Why Should You Get Vaccinated? Malin Moeller English-5 Iodine Ms. Cooper 5-24-16

Research Question: Do the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks?

Thesis: Vaccines have saved many lives and the benefits outweigh the risks completely.

What Are Vaccines? Vaccines are a type of medicine that instead of curing you will make you immune to a certain disease for a certain amount of time. They are a very important medical technology, as they have saved many lives and hospitalizations. The first vaccine was thought to be given to a Chinese boy against smallpox, by putting fluid from a smallpox sore into either his arm or through his nose.

Why am I researching vaccines? My dad works at STC, a pretty big vaccine records company, and so I thought it would be cool to learn more about vaccines. A lot of people have a lot of bad ideas about vaccines, and I would like to spread the right message. I got my 11 year old vaccines a little while ago and I was slightly curious about what they were pumping into my body.

My Research and Findings

How is the vaccine schedule established? A whole bunch of health experts gather together in large meetings to vote on when is the best time to give people certain vaccines.

Many people have thought for a long time that vaccines are bad or dangerous, but that is simply not the case.

Do Vaccines Cause Autism? No, they absolutely do not. Why Do a Lot of People Think They Do? Andrew Wakefield was a guy who worked in a health department. He lived in Great Britain when he published an article in a medical journal, The Lancet. In this article, Wakefield linked autism to the Mumps, Measles, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

More on Wakefield As said by David Ropeik in “In the Wake of Wakefield: Risk Perception and Vaccines,” “Wakefield manipulated his findings to help him get rich by suing drug companies” (par. 1). He presented faked evidence so that it looked like vaccines actually caused autism. After people got this news, lots of people started to be afraid of giving children their vaccines.

The Real Risks of Vaccines The only risks you can have from getting your vaccines are very small. Usually you get a little bit of redness, swelling, or soreness where the shot was given.

There is One Exception! However, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out, “Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe allergic reaction, are very rare and doctors and clinic staff are trained to deal with them”(“Vaccine Side Effects/Risks” par. 3).

The Benefits Clearly Outweigh the Risks Vaccines have almost eradicated polio, an awful disease, and have fully eradicated smallpox worldwide. According to Every Child By Two (ECBT), “Efforts to eradicate polio, a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours has been so successful that as of 2015 only two countries continue to report cases, Afghanistan and Pakistan”(ECBT par. 2).

Vaccines Have Done Other Things Too Vaccines not only eradicate very bad diseases, but they also save people from illness, death, and hospitalizations. “A 2015 report [estimated] that, based on the data of children born between 1994 and 2013, vaccination prevents about 322 million illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations, and 732,000 deaths over the course of their lifetimes”(“Vaccine Benefits” par. 1).

EVEN MORE BENEFITS??? It is much easier to get your recommended vaccinations than to not get vaccines. This is because if you do get your vaccines, when you get sick you will know that you cannot have a couple of diseases, so your pediatrician can rule those out. Also, you will not get those awful diseases!

So Just Get Your Vaccinations! Please get your vaccinations and do not skip or delay any vaccinations for your children! The lesson we can take from this is that there is nothing wrong with vaccines, they are very helpful! This is very important - you already know the risks of not getting your vaccines, and the benefits if you do!

Thank You for Listening! Have a great rest of the day!

Work Cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine Side Effects/Risks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 15 April 2016. Print. 16 May 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/vaccine-decision/index.html Every Child By Two. Vaccine Benefits.Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization. Print. 16 May 2016. Print. http://www.ecbt.org/index.php/facts_and_issues/index.php Ropeik, David. “In the Wake of Wakefield: Risk Perception and Vaccines.” Scientific American 6 Jan 2011. Print.