Pros and Cons of Vaccinations

Vaccination of children from the time of birth has been a normal practice since the first vaccine came to light to prevent and stop the spread of many diseases since the late 1940's. However in recent years many researchers have found that the vaccines are possibly being linked to other disease like autism. This has outraged some parents leading to the denial of some and even all vaccinations, being thought that this will prevent autism.

One of the main questions that needs to be addressed when considering vaccination is, do the risks of the disease outweigh the risks of the vaccine? This includes the risk of exposure to the disease. There are twelve diseases that have been considered potentially serious and have been routinely vaccinated against, these are: Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Polio, Hepatitis A and B, Pneumococcal disease, Varicella (Chicken Pox), and Hemophilic Influenza Type B (HIB disease). It has been believed that vaccines played a large role in lowering the risk of exposure to these diseases, lowering the serious complications and even death caused by these diseases. For example, before there was a vaccine for diphtheria, it used to kill over 10,000 children every year now it is so rare now that doctors almost never see a case of it. (medicinenet.com, 2004)

Many researchers have stated that vaccines help protect against the permanent effects of diseases on the body, such as paralysis caused by Polio, and liver disease caused by Hepatitis. It has been said that before vaccines, these diseases killed causes serious complications and even killed many people worldwide. There has been research done that vaccines can cause more harm than good in the long run. Some research showed that there has been a dramatic increase in many medical disorders since the implementation of vaccines.