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Running head: CHILD VACCINATION 1An Argumentative Essay on Child Vaccination Name Institutional Affiliation DateAn Argumentative Essay on Child Vaccination Vaccination was discovered in the late eighteenth century and has ever since been a milestone revelation in the field of medicine and healthcare...

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Running head: CHILD VACCINATION

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An Argumentative Essay on Child Vaccination Name Institutional Affiliation Date

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An Argumentative Essay on Child Vaccination Vaccination was discovered in the late eighteenth century and has ever since been a milestone revelation in the field of medicine and healthcare. It was first heralded and practiced by Edward Jenner; a British physician, in 1796 in the course of a devastating outbreak of smallpox when he theorized that a vaccine for cowpox protected an individual against smallpox after observing that milkmaids who had previously suffered from a bout of cowpox did not get affected by smallpox. Consequently, the cause for the universal use of vaccines has become universal, enshrined as a right and reinforced by legal frameworks all over the world. This essay, by referring to a number of sources, argues that children should be vaccinated, highlighting a number of benefits of such procedures and refuting the common fears associated with immunization. The concept of vaccination works on the basis of a very simple biological premise; the body can generate its own immunity to combat harmful pathogens. A vaccine plays the role of preparing the human body for possible infection. Consequently, it raises the immunity levels of the body and ultimately improving health. By the same token, a dose of vaccine is designed to perform three key functions: to protect the body from infection by mimicking natural means and not cause pathogenic infection, to enable the body to acquire immunity to a particular disease and/or pathogen and to abate proliferation of infection. Immunity to a disease is, therefore, the most paramount objective of any vaccine. Similarly, there are two types of immunity. The first type is natural immunity; also called active immunity, this is the innate immunity an individual is born with and is

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manifested on the skin, body secretions, self-regulating physiological factors such as body temperatures and body cells such as white blood cells that fight infections in the body. Likewise, the other type of immunity is acquired immunity; also called adaptive or specific immunity, is acquired when antibodies from external sources, usually from vaccines are introduced into the body and the body develops a memory of the antibody (Siegrist, 2008, p.20). Equally, these two types of immunity do not work independent of each other, but rather work together in a complementary system in a bid to collectively protect the child’s immune system from antigens. An antigen can be defined as a substance, usually foreign to the body, which elicits an immune response from the child’s immunity system. The usual response to antigen invasion is usually production of antibodies; which work by flushing out toxins, blocking cell entries from antigen entry and prevent the proliferation of the antigen inside the body cells (Siegrist, 2008, p.16). The action of antibodies initiates the child’s immune response. Furthermore, there are two types of immune responses: first, the primary immune response – this occurs at the foremost instance where the body confronts an antigen and the body produces a generally low amount of antibodies. This is usually followed by a secondary response which is caused when the same antigens attack the body, usually after a previous attack, causing the body to produce huge amounts of antibodies because it has a memory of previously confronting the antigen. The mechanisms and procedures that are involved in the vaccination process, need to be well understood and presented in a simple manner in order for its beneficial qualities, especially to children, is to be fully accepted. Furthermore, it applies the cautionary principle of ‘prevention is better than cure’ in its attempts to improve the

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health status of children worldwide. Bärnighausen et al. (2014) agree with the fact that vaccination safeguards health, which is on its own a fundamental human right and intrinsically valuable. Health-related effects are one of the most common sources of child deaths in the world and vaccination of children provides an easy solution to the prevention of such unnecessary losses. Moreover, the vaccination of children ensures that a reduction in the contraction of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and modeling estimates present that in the U.S. alone, for children born in the period between 1994-2013, vaccination will prevent approximately 322 million illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths over the course of their lifetimes, at a net savings of $295 billion in direct costs and $1.38 trillion in total societal costs (Whitney et al., 2014, p. 352). Vaccination is therefore necessary, especially for children. The cause of advocating for the necessity of child vaccination comes with a variety of benefits. One of the most important benefits of child vaccination is that it can simply save the life of your child. By the same token, immunization provides cover to your child against some diseases that can prove lethal or detrimental to the life of a child, especially in areas where particular disease incidences are high. A once deadly disease that has been nearly eradicated globally is polio. Furthermore, today more than 100 million children have vaccinated annually against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, tuberculosis, polio, measles, and hepatitis B (Bärnighausen et al., 2014, p.12313). Vaccination stands as an unparalleled source of greater public health, particularly with regards to children. Children who do not follow the proper vaccination regime are vulnerable to attacks from certain diseases.

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A healthy child has some indirect benefits to the economy of a country. Vaccination is one of the means through which children can maintain their health. In addition, a healthy child has better academic performance punctuated by a sharp decline in missing classes as a result of health issues. This ultimately yields credible gains in academic attainment and better cognitive and mental capabilities. This provides for a healthy labor pool to choose from in future which in turn proves the importance of health in the socio-economic development of a nation. Correspondingly, a relatively healthy nation incurs more savings and becomes an attractive destination for more foreign investment creating extensive opportunities for capital accumulation, employment, and technological progress. Similarly, healthy populations showcase relatively low fertility rates and a correspondingly reduced burden of youth dependency (Bärnighausen et al., 2014, p.12313). Vaccination, therefore, has far-reaching benefits that can be of great economic value to a nation. Additionally, another benefit of child immunization through vaccination is that the process is quite simple, effective and very safe. The safety of a vaccine before it is administered to children has to undergo a rigorous and thorough amount of scrutiny by medical professionals and/or researchers. This is a very important aspect as the health risks associated with a bad vaccine could be disastrous in both an economic and public health sense. The simplicity of the vaccination is demonstrated in the manner which the vaccine is administered to children. The most common method is by oral drops or by injection. This targets children in their infancy and oral administration are usually easier and effective. At latter stages, injections are introduced to administer the vaccine

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straight into the child’s bloodstream where the body can then produce antibodies to fight the weakened antigens in the vaccine and prepare the body for future infections. Another benefit of providing vaccination for your child is that it protects those we care about and the society in general. As the child is vaccinated and goes to interact with other people, he/she is therefore protected from acquiring and/or spreading particular infections to a community. Moreover, a child who is not vaccinated poses a great public health risk to other young children and other vulnerable members of the community such as the elderly and those recuperating from diseases such as cancer. Kimmel & Wolfe (2014) reckons that parents who do not vaccinate their children may believe that they can control their child’s susceptibility to disease, have doubts about the reliability of vaccine information, prefer errors of omission over errors of commission, or rely on herd immunity to protect their child. In terms of public health safety, this can be a very dangerous assumption that can lead to break out of previously ‘eradicated’ diseases. However, in some cases, some children or people who refuse to vaccinate can still benefit from those who vaccinated. This employs the idea of herd immunity. Herd immunity suggests that for every communicable disease there is some degree of immunity in the population which safeguards the entire population because the disease cannot spread throughout the entire community. Uniquely, not only the people who receive a vaccination but also the unvaccinated derive benefits from widespread vaccination. Community health externalities include herd effects, whereby unvaccinated members of a community incur protection from disease through the vaccination of others (Bärnighausen et al., 2014,

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p.12314). It is therefore very important to ensure that a majority, if not all, of the children, have access to vaccination and are vaccinated; willingly for legal, professional and ethical reasons, in order to safeguard the health of the people we care about and not just our children. This leads to another key benefit of child vaccination, prevention of outbreaks of diseases. Vaccination is responsible for holding at bay several diseases that can cause death, physical disabilities and mental impairment in children. Vaccines work by providing immunity. When administered, live but weakened viral vaccines such as those for measles or rubella are considered the archetypal inducers of lifelong immunity, although extended immunity is also induced by certain non-live vaccines such as those for hepatitis A, HPV, inactivated poliovirus vaccine and rabies (Siegrist, 2008, p.29). In areas where outbreaks of particular diseases are controlled, there is less susceptibility to these diseases. Public health is guaranteed and in general, the community experiences positive development. Furthermore, Reductions in incidences of particular communicable diseases such as dengue could reduce public and private spending on outbreak control; the money saved from this venture can be diverted elsewhere as an investment to foster socio-economic growth (Bärnighausen et al., 2014, p.12316). A reduction in the frequency and intensity of disease outbreaks bods well for economic activities, particularly for areas or countries that depend on tourism as an income generating activity. Vaccination has also wiped out smallpox and further limits the risk of pregnant women spreading rubella virus on to their fetus or newborns, hence protecting even future generations of children. Vaccination effectively controls disease outbreaks.

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Finally, another reason that proves the beneficial nature of vaccination is that vaccines are cost-effective. Across the world, it is common knowledge that is cheaper to prevent a disease than it is to cure the disease. With regards to children, there is no other cost-effective way of ensuring children live a long and healthy life other than through vaccination. However, Bärnighausen (2014) adds that the maximum benefits of a vaccination will not only depend on clinical parameters describing the vaccinepreventable disease, but also on the social and economic roles of the people affected by the disease whereas Kimmel & Wolfe (2014) adds that regular childhood immunization program in one birth cohort saves $13.6 billion in direct costs and every dollar spent on childhood immunizations saves $18.40. Such savings go a long way in improving livelihoods and the general health of children. Vaccines are for medical purposes but that does not guarantee that vaccinations come without any effect or risk to children. In as much as they can help the immunity system of a child to fight diseases and viruses, in some occasion’s vaccines come with risks and costs. One of the most common risks associated with child vaccination is the pain or swelling, particularly when the vaccine is administered through injections. This is usually a common reaction when the injection pierces the skin to deliver the vaccine. However, in some situations sterile abscesses occasionally can happen after an injection of inactivated vaccines, most likely as a result of an inflammatory response to a vaccine component or to an inadvertent subcutaneous injection of an intramuscular vaccine ultimately leading to fever and irritability that can however be resolved by giving acetaminophen at the time of immunization or immediately afterward (Kimmel & Wolfe, 2014, p. 54). Kimmel & Wolfe (2014) further highlights that swelling of the entire thigh or

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upper arm region that lasts for an average of 4 days has happened in 2% to 3% of children following their fourth or fifth dose of the DTaP vaccines. This makes most parents to shy away from presenting their children for vaccination. Another risk associated with vaccinations is the allergic reactions some children experience as a result of being administered with a vaccine. For example, Kimmel & Wolfe (2014) adds that the rate of anaphylaxis after hepatitis B vaccine is 1 in 600,000 as a result of the yeast proteins in the vaccine and neomycin; used in the production of the inactivated poliovirus, MMR, and varicella vaccines and may lead to a delayed-type local reaction two to four days after administration to persons who are allergic to it. Such effects are usually far-fetched and happen in a negligible percentage of the total number of vaccinated children. Furthermore, these effects can usually be remedied with appropriate medical care. These concerns that contribute to the case against vaccination cannot be ignored. The life of children cannot be jeopardized by the vaccine. It is understandable when some parents will try to protect their children from vaccination largely because of a fear of the unknown. However, the advantages and medical and/or public health gains made through vaccination are too great to simply stop using vaccination as a method of ensuring the long-term health of children. The apparent side-effects associated with administering vaccines are mild at best and can be easily remedied. The benefits of a vaccine to a child can sometimes be intangible, because we cannot quantify how many times a child becomes infected but the vaccine helps in fighting the infection. However, this salient action of the vaccines and its proven trackrecord across the years all over the world is justification enough to necessitate the use

CHILD VACCINATION 10 of vaccination in children. Vaccination is essential in disease prevention, particularly more so among children. The position that vaccination is important and should be administered to children is therefore important and true as demonstrated by the numerous benefits associated with vaccination. In summary, it is more beneficial to use vaccination to help effectively prevent, eliminate or substantially reduce occurrences of certain diseases in children. Furthermore, to enable a greater penetration and acceptance of vaccines, more public awareness is needed to educate not only its benefits but to also highlight the risks it may pose to particular sections of the public. Information is important in today’s world and new information, whether positive or negative, about vaccines, has to be subjected to the public to increase acceptance of the use of vaccines in children. On the other hand, medical practitioners should engage in more research in order to better comprehend the natural history and biology of the infection and the immune response for the purposes of producing better vaccines. It is abundantly clear that the benefits associated with of preventing disease through vaccination outweigh the risks of using vaccination by far.

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Reference Siegrist, C. A. (2008). Vaccine Immunology. Vaccines, 5, 1725 Whitney, C.G., Zhou, F., Singleton, J., Schuchat, A., & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2014). Benefits of Immunization during the Vaccines for Children (VCF) Program Era – United States, 1994-2013. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 63(16), 352-355 Bärnighausen, T., Bloom, D. E., Cafiero-Fonseca, E. T., & O’Brien, J. C. (2014). Valuing Vaccination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(34), 1231312319. Kimmel, S. R., & Wolfe, R. M. (2005). Communicating the Benefits and Risks of Vaccines. (Research Gate (2014)). Journal of Family Practice, 54(1), S51....