Vaccination

The Purpose of Vaccination

Francisco Javier Jimenez

The University of Texas at El Paso

April 14, 2019

 Abstract

Vaccines are a medical advancement that was introduced many years ago by a farmer.

This event led the way to a new medical advancement since vaccines started to be studied and

developed. A simple vaccine was able to protect humanity from deadly pathogens. In today’s

world, there are many organizations that try to make vaccines more accessible and reachable to

everyone. Since healthcare isn’t affordable in many nations, the population basically get affected

by diseases that can be prevented from a vaccine. Social Media has also affected the image of

vaccines to the public and the scientists will discuss whether vaccines are a cause of Autism or

was it only a false statement.

Introduction

Throughout the history of mankind, there has been many pathogens that have killed many

civilizations. In today’s world, there are many medical advances that stop a microorganism from

spreading and eventually be the reason for human extinction and one of them is a simple vaccine.

Social media has played a role in influencing the new generations by providing false statements.

For this reason, this report will include the origin of vaccines, explain the benefits on society,

and present articles that prove that vaccines aren’t the reason for the development of Autism.

The Origin of Vaccines

The Development of Vaccines article has a brief history of how vaccines started back

then. In the academic journal The development of vaccines: how the past led to the future,

authors Stanley A. Plotkin & Susan L. Plotkin, wrote, “As the development of vaccines

continues in the twenty-first century, and as it is now over 215 years since vaccinology was

launched by Edward Jenner's observations of the powers of cowpox to prevent smallpox, it is

useful to contemplate the past.” (Plotkin, Plotkin, 2011, p.1) The paper includes the reason on

why they created the first vaccine from a pathogen similar to the one that attacks the human

body, but they infused a weaker version of the disease so that the body can adapt and fight it off

with the antibodies created after the injection. This event led to the development and the study of

new medications that can benefit the body and eventually help it fight any disease that can be

lethal.

Benefits on Society and The Promotion of Vaccines

Vaccines may be a simple liquid that gets introduced to the human body, but that liquid

contains many microorganisms that will actually better the odds

of survival. There are many countries whose habitants don’t

have the proper vaccines and their life expectancy is lower.

Most or all of these countries are part of third world countries

which means that their citizens have low incomes and health

care isn’t affordable for them. For this reason, The United

Nations have created UNICEF which is a non-profit

organization and they are helping families that are economic

disadvantaged get vaccines at a more accessible price. Besides

from bringing awareness, and the image entitled Think BIG on

Immunization provides many facts that support vaccination on infants.(UNICEF, 2013) The

initiation of having all the children immunized started when the death expectancy was really low

and the infant mortality as well since they weren’t protected and covered from deadly

microorganisms that could terminate their life in seconds. To solve the problem, a big campaign
was made to collect funds and go to low income communities to immunize every child to avoid

the spread and increase their life expectancy. (Tao, W., Petzold, M., & Forsberg, 2013)

Social Media Statement

Social media can be viewed as a platform that helps society communicate with each other

and unfortunately, there has been many misinformed people who have been sharing unsupported

statements that go against vaccines. One of the most popular comment is that vaccines are the

main cause of Autism and there has been studies that show the opposite. According to the article,

Autism-what is it and where does it come from, it says that autism comes genetically from a

disorder on all the chromosomes except the fourteenth.(F.J. O’Callaghan, 2002) Vaccines have

not been the cause of autism but many fake news state the opposite. In an experiment carried out

by Poland & Alter showed that many people believed that Autism could be prevented by not

vaccinating their kids and as a result, many of the parents decided not to.(Poland & Alter, 2019)

In another article called Heightening Uncertainty Around Certain Science: Media Coverage,

False Balance, and the Autism-Vaccine Controversy, they show the table below, which shows

that vaccines have nothing to do with the genetic disorder called Autism.
 Conclusion

In retrospect, a simple vaccine has prevented the extinction of human civilization. The

historical background, the benefits it brings to society have shown that vaccines are beneficial

and don’t hinder or cause any genetic disease. This issue will always be a controversy and

therefore the facts presented show that without the development of vaccines, our survival odds

will decrease exponentially since there are many microorganisms and pathogens that can swipe

down humankind.

References

Dixon, G. N., & Clarke, C. E. (2013). Heightening Uncertainty Around Certain Science: Media

Coverage, False Balance, and the Autism-Vaccine Controversy. Science Communication,

35(3), 358–382. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547012458290

F.J. O'Callaghan, Autism—what is it and where does it come from?, QJM: An International

Journal of Medicine, Volume 95, Issue 5, May 2002, Pages 263–265,

https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/95.5.263

Plotkin, S. A., & Plotkin, S. L. (2011). The development of vaccines: How the past led to the

future. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 9(12), 889-893. doi:10.1038/nrmicro2668

Tao, W., Petzold, M., & Forsberg, B. C. (2013). Routine vaccination coverage in low- and

middle-income countries: Further arguments for accelerating support to child vaccination

services. Global Health Action, 6(1), 20343. doi:10.3402/gha.v6i0.20343

Thinking BIG on Immunization. (2013, September 15). Retrieved from

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/champions-children-main-page/impact-your-

support/emergency-support/infographic-thinking-big