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Lauren White
Professor Cole
Assignment #3: Position Argument
English 2010
25

July 2014

The Dire Need for Immunizations
As a medical assistant working with multiple patients and especially children and parents
every day I come upon the dilemma of having to inform parents again and again of why
immunizations are so crucial for their childrens well-being and development. While working in
this field I have had to take in and accept both sides of this controversial subject, and have taken
the time to learn about each. Many parents lean towards not getting their children immunized for
multiple reasons which include false reports, fear of side effects or reactions and wanting to go
the natural route with their children. The choice that I have chosen to opt for and encourage
my patients and patients parents to choose is to have all children immunized against everything
that they can be. By informing the parents of the benefits of vaccinating children which can be
read in the recent CNN report Childhood vaccines are safe. Seriously. The positive effects of
vaccines dramatically outweigh the bad, experts said (Kounang.Chirstiansen&Nadia). I believe
that this mentality will help me to stress the importance of these immunizations. When I was a
child my parents opted to not have me immunized for some immunizations because of reasons
like those listed above. Some of the reasons in particular that my mother has shared with me, is
the fear she that she had about some of the immunizations being new at the time and she was
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unsure and ill-informed when she was making the choice. I do understand the fear that most
parents have about immunizations especially the immunizations that were more recently released
but I do believe that this can be reduced if the parent is informed before they are placed in a
position where this decision must be made. My mother has discussed with me that she does in
fact regret not having taken the leap of faith and have these immunizations done because she has
heard about and seen the effects of the illnesses that I was not immunized against such as HPV
which causes forms of genital warts and cancers. She also saw the lack of side effects that occur
and the low possibility which made her regret her decision more. When I was grown and could
make my own decisions I did receive these immunizations due to be correctly informed of the
benefits which greatly impacted my decision. By having this experience gives me an advantage
when talking to parents who are denying immunizations because it makes me more sensitive and
understanding to the subject along with helping me to not immediately write off the parents
concerns and judge them on their choices. Being educated about both sides of the argument I
have chosen to strive to encourage all parents of the need for immunizations in all children due
to the importance and need for their childs protection. The time to address this issue is now so
that all children can be protected from dangerous illnesses for years to come by just getting
immunized.
There are many false reports and myths circling around communities surrounding the
topic of immunizations. Multiple parents hear this false information and take it to heart when
making the decision about immunizations. For example the study which in fact has been proven
to be false about immunizations causing autism. This study was published in a journal which was
titled The Lancet (Offit) and was written by a formal surgeon and medical researcher and his
11 other colleges. In the article the topic of the possibility that the mixture Measles, Mumps and
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Rubella vaccination was linked to the cause of autism, this paper was actually proven to be
fraudulent by multiple different journalists and scientists which have now proven that there is no
connection whatsoever between this vaccination and autism. Even today there are being studies
conducted which have not found a link between vaccines and autism (Autism Speaks). I have
found in my workplace while working with these concerned moms that this is a large fear for
them because they have heard this since the study came out in 1998 (CDC). By explaining that
the study has been proven to be fraudulent and false to the parents helps them to be more
comforted and be more willing to have their children immunized. This shows how much these
myths that are spread affect all parents with young children which is scary because they are
false! Immunizations have always been a controversial subject which is unneeded because they
are extremely safe and a large percentage of these myths that are spread from decade to decade
are false and are just theories that have been proven to be wrong.
Parents that I interact with daily that are faced with the decision of whether or not to
immunize their children are most commonly concerned if the vaccination will be harmful or not
to their children. I answer this question by addressing both sides of this concern but mostly
attempt to inform the parents of the very low chances of harm or injury caused by the
immunizations. Immunizations have been studied for years and are found to be limited to two
different possible reactions which include possible allergic reactions or reactions to the supplies
used to give the injection. However these reactions are rare and can be easily treated and
prevented. As was quoted in a CNN report Vaccines, like any other medication, arent 100
percent risk free, (Kounang.Chirstiansen&Nadia). This quote shows that these reactions are not
always avoidable but are indeed extremely rare. I have found that after this is explained to the
parents that they are more willing and likely to immunize all of their children. Different
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physicians that I have talked to about this subject have explained that the risks of immunizations
are very minimal and they recommend that all parents do consider the risks but that they do
chose to immunize their children due to the multiple benefits of protecting children from
preventable and possibly life threatening diseases.
Another issue that some parents want to have addressed while discussing the option of
immunizations is that they do not want any foreign substances in their childrens bodies and
want to go a natural direction. What parents do not understand is that their children will have to
have a multitude of synthetic medicine that will be needed to treat possible illness that children
could contract if they are not immunized. In todays society people are becoming more and more
concerned with what types of artificial substances are being consumed and this is where parents
develop this concern. Immunizations are formulated with just a small amount of a form of the
virus that is being immunized against and other non-allergenic chemicals to dilute the formula.
What these Naturalistic people do not understand is that without these immunizations it will
not be a matter of synthesized material in the childs body but it might be a matter of life or death
if the child is exposed to one of the deadly diseases that they could have been vaccinated against.
As quoted by Suzanne Carlie Because of vaccines, many diseases that plagued children for
centuries have all but been eliminated (Carlie). I do understand that we should all only
introduce natural foods and formulas to our body and how that is healthy but it is still not as
healthy as immunizations that will protect all children.
I have seen multiple circumstances while working with all different types of parents of
why they should not immunize their children but none of them compare to the safety and
protection that immunizations provide. Parents need to be informed and taught that
immunizations are rarely harmful to children and any effects that may possibly occur such as
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allergic reaction or injection site reactions which are easily treated and prevented if medical
assistance is sought. Parents also need to know that there are multiple false studies and myths
cycling through society that have been proven to be false. Parents must learn to disregard with
these myths because they are not reality. The naturalistic lifestyle is healthy and beneficial for
many people but not when it comes to the choice of immunizing children. Parents need to know
that not immunizing is not a naturalistic practice it is dangerous and if vaccinating is not done,
children will be at much higher of a risk than they would be if they received the slightly
synthesized immunizations. Parents need to be informed and immunizations should no longer be
considered optional but they should be required due to the beneficial and safety reasons. All
parents must be encouraged and informed about the topic of immunizations to not only protect
their own children but to protect generations to come. Children should get vaccinated against
preventable and potentially deadly diseases. Period (Kounang.Chirstiansen&Nadia).








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Works Cited
Carlile, Suzanne. "Mommy Medicine: Immunization -- Good or Bad? | KSL.com." Mommy
Medicine: Immunization -- Good or Bad? | KSL.com. KSL News, Nov.-Dec. 2011. Web.
25 July 2014.
CDC. "Talking to Parents about Vaccines." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 09 May 2013. Web. 25 July 2014.
INC, Autism Speaks. "Vaccines and Autism." Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks INC., 10. Web.
23 July 2014.
Kounang, Jen Christensen and Nadia. "Childhood Vaccines Are Safe. Seriously." CNN. Cable
News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 25 July 2014.

Offit, Paul MD. Immunization. Autism and Andrew Wakefield. American Academy of
Pediatrics, Oct-Nov. 2013. Web. 06 Aug. 2014