Tricia Ross

Mrs. Davis

Composition 1

October 2017

The Great Vaccine Debate

Is the risk of contracting a fatal disease worth skipping a shot? One of the most debated

topics today are vaccinations. Parents against vaccinations worry their children will have an

allergic reaction, be exposed to harmful chemicals, or develop autism. Numerous studies

disprove all those worries. Yet, wary parents hold strong to their belief that vaccines could hurt

their child. On the other side of the debate, parents that vaccinate worry their children will catch

a serious illness from an unvaccinated child. Research proves that vaccines save lives.

First, vaccinations will not harm a childs health. Some children might have a slight

reaction of pain, redness, or swelling. An allergic reaction caused by one of the ingredients in the

vaccine is possible, but only in rare cases. Parents worry that vaccines are linked to Autism.

Numerous studies have been conducted to prove that vaccines will not cause autism. An article

in New York Times claims:

There is simply no scientific evidence that links vaccines to autism. Many, many,

many studies have confirmed this. The most recent Cochrane systematic review of

research on the MMR vaccine included six self-controlled case series studies, two

ecological studies, one case crossover trial, five time[sic] series trials, 17 case-

control studies, 27 cohort studies and five randomized controlled trials. More than

15 million children took part in this research. No one could find evidence that

vaccines are associated with autism. (Carrol)

There are worries that immunizations might contain chemicals such as formaldehyde. Levels of

formaldehyde are higher in the fruit children eat daily. Decades of research prove vaccines are

safe.

Second, giving vaccines later or at a slower pace doesnt benefit children. Some parents

argue the current vaccine schedule is too fast and too soon in a childs life. As author Aaron E

Carrol points out, there is no such data to support that claim. Pediatricians overwhelmingly

support the current vaccine schedule (Carrol). Having vaccinations spaced does not benefit

children. Receiving vaccinations early means protection from illness sooner in a childs life. The

article points out, spacing vaccinations out often means a child wont complete the full

immunization schedule (Carrol). Waiting until a child is older could mean a child contracts an

illness they would otherwise be immune to. There are numerous cases of children catching

chicken pox long after they were due to be vaccinated against the illness. Delaying the current

vaccine schedule would put children at risk.

To clarify, vaccinations protect the community from diseases that could be fatal. When a

person is injected with the varicella vaccine they build immunity against varicella. As Carrol

points out in his article, forty-five children died of varicella between 1990 and 1994. The vaccine

was later introduced in 1995. From 2003 to 2007 only seven children died, and those children

were not vaccinated (Carrol). Several diseases have been nearly wiped out due to vaccinations

that now prevent them. These diseases include polio, tuberculosis, and small pox. Many diseases

that can be prevented with vaccines, do not have a cure. Rabies is just one of the diseases that

cannot be cured, although can be prevented with a vaccine. Vaccines offer the best protection

against fatal diseases.

 In conclusion, it is clear vaccines play an important role in health. Parents are taking a

risk with their childrens health by not vaccinating. Those children will not be immune to the

many diseases that once plagued the world. Those diseases have now become almost extinct

because of preventative vaccinations. Research proves vaccinations offer more protection than

harm. Vaccinations have and will continue to save lives.

 Works Cited

Carrol, Aaron E. Not Up for Debate: The Science Behind Vaccination. New York Times,

2015

< https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/upshot/not-up-for-debate-the-science-behind-

vaccination.html?mwrsm=Facebook>