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Brittany Blevins
Dr. C
Eng. 1201
November 22, 2015
Be Pro-Vaccine
Currently, during every hour, 285 childrens lives are saved thanks to vaccinations. That equals
up to 2.5 million lives every year. Proponents argue that vaccines are one of the greatest medical
developments in the 20th century (ProCon) So why would anyone choose to not vaccinate their
children when it has been proven beneficial on so many occasions? This essay will consider
some of the arguments opposing vaccinations, and point out the problems with those views.
Then, it will put forward evidence confirming the need for child vaccinations, and justifying
why every parent should be pro-vaccine.
Vaccines are important because they ultimately save lives. As stated previously, 2.5
million children are saved every year. The CDC reported that between the years of 1994 and
2014, 322 million cases of illness were prevented and of those, 732,000 were saved from death
in America. (ProCon) Needless to say, the sheer number of success stories over powers the one in
a million chance that a child being vaccinated would encounter any serious adverse effects.
According to Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN and practicing neurosurgeon,
"you are 100 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to have a serious allergic reaction
to the vaccine that protects you against measles." (ProCon) And the odds of being struck by
lightning in any given year is one in 1,960,000, in case you were wondering. (NOAA) The
measles vaccine has successfully reduced the childhood death rate for measles by 74%. (ProCon)

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And if we continue to vaccinate regularly, and reach out to developing countries, we will
have the ability to eradicate all of these preventable diseases.

Figure 1- Vaccine infographic comparing casualty

numbers of the pre-vaccine era and recent illness reports.

Then some people argue, if the vaccines are doing so well, then why should we continue
vaccinating for diseases that pose little to no threat in America? Its because that most of these
diseases are just a plane ride away. If they still exist outside of the lab, then someone, somewhere

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could still contract them. UNICEF, The United Nations Children's Fund, stated that globally each
year on average 453,000 children die from rotavirus, 476,000 die from pneumococcus (the virus
that causes pneumonia, meningitis, and blood infections) 195,000 from whooping cough,
118,000 from measles, and 60,000 from tetanus. (ProCon) Humans can carry diseases like polio,
symptom free, and then disperse the virus to hundreds of unvaccinated people, potentially
causing a new epidemic that could result in fatalities. So when choosing to not vaccinate, there
are more serious consequences that you are putting yourself, your child, and others around you
up to.

Figure 2- Recommended immunization schedule for children from birth to 6 years old.

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Along with choosing to vaccinate, parents must also stick to the recommended vaccine
schedule (as shown above). This calendar has been comprised of a lot of research to determine
when is the best time to vaccinate. Some parents believe it is unethical to administer so many
vaccines in such a short amount of time. But pediatricians like to remind that the more time spent
unvaccinated, the more time your childs immune system goes unprotected. Also, the vaccines
become less effective if they arent given on schedule.
This feeds into my third point; vaccinations protect the society. By vaccinating your
child, you can potentially be saving more lives than their own. Children and adults that cant
vaccinate due to their age or poor health depend on a critical portion of vaccinated people in their
community to keep disease outbreaks at bay. This is called herd immunity or community
immunity. In 2012, there was an outbreak of whooping cough in the U.S. affecting over 42,000
people. (ProCon) 49 states did not meet safe immunity levels of 92%-94% because more parents
are choosing to opt out of state vaccination requirements before entering public school.
(Fischetti) And unfortunately, the reality is that the individuals who cannot be vaccinated are in
danger because of the parents who are filing for religious or philosophical exemptions. While
these exemptions are part of our individual freedoms, and everyone has the right to them, they
are detrimental.
While doing my research, I came across a story that is directly related to the dangers of
having low herd immunity. In Corte Madera, California there a decreasing amount of children
being vaccinated because these parents are in fear of adverse effects such as autism. The Krawitt
family spoke out to their school districts superintendent asking to keep unvaccinated children
out of the public schools. Their son Rhett, age six, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010. After
four years of chemotherapy he finally achieved remission, but that left his immune system very

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vulnerable. Since he is unable to get vaccinations he depends on everyone around him to not get
sick so he can do the same. In January, in Rhetts school alone, 7% of the children are
unvaccinated. Other schools in California have rates as high as 50% of students being
unvaccinated. And unfortunately, nothing was implemented to help Rhett because there was no
immediate threat to his health. In June of this year, Californias Governor Brown signed senate
bill 277 which starting in January of 2016 will no longer permit religious or philosophical
exemptions for students in or entering child care and public and private schools. I predict that by
this time next year, vaccination rates in California will increase dramatically and it will be a
much healthier environment for children like Rhett. I believe more state governments should
follow suit. (NY Times)
The risk of exposing yourself or another to a virus is more likely to restrict your freedoms
than a vaccination ever could. Choosing to vaccinate protects future generations, from mother to
child, freedom to travel burden-free, peace of mind, and is saves money. The CDC estimates that
children vaccinated between 1994 and 2014 have yielded net savings of $1.38 trillion in "societal
costs," including money saved by preventing lost productivity due to disability and early death.
(CDC) And the more money we invest into making vaccinations more available, the more we
could profit. The benefits are ceaseless.
One of the main arguments opposing vaccination is the belief that the ingredients found
in vaccines are harmful. In some vaccines, ingredients like thimerosal (a mercury compound),
formaldehyde, and aluminum can be found in small doses. These ingredients are only dangerous
if consumed in large doses. The idea of these chemicals entering a childs body is a little
alarming, but the FDA and CDC are very strict when regulating vaccines. Even after ten or more
years of testing, vaccines are monitored closely to make sure that they are truly safe. Paul Offit

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M.D., co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine, states that on a normal day of activity, children are
exposed to more bacteria, toxins, and harmful substances than found in any vaccine. With
organizations like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Institute of Medicine (IOM),
American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), UNICEF, US
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),and World Health Organization (WHO),
putting their names behind the safety of vaccines, I believe that its safe to say that vaccinations
are ok. (ProCon)
In conclusion, choosing to vaccinate your child is the best choice. Vaccines are an
incredible medical tool that is saving thousands of lives, including those that are unvaccinated
and the future generations that havent even arrived. Its providing economic benefits and
continuously making our world healthier and more safe.

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Works Cited
ProCon.org. "Vaccines ProCon.org." ProCon.org. 6 Feb. 2015. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.
"Vaccines and Immunizations." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.

Fischetti, Mark. "Too Many Children Go Unvaccinated." Scientific American Global RSS.
Scientific American, 14 May 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/too-many-children-go-unvaccinated/>.

"How Dangerous Is Lightning?" NWS Lightning and Heat. NOAA, 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/odds.shtml>.
Lewin, Tamar. "Sick Child's Father Seeks Vaccination Requirement." The New York Times 2015:
16. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
Farrant, Leon. Vaccine Infographic. Digital image. Forbes. Forbes, 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Nov.
2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/02/19/a-graphic-that-driveshome-how-vaccines-have-changed-our-world/>.
AAP. "Child Immunization Schedule: Why Is It Like That?" HealthyChildren.org. AAP, 21 Nov.
2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. <https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safetyprevention/immunizations/Pages/Child-Immunization-Schedule-Why-Is-It-LikeThat.aspx>.