LydiaLarsen

Ms.Robillard
LA8Hour7
11March2015
EverybodyShouldBeVaccinated
Vaccinessavemillionsofliveseachyear.Overthelastfewyearstherehasbeenalotof
controversyovervaccines.Peoplearecomingupwithexcusesleftandrightfornotgetting
vaccinated.Somepeoplesaythatorganicfoodsalonewillprotectyoufrommeasles,andsome
peoplejustdontlikebeingtoldwhattodo.Really,therearenotmanyexcusestonotgeting
vaccinated.Allthefactslineuptosaythatvaccinesarecompletelysafeandwillprotectyouand
yourlovedonesfromdeadlydiseases.Whywouldyounotusesomethingthatprotectyourself
andyourfamilyfromillness?Everybodyshouldbevaccinatedbecauseitprotectsthe
community.

Althoughsomemaysaythatthereareharmfulsideeffectstoovaccines,thosesideeffectsare
incredibilityscarce.OnesideeffectisAnaphylaxis,whichisareactiontoanallergen.Theside
effectsofAnaphylaxisinclude,butarenotlimitedto,
abdominalpain,chestdiscomfortor
tightness,difficultyswallowing,nasalcongestion,andnauseaorvomiting.
Althoughthisside
effectisseriousitonlyoccursinonetoseveralthousandtoamillionpeople.Anothersideeffect
is
Encephalopathy,whichaltersthebrainfunctions.(NINDSEncephalopathyInformationPage)
AlthoughthisisalsoaveryserioussideeffectitisevenmoreuncommonthanAnaphylaxis.
Nobodyhasbeenaffectedby
Encephalopathyformorethan10years.
Somepeoplemayalso

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thinkthatvaccinescauseautism.Itisscientificallyproventhatvaccinesdonot.(Doheny)Afew
yearsagosomebodynoticedarelationbetweentheamountofvaccinesapersonwasgivenanda
riseinthenumberofchildrenwithautism.Whentheissuewaslookedintobyscientists,itwas
proventhatvaccinesarenotrelatedinanywaytoautism.

Firstofall,everybodyshouldbeimmunizedbecausevaccinessavetimeandmoney.Whooping
coughisadiseasethathasavaccine.Itisahighlycontagioussicknessthataffectsinfants,
children,andadults.Itcanbefatalininfants.Thissicknesscanbepreventedwithavaccine.In
mostcases,vaccinescanbecoveredbyinsurance.(CDC)Ifapersongetswhoopingcoughthey
needtogetantibiotics,andsodoeseverybodythattheythatlivewith.Thecostcanaddup.It
costsalotofmoneytotreatpeoplewhoareaffectedbycertainviruses.Itcostsabout$95per
courseofantibiotictherapyforwhoopingcough.Avaccineisaboutasmuchmoneyasalatte
coffee.(EconomicImpactofPertussis)Whoopingcoughisincredibilitycontagious.Ifmorethan
onepersoninanunimmunizedfamilygotsick,thenthebillwouldbeenormous.Thatbillcould
bepreventedifyouwouldjustgetvaccinated.Also,polioisaveryseriouscondition,whichhas
nocure.Thebestwaytoprotectyourselfistogetavaccination.(CDC)Childrenwhogetpolio
areneverfullycured.Asideeffectofpoliois
Meningitis,aninfectionthatcoversthespinalcord
orbrain.
Asadults,theydevelop
musclepain,weakness,orparalysis.Paralysisisaveryserious
sideeffect.Itcausespeopletonotbeabletomovepartsoftheirbody,andsometimespeopleare
notabletowalkanymore.Thesesymptomscanoccur1540yearsaftertheyarecuredfrom
polio.Thisiscalledpostpoliosyndrome.Allofthiscouldbepreventedifpeoplewouldbe
vaccinated.

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Furthermore,peopleshouldbevaccinatedbecauseofherdimmunity.Herdimmunityisvery
importantbecauseitprotectspeoplewhoaretooyoungorunabletogetvaccines.Ifan
unvaccinatedpersontravelstoacountrythathasavirusandtheycomebacksick,theyare
puttingtheunprotectedcommunityindanger.(CDC)Onceababywenttooacheckupatthe
doctorsoffice,inthewaitingroomwithhimwasanunvaccinatedchildwithmeasles.Thebaby
wastoyoungtoogetthevaccine,butthechildinthewaitingroomwasnot.Afewdayslatterthe
babywasinthehospitalwitha106degreefevercausedbymeasles.Ifonepersongetsa
infectiousdiseaseduetonoimmunization,itcouldputotherlivesindanger.Toaddtothat,herd
immunityinimportantbecausewithitthevirushasnoplacetogo.Withoutherdimmunity
infectiousdiseaseshaveabetterchanceofinfectingmorepeople.(FiveBabiesnearChicagoGet
MeaslesAreEnoughAmericansVaccinated?)Ifthevirushitsapersonwhoarevaccinated,
thenitwillnotaffectthem,butifthevirusinfectsapersonwhodoesnothavethevaccinethey
cangetsick.Whenthatpersongoestothedoctorthathaveagreaterchanceofgettinginfantsor
anotherunvaccinatedpersonsick.Theviruswillthenincrease.Somemothersdonotvaccinate
theirchildrenandtheydependonothersvaccinate.Amothersaidthatshehadfriendswhodo
notvaccinatetheirchildren,andtheydependonotherstoberesponsibleandgetvaccinated,
whichishypocritical.(CDC)Ifenoughpeopledecidetodependonothersforherdimmunity,the
pointofitislost.Atleast92%ofpeopleneedtobevaccinatedinorderforherdimmunitytobe
effective,dependingonthevirusandthevaccine.Oncein2012notenoughpeoplewere
vaccinatedforwhoopingcoughandtherewere42,000peoplewhowereinfected.Onceagain,
thiscouldallbepreventedwithavaccine.

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Lastly,peopleshouldbevaccinatedbecausevaccinessavelives.Between1994and2014
732,000childrendidnotdiebecauseofvaccines,and322millioncasesofchildhoodillnesses
werepreventedbecauseofvaccines.(CDC)Withoutvaccines,manypeoplewouldhavebecome
verysickfrompreventablediseases,andtherewouldbehundredsofthousandsofdeaths.Also,
withoutvaccinesthelivesoffriendsandfamilyofwouldbevictimswoulddrasticallychange.If
apersondiedduetoapreventabledisease,notonlywouldthefamilyhavebeendevastatedabout
thelossofalovedone,thepersonwhoinfectedcouldhavepassedonthediseasetoanother
person.Also,vaccinesareverygoodatpreventingdiseases.Mostvaccinesare90%99%
effectiveinpreventingvaccines.(
AmericanAcademyofPediatrics)
Vaccinesdowork.There
maybemildsideeffectsthatcomealongwiththem.Ifachildisvaccinatedanddoesactually
managegetthedisease,theeffectswillbemuchlessthanifhe/shehadnovaccineatall.Bynot
gettingyouoryourfamilyvaccinatedyouareputtingyourselfandyourlovedonesatrisk.
Vaccinationalsoprotectfuturegenerations.Peoplevaccinatetheirchildrentokeepthemsafe,
butinrealitybyvaccinatingyouarealsoprotectingyourgrandchildrenandgreatgrandchildren.
(CDC)Asofrightnowpeoplenolongerneedtogetasmallpoxvaccinebecausethediseaseis
eradicated.Inthefuturewemaynotneedwhoopingcoughofmeaslesvaccines,becausethe
diseaseisnolongeraproblem.Additionally,ifpeoplekeepgettingvaccinationsthehealthofthe
worldasawholewillimprove.

NowIhopethatyourealizethateverybodyshouldbevaccinatedbecausevaccinationsprotect
everybodyinthecommunity.Gettingimmunizedisimportantbecausevaccinessavetimeand

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money,herdimmunity,andtheysavelives.Furthermore,peopleshouldbevaccinatedbecauseit
protectsthecommunityandthegenerationsaheadofus.WeliveintheUnitedStatesof
America,thefirstworldcountry.Amonguswehavethebestdoctors,researchers,andhospitals
intheworld.Unfortunately,wehaveletthatgotoourheads.Asacommunityandcountryasa
wholewehavenowforgottenwhatdeathlookslike.InSyriawhendoctorsgodoortodoor
givingoutvaccinestochildren,thegovernmentdeemsthemenemyspiesandshootsthem.In
thirdworldcountriesmothers,walkmilesinthehot,boilingsuntogettheirchildrenvaccinated.
Theydothisbecausetheyhaveexperiencedfirsthandwhatcouldhappeniftheirchildrenare
notprotectedagainstthesedeadlydiseases.Whereyourebornisalottery.Imnotsayingjust
becauseweliveintheU.S.ourlivesareeasy,butwehavemanyresourcesintheworldthatwe
livein,andweshouldn'truinit.

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WorksCited
"AutismandVaccines."
AutismScienceFoundation
.AutismScienceFoundation,n.d.Web.5
Mar.2015.
CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention
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2015.Web.11Feb.2015.
Doheny,Kathleen."ExpertQ&A:ChildhoodVaccineSafety."
WebMD
.WebMD,n.d.Web.26
Feb.2015.
"EconomicImpactofPertussis."
NationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation
.U.S.National
LibraryofMedicine,n.d.Web.10Mar.2015.
"FiveBabiesnearChicagoGetMeaslesAreEnoughAmericansVaccinated?"
Newsela
.
Newsela,8Feb.2015.Web.10Mar.2015.
"NINDSEncephalopathyInformationPage."
EncephalopathyInformationPage:National
InstituteofNeurologicalDisordersandStroke(NINDS)
.N.p.,9Nov.2010.Web.26
Feb.2015.
"VaccineSafety."
AAP.org
.N.p.,n.d.Web.11Feb.2015.