Talking points on The Importance of vaccinations for babies and children
The problem: Diseases that were once eradicated or far and few between are making come backs because people are believing false studies. Diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, Meningitis, DTaP, HIV, HPV and AIDS. Yes, if you search long and hard there is information out there that will “support” anti-vaxxers but it is false information. Any studies that say vaccines can cause autism or any other spectrum disorder are wrong, there has never been a credible study that suggests that. There are still cases of these diseases in the United States but they are not as common and the death toll due to these diseases is significantly reduced compared to what they used to be. Preventing some of the above diseases can also prevent other long-term diseases like cancer from the HPV virus or shingles from the chicken pox virus.
The background: Vaccinations have been around for many years. Modern medicine is a miraculous thing because of them. Getting rid of and preventing these diseases can help people live longer healthier lives while also increasing the total human life expectancy.
For whom it is a problem: This is a problem for everyone, especially those who are immunocompromised or haven’t had their vaccines yet because of age or other health risks. Babies are not able to start getting their vaccines until they are 8, 12 and 16 weeks old. Many vaccines are done in sets so people are typically not immune until after the last shot.
Where it occurs: Stories like this are occurring all over the United States. Many states are having outbreaks in cities, counties and towns. Because vaccines are normally done while kids are young, and susceptible due to their immune systems not being fully exposed, school age children are the most commonly the ones that spread the diseases. Schools are becoming breeding grounds for these diseases and they are easily being passed around by the kids. These kids then bring them home to their families, who may or may not have their vaccines and the diseases end up being spread further. A child or adult that has a compromised immune system, for whatever reason, will easily catch a disease and will have a hard time fighting it off because they do not have everything they need in their body to fight that disease. A disease that can be fought off by someone that is healthy can be deadly to someone that doesn’t have an immune system. (example about older sibling making younger one sick because someone brought disease to school- who has an older sibling? Now imagine, your older sibling (who got their vaccines) went to school, played with their unvaccinated friend and didn’t wash their hands properly after exchanging toys or bodily fluids, because we all know kids are notorious for that. So now your older sibling ends up bringing home a virus to you when you are just weeks old, you end up contracting the disease and spending time in the hospital fighting for your life. If that actually happened there is a chance you wouldn’t be alive today. To no fault of your siblings or yourself but because their friend didn’t get their vaccines and spread the disease to your family.
Why it is a problem (its significance): The rise in the number of people that are not vaccinating their children is a huge problem because that is the way these diseases will make a come-back. From January 1st to March 21st there have been 314 confirmed cases of measles in 15 states (CDC). The state of Washington just recently declared a State of Emergency because of this measles outbreak. I am sure everyone heard the story of the boy that started his vaccine process on his 18th birthday. He got the beginning ones and is scheduled to get the rest throughout the next year and a half.
How a solution will affect any institutions, companies, and/or individuals involved: The solution is simple! People need to vaccinate their children. It doesn’t make sense that people spend hundreds of dollars to vaccinate their dogs or cats but won’t spend the time to give their children vaccines that are normally covered under insurance.
My own story: My mom and dad believed strongly in the support of vaccinations, Thank God, lol, when I was younger both my younger siblings and I received all of our vaccinations and boosters when we ne9eded them. When I was a baby I was due to receive my chicken pox vaccine at my check-up. I got the shot and everything seemed okay but that night and the next couple of days I started getting sick, I ran a fever, have a rash all over my body and was over all just not feeling well. My mom brought me back to the dr. and they came to the conclusion that I was having an allergic reaction to the vaccine. They gave my mom some medicine to help me and I ended up getting better without anymore complications. The vaccine must have still done its job because I have never had the chicken pox, even though my step brother had a pretty sever case of them and my biological brother also had a mild case of them. Both of them had all their vaccines, they just also ended up getting a disease because very few things in this world are 100% preventable. Diseases are able to mutate and develop new strands, this means that the biologists and epidemiologists are continually developing new vaccines that cover more widespread diseases. What happened to me when I was younger was not the vaccine or anyone else’s fault, I was just one of the outlying cases. Me getting sick also did not stop my mom from continuing my vaccinations, if anything it made her want me to have them even more.