Essay Example on Vaccination: Immunity Against Diseases & Prevention of Complications

Introduction

Vaccination refers to the practice of using a specific type of vaccine which grants effective immunity against specific diseases. Vaccines incorporate particular agents which simulate disease-causing microorganism that triggers an immune system in the body and prevents an individual from contacting the particular contagious disease. Vaccination helps to minimize the spread of diseases, reduces the rate of disability as well as the mortality rate, and other complex complications in the human body (Vaccination, 2008). According to Patel et al. (2019), the report on several studies shows that there was an increase in the number of patients reported to have contracted measles. The results indicate that a high number of cases (89%) were patients who are not vaccinated or do not have any record of vaccination. Thus, it is evident from the report that vaccination is vital in the community, as it helps to reduce the transmission of a contagious illness, henceforth it should be made mandatory.

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Pre-argument

First of all, the increment in the number of cases and patients suffering from these contagious diseases is directly related to the outbreaks in the communities where the majority of the people are not immunized for protection against specific infection. Unimmunized people in the society weakens and reduces the herd immunity, which threatens the health and lives of the people in the community as they become more vulnerable to the contagious illness. According to Flanigan (2014), unimmunized individuals highly contributed to the spread and transmission of measles and other viral infections. For instance, according to Flanigan (2014), in 2011, the reported cases of measles outbreak were more than (214) children in America. Several children that were affected by the outbreak (13%) were under the age of vaccination, and they got the disease through unimmunized children in the community (Flanigan, 2014). Hence, the unimmunized individuals in society undermine the protection of the community against infectious diseases resulting in the outbreak of infections due to weak immunity. Therefore, to counter the catastrophe, the authorities should formulate specific codes and rules as well as policies to mandate the vaccination of every individual in the community.

Secondly, the outbreak and the increase in the transmission of measles and other contagious illness is directly attributed to the parents who refuse to immunize and give vaccines to their children. For instance, between the years 2012 and 2013, there was an increased hospitalization of patients suffering from measles in the United States. In the UK, 2000 cases were recorded in 2012, and there was an increase of 1200 patients reported by May the following year. Moreover, the studies on the reports, as indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows that about 158,000 people succumbed to death as a result of measles in 2011 (Flanigan, 2014). However, reports indicate that the number of deaths and casualties has significantly reduced due to the introduction of particular vaccines and immunization as well as vaccination programs globally. Thus, the herd immunity should be priorities, to protect the people and minimize the transmission of the contagious infection.

Besides, mandatory vaccination of the herd in the community results in the decrease and eradication of deadly diseases. When 99% of the people in the community are vaccinated, it lessens the ability of the disease to spread and enhances herd immunity. Contrary, optional vaccination weakens the herd immunity due to the 'free riders', people who generally depend on the immunity of the community. Therefore, the mandatory vaccination is helpful to such people as the more the people are immunized, the lesser the rate of transmission as well as infections (Holland& Zachary, 2014).

Counterargument

There might be people who believe that vaccines result in detrimental effects on the body system. Several people have developed a negative attitude towards vaccination. Furthermore, their attitude is based on particular religious beliefs and other ideologies that are against medical professionals. For example, some people believe that vaccines have specific ingredients, which might lead to the development of autism (Velan et al., 2012). They might be right to some extent because some vaccines are not entirely effective and safe. According to Gardner et al., (2010), the findings show that many parents are not sufficiently educated about risk and the effects of vaccinations.

Moreover, many parents are not well informed about the risk of unimmunized persons in the community. For this reason, people should be well educated about the importance of vaccination, and all the risk concerning the unvaccinated people in the community. Additionally, health care professionals should create awareness that vaccines are not directly associated with autism. Therefore, legal authorities should enact laws and regulations about the mandatory vaccination of children, and those who go against shall face the law.

Conclusion

In conclusion, vaccination is a compelling practice in the entire world, as is it reduces the spread of viral and contagious diseases. Moreover, vaccinations have enormously improved the health and welfare of many people globally. Some people believe that vaccines are not effective and can cause other complications in the body, hence the need to educate people on the matters concerning health issues and risk concerning the unvaccinated people in the community. Lastly, all the nations in the world should formulate laws to make vaccination compulsory for public protection and improvement of health standards

References

Baruch Velan, Valentina Boyko, Liat Lerner-Geva, Arnona Ziv, Yaakov Yagar & Giora Kaplan (2012) Individualism, acceptance and differentiation as attitude traits in the public’s response to vaccination, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 8:9, 1272-1282, https://doi.org/10.4161/hv.21183

Benjamin Gardner, Anna Davies, John McAteer & Susan Michie (2010) Beliefs underlying UK parents' views towards MMR promotion interventions: A qualitative study, Psychology, Health & Medicine, 15:2, 220-230, https://doi.org/10.1080/13548501003623963

Flanigan, J. (January 01, 2014). A Defense of Compulsory Vaccination. Healthcare Ethics Committee Forum, 26, 1, 5-25.

Patel, M., Lee, A. D., Clemmons, N. S., Redd, S. B., Poser, S., Blog, D., Zucker, J. R., Gastanaduy, P. A. (January 01, 2019). National Update on Measles Cases and Outbreaks - United States, January 1-October 1, 2019. Mmwr. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68, 40, 893-89

Vaccination. (n.d.) Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. (2008). Retrieved June 17, 2020, from https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/vaccination