook all the time and effort that is put into the studies and the time is
that put in the research to get these vaccines made in efforts to give us a better, long and
The data has always shown the accuracy behind immunizations and preventing diseases.
However, it should be understood that even if one is to receive vaccination this does not
guarantee that you or your child will not contract the disease in which it is developed to protect
you from, but it is giving those a chance to fight against getting it. Amid all the evidence offered
vaccinations outweigh the risk. Before jumping into conclusions we should stop ourselves and
evaluate what it is that is being presented to us and seeing if it is reliable information or just one
putting out their pseudoscience and that they believe is behind immunizations and listen to those
that are qualified to speak on the matter at hand and that have actually conducted studies to help
Work Cited
and ProQuad-Specific Effectiveness against Varicella in the Veneto Region of Italy.” No.
3017-9
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Thimerosal in Vaccines.” 27 October 2015,
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The Journey of Your Child’s Vaccine” 26 January
2018 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.html
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/SDQLIA019848550/OVIC?u=dayt30401&xid=84c92
7e7. Accessed 13 Feb. 2018. Originally published as "Scientists must join the battle
Eller, Nikki M. “Vaccine Information Sources and Parental Trust in Their Child’s Health Care
Provider.” Health Education & Behavior, vol. 46, no. 3, June 2019, pp. 445–453.
EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=136799455&site=eds-live.
1&xid=62ce35b3.
"Global Disease Outbreaks that Could Have Been Prevented with Vaccinations, 2008–2015."
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/NOTUDC328114090/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVI