Infant/Child Immunization vs. No Immunization #2

Infant/Child Immunization vs. No Immunization
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Infant/Child Immunization vs. No Immunization
Introduction
Immunization, also referred to as vaccination, is administered for the protection against diseases such as measles, rubella, diphtheria, mumps, polio, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B and tetanus (MedlinePlus, 2015). Vaccines are made of weakened or killed pathogen. The immune system produces antibodies to counter the impacts of immunization. Once the real pathogen invades the body later, the immune system can remember the germ and fight it off easily. A vaccine given to a healthy person triggers a response by the immune system making immunity to be built against the disease. Before the advent of immunizations, the only way of becoming immune to a disease was through contracting the disease and surviving it.
Immunization should be administered to both children and adults. Children are usually vaccinated against measles, tetanus and polio, among other diseases. Side effects that could be mild or severe have been ascribed to immunizations notwithstanding the fact that the diseases that can be prevented could have far much debilitating impact (MedlinePlus, 2015). Anti-vaccination arguments and movements arise and quell sporadically. Two groups of people have resulted from the vaccination issue: those that support and those are against. It would be a prudent decision to support the vaccination campaign for infants or children owing to the immense benefits that come with this practice. This paper explores the benefits that come with vaccination of infants or children and the downsides of its failure.
Why vaccinate?
Immunization is very vital in saving the lives of children. Effectiveness of childhood vaccines has been touted to be high, "most childhood vaccines are 90%-99% effective in preventing disease" (ProCon.org, 2015). Millions of children are protected from preventable diseases each year across the world. In the developed world child deaths from preventable diseases hardly exist currently. Nonetheless, preventable diseases still claim lives and harm children in the developing world. It is estimated that childhood illnesses cases amounting to about 322 million and 732,000 cases of childhood death were averted due to vaccination in the American population between 1994 and 2014 (ProCon.org, 2015). Measles vaccine was responsible for a 74% reduction of childhood deaths from measles in the period of time in the population. Nonetheless, vaccines have been shown to harbor substances that can lead to serious side effects, including mild side effects or serious side effects characterized by severe allergic reaction. The severe impacts, however, affect a small percentage of the vaccinated children. In case of disease outbreak, more harm and death cases can be recorded. The possible side effects that are brought by immunization are far much fewer than the impacts that can be brought by the disease (CDC, 2012).
Immunization has been instrumental in preventing diseases that once harmed or killed many infants and children. Diseases such as whooping cough, measles and diphtheria resulting to massive loss of lives and harm to many during epidemics. The g...