Write 5 page essay on the topic Vaccination of children.Download file to see previous pages... The vaccination of children is an important function of government. Only governments have the ability to

Write 5 page essay on the topic Vaccination of children.

The vaccination of children is an important function of government. Only governments have the ability to require vaccinations that keep children safe from harmful diseases. This fact has been shown to be true over the past century, as we have seen the complete eradication of some of the most deadly diseases.Vaccination of children is a civic duty and a sign of cooperation within communities. It is important that a vocal minority of parents not derail the progress that had been made through the years towards eliminating these deadly and debilitating diseases. Yet some parents resist the sound advice to vaccinate their children against disease. They offer many reasons for this reluctance. Some feel that vaccinations are a plot by the government to weaken their children in some way. This is especially true among minority groups living under the control of authoritarian governments. Other parents feel that requiring vaccinations is dangerous to their child’s health. They feel that there might be links between vaccinations and autism. Several studies have been done to see if vaccines are safe. We already know that they are effective, but are they a danger to children in some unforeseen way? The most prominent studies have shown that there is no link between autism and vaccinations. There is a chance that a child can have mild to serous reactions to vaccines if there is some sort of allergen involved, but this is extremely rare. The evidence for vaccinating children is much more strong than the evidence against vaccinations. It is essential that children be vaccinated against dangerous and deadly diseases for several reasons. The first reason children must be vaccinated against harmful contagious diseases is vaccinations can save your child’s life. In the United States and around the world, vaccination programs have eliminated deadly diseases. This process of eradication can only be successful if all the members of a society participate in the eradication process. One notable success story is that of Jonas Salk and the vaccine for polio. This horrible disease was once the most feared disease in America. The disease attacks the muscles, causing paralysis and even death in some cases. Millions of children and adults died or were impaired by polio prior to the vaccination developed by Dr. Salk. Parents flocked to the doctor so they could protect their precious children from this dreadful disease. As a result of these willing and compliant parents, America no longer has any cases of polio. This is an American success story, where the eradication of smallpox is a global success story. Smallpox was a highly contagious disease that killed or disfigured the individuals unlucky enough to contract it. It was especially deadly to native populations in the Americas because they had no immunity to the disease at all. People died in the tens of thousands each year. A global push to eradicate smallpox was instituted and several decades later, the disease was eradicated from the entire world. The last known case of smallpox was in Somalia in 1977 (Ridgway, 2001). Vaccinations had succeeded in destroying this deadly virus. A second reason children need to be vaccinated is the fact that vaccinations are very safe. The vast majority of children that receive vaccinations of any kind show no side effects more than irritation and redness in the area immediately surrounding the site of the injection. Of course, there is some pain involved in receiving an injection of any sort. When one considers how awful the diseases are that the vaccinations are designed to prevent, mot people agree that it is much better to deal with the temporary discomfort of a vaccination rather than get a horrible disease such as German measles, smallpox or polio. There is some danger for a small population of children however. Some children are naturally allergic to some of the components of the vaccination, such as eggs. Allergic reactions to vaccines are scary for parents because there is no good way to predict who will be allergic and which children will have no reactions at all. Even more concerning is the fact that some allergic reactions do not manifest for hours or even days after the vaccination has been given.