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Brieanna Miller
Professor Whitney Nelson
English 2010-410
10 July 2015
The Parents Choice: Vaccinate or Not Vaccinate?
The inevitable question, will you vaccinate your kids?
Parents are full of opinions, but at the end of the day they are
your children and it is up to you to decide. There are several
things, we as parents need to consider when getting vaccinations
for our kids. Do my kids have any conditions that may not allow
them to receive vaccinations? Do I want my kids to receive
vaccinations? Does the school they will attend require vaccinations?
Parents need to get the current facts about immunizations, not rely on word of mouth, and should
also understand what it would mean for the population, not just your own child, whether you get
them immunized or not. As parents we need to decide what is best for our children, that includes
whether we choose to vaccinate our children or not.
Many parents are skeptical about vaccinating their kids now a days due to a study that
was published by Andrew Wakefield. Dr. Wakefields article Ileal-lymphoid-nodular
hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children was
published in 1998. It is about a causation between the MMR vaccine and autism (Wakefield).
The information that Dr. Wakefield provided has caused many parents to question whether they
want to get their child vaccinated. According to Stav Ziv, a writer for Newsweek, the study

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helped launch the anti-vaccine movement in the U.S. (Ziv). Members of the anti-vaccine
movement people believe that it is better not to vaccinate because the risk of autism is not worth
the benefits that vaccines provide.
Wakefield's article was retracted in 2004 by The Lancet, the journal that published the
article. Wakefield was
[s]tripped of his license in 2010 by the U.K.s General Medical Council for
ethical violations and failure to disclose potentially competing financial
interests Almost all of the medical community disagrees with [Wakefield].
Several studies have put his hypothesis to the test and looked at thousands of
children, not just 12. A 1999 study of 498 children published in The Lancet did
not support a causal association between MMR and autism. (Ziv).
Studies are supposed be able to be repeated and receive the same results. US National Library of
Medicine stated that Wakefields article was a retraction of an interpretation(Result). The
findings of a study are supposed to contain facts
Belive MMR vaccinations do not cause autistm
Believe MMR vaccinations do cause autism

and not make false interpretations. For

example, if a study reveals that patients who
have cancer ate carrots before being diagnosed,

33%

was then interpreted that carrots cause cancer,

that would be a false interpretation of a study.
67%

A National Consumer League survey

conducted in 2014 revealed that about one third
of the adult population still believes the

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retracted information that MMR vaccinations do cause autism, leaving only two thirds of the
population to retain the correct information. One third is a large chunk of our population and it
has been my experience that even if you attempt to tell those who believe that MMR vaccines
cause autism the truth they still will believe what they want.
Vaccinated populations protect those who cannot get vaccinated. This is called the herd
effect or herd immunity.

(Digital)

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The herd immunity diagram above shows who can be infected with a preventable disease
based on the populations immunization status. If no one is immunized and there is contagion
present, then there is no herd immunity allowing the disease to easily transfer from host to host
and most of the population will be infected. If some people are immunized in a population and
there is a contagion present then there is still no herd immunity and most of the non-immunized
population will be infected. If most of the population is immunized and there is contagion
present there is herd immunity which makes it harder for the disease to transfer from host to host
because the probability that two people who are not immunized would come in contact to spread
the disease is less likely. Thus it is hard for the disease to spread to the non-immunized people.
With the knowledge that one third of the population who has the belief that MMR
vaccinations cause autism it is logical to assume that most of them are acting upon their belief
and choosing not to vaccinate their children, thus decreasing the herd immunity for those who
would vaccinate but are unable to for various reasons. There are kids who have issues, such as a
liver transplant, which leave the child immunocompromised and cannot receive vaccinations.
Children who are under the age of 3-6 months either have not or just received the
DTaP vaccine against whooping cough (Bordetella pertussis), so they are
susceptible to adults, teenagers and other children who might be passing along the
disease [T]here are also children who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons,
and they are vulnerable to infectious diseases, even the flu.(Raptor).
There are some common ingredient in vaccines that some people may be allergic too and could
be harmful in large doses. They are aluminum, antibiotics, egg protein, formaldehyde, MSG, and
thimerosal.

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Aluminum gels or salts of aluminum which are added as adjuvants to help

the vaccine stimulate a better response. Adjuvants help promote an earlier, more
potent response, and more persistent immune response to the vaccine.

Antibiotics which are added to some vaccines to prevent the growth of germs
(bacteria) during production and storage of the vaccine. No vaccine produced in
the United States contains penicillin.

Egg protein is found in influenza and yellow fever vaccines, which are prepared
using chicken eggs. Ordinarily, persons who are able to eat eggs or egg products
safely can receive these vaccines.

Formaldehyde is used to inactivate bacterial products for toxoid vaccines, (these

are vaccines that use an inactive bacterial toxin to produce immunity.) It is also
used to kill unwanted viruses and bacteria that might contaminate the vaccine
during production. Most formaldehyde is removed from the vaccine before it is
packaged.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and 2-phenoxy-ethanol which are used as

stabilizers in a few vaccines to help the vaccine remain unchanged when the
vaccine is exposed to heat, light, acidity, or humidity.

Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative that is added to vials of vaccine

that contain more than one dose to prevent contamination and growth of
potentially harmful bacteria(Walia)

If a child cannot be vaccinated then they will have to rely on the rest of the population to
be protected through herd immunity, therefore, it is very important for kids who cannot receive
vaccinations, for one reason or another, to go to a school where there is a high rate of
vaccination.

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When looking for a school for your child to attend there are state regulations about
vaccines, they vary from state to state, it is possible to find a school that has a high vaccination
rate to help protect those who are unable to be vaccinated. Because vaccine regulations in
schools vary from state to state and
some kids are allowed to be exempt
from vaccinations for religious
reasons, there are also schools with
low vaccination rates. Research has
shown that there tends to be clusters
of lack of immunization in the same
geographic location which creates an environment where only

some of the

population has immunizations and the herd immunity doesnt take effect. It creates an
environment for diseases to spread and cause outbreaks. Use of philosophical exemptions and
under immunization tend to cluster geographically, making some communities at greater risk for
outbreaks. (State)
The government supports vaccinations enough to set up a program to help more people
receive vaccinations. On October 1, 1994, After the (1989-1991) measles epidemic in the United
states, the government placed a program in effect to help people get vaccines who otherwise
would be unable to to pay for them. Upon investigation [of the measles epidemic], CDC found
that more than half of the children who had measles had not been immunized, even though many
of them had seen a health care provider (About). The program is called The VFC program

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which stands for Vaccines For Children. This program helps keep herd immunity present in our
country.
Even though vaccines are now more readily available to get people vaccinated measles
[have] been coming back of late, and 2014 saw the highest measles cases count (more than 600)
since the disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. (Ziv) The measles were eradicated in the
year 2000. This means that more parents are declining to have their kids vaccinated and the herd
immunity is starting to fail, more proof that the third of the population that thinks that MMR
vaccinations cause autism are less likely to vaccinate. Vaccines protect the health of children in
the United States so well that most parents today have never seen first-hand the devastating
consequences of diseases now stopped by vaccines.(CDC).
The decisions that parents make today about vaccinations will shape the future of the
diseases present in the world we live. The more people who are vaccinated the less likely people
will be infected. There are reasons that people decide not to immunize their kids, such as
allergies, being immunocompromised, and sometimes religious reasons. Vaccinating or not
vaccinating has an effect on herd immunity. The more who arent vaccinated could potentially
get the disease themselves and put other people at risk to be infected who didnt have a choice of
whether to be vaccinated or not. It is important to research the facts about immunizations to help
determine whether vaccinations are what you want for your child.

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Works Cited
"About VFC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 July 2015.
"CDC Statement Regarding 2004 Pediatrics Article, "Age at First Measles-Mumps-Rubella
Vaccination in Children With Autism and School-matched Control Subjects: A
Population-Based Study in Metropolitan Atlanta"" Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 05 July
2015.
Digital image. <i>Wikipedia</i>. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Jan. 2013. Web. 05 July 2015.
Raptor, Skeptical."Why We Vaccinateto Protect Those Children Who Can't Be Vaccinated."
Skeptical Raptors Blog. N.p., 11 May 2014. Web. 05 July 2015.
"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, 2004. Web. 05 July 2015.
School desks. Digital image. <i>Wikimedia</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Aug. 2015. &lt;https://
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Heiwa_elementary_school_18.jpg&gt;.
Wakefield, AJ, SH Murch, A. Anthony, J. Linnell, DM Casson, M. Malik, M. Berelowitz, AP
Dhillon, MA Thomson, Patrick Harvey, Alissa Valentine, SE Davies, and JA
Walkersmith. "RETRACTED: Ileal-lymphoid-nodular Hyperplasia, Non-specific Colitis,
and Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Children." Thelancet. The Lancet, 28 Feb.
1998. Web. 5 July 2015.
Walia, Arjun. "The Top 6 Reasons Why Parents Are Choosing Not To Vaccinate Their Kids."
CollectiveEvolution RSS. Collective Evolution, 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 01 Aug. 2015.
<http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/02/15/the-top-6-reasons-why-parents-arechoosing-not-to-vaccinate-their-kids/>.
Vaccination cartoon. Digital image. <i>Pomperaughelthdistrict</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Aug. 2015.
&lt;http://pomperaughealthdistrict.org/perch/resources/shingle-vaccinew640h480.gif&gt;.
Ziv, Stav. "Andrew Wakefield, Father of the Anti-Vaccine Movement, Responds to the Current
Measles Outbreak for the First Time." Newsweek. Newsweek, 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 05 July
2015.