Argumentative Essay on Vaccines
Before the invention of vaccines, people had to drink snake venom in order to be immune to a snake bite. Vaccinations are the administration of antigenic materials to produce immunity to a disease. In the United States (and other countries), historical records show that disease mortality declined nearly 90% before the introduction of a vaccine program and routine vaccination programs as stated in the Trends in the Health of Americans report. Though there is a large population of non-vaccination supporters, many of their claims remain unfounded, claims such as vaccinations are the cause of many detrimental ailments in human health such as autism. However, vaccines are essential to our health and well-being. Vaccinations can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by a pathogen, which is why it is considered to be the most effective and cost-effective method of preventing infectious diseases.
Some of the most prevalent diseases in the early 1900s, including Tuberculosis (TB), Scarlet Fever and Typhoid followed with the same declines without ever having a vaccine program (in the US). These diseases were nearly eradicated in the U.S. without the population being vaccinated for them. Edward Jenner invented the cure for smallpox in 1796 where he took a blister from a cowpox infected individual and injected it into another person’s skin. This was called the arm-to-arm inoculation. However, in the late 1940s, scientific knowledge had developed a large scale of vaccine production and disease control began to earnest, which led to the development of other vaccines in the early 1920s. Vaccines were developed to protect against Pertussis (1914), Diphtheria (1926), and Tetanus (1938).
How churches oppose vaccination
Catholic churches opposed the vaccinations in children because it’s not safe nor effective. However, vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) where they are tested by scientists to ensure that it is effective and safe to use by society. Even though vaccines are not 100% safe, it is the best weapon against infectious diseases. In some countries, people are not allowed to enter unless they are vaccinated. Some of these countries include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, and Belgium. The fact that a person cannot enter these countries proves that vaccines are very essential to life.
Pertussis, also known as whooping-cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can cause severe illnesses and can lead to death. According to Meyer, “The Maryland Department of Health reported a 15 percent increase in the number of confirmed or probable pertussis cases in the first half of this year, compared to 2016.” Maryland officials are urging parents to get their children vaccinated by school age because unvaccinated children are part of the cause of infectious diseases spreading in the United States. Meyer stated that large outbreaks of Pertussis were found in Arizona (1988), California (2010) and (2014), Washington (2012), and Oregon (2012). These states experienced a large number of children who were either unvaccinated or under vaccinated.
The majority of Ethiopian children who are unvaccinated derived from rural communities. Even though vaccinations are free, it is still difficult for the poor families to get their children vaccinated because of the cost of transportation and the lost wages from taking a day off from work to take their child to school. According to the Boulton Statistical Study, “a total of 9,264 children between 1 and 5 years of age were included in the dataset from 11 administrative regions of Ethiopia, and a majority (85%) of the children that was not vaccinated came from the rural areas and (15%) was vaccinated from the urban area.”
Vaccines that are supposed to be given in the first year of birth was normally delayed by parents. Very few children possess a vaccination card with valid date in Ethiopia. These children are either under vaccinated or not vaccinated which causes them to be vulnerable to diseases longer. Over the years, Ethiopia has made a great impact on children mortality– dropping from ten percent mortality to under five percent since 1990. According to Boulton, Ethiopia has met their Millennium Development Goal target. By sustaining their development goal target, their death rate has dropped from 59 deaths in 2015 and it is predicted to be 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. They have improved their children health services and continues to ensure that all children are receiving their required doses of each vaccine.
