A Question of Vaccinization

Introduction: MEMORIZED

Attention getter: At the beginning of the 20th century, the most serious threat to human life and well-being was infectious disease. Outbreaks of diseases such as diphtheria and pertussis were common, and mortality was significant; 160 of every 1000 children born at the turn of the century died of an infectious disease before the age of 5 stated Ellenberg, author for the Journal of the U.S. Public Health Service. And currently the children's hospital of Philadelphia, author of History of Vaccines, states that Each year, about 85 percent of the world's children receive vaccines that protect them against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and measles. These vaccines save about 2.5 million lives. Despite this success, more than 3 million people die from vaccine-preventable diseases each year.

Slope:

What are vaccines? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines protect children by working with their body's natural defenses. They reduce a person's risk of infection by working with the body's natural defenses to help a person safely develop immunity to disease. (HYPOPHORA)

THESIS: Parents must be required to vaccinate their children in order to protect them, as well as the public, from dangerous epidemics. This will doubtlessly diminish the danger(ALLITERATION)  of life-threatening diseases from reappearing across the country.

Body

Reason #1 We should require parents to vaccinate their children, as well as themselves, because vaccines protect each individual from getting infectious diseases and save lives.

EVIDENCE According to Ventola, a medical writer for Pharmacy and Therapeutics journal, (ETHOS) The incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of many communicable diseases have significantly decreased in Western countries largely because of national immunization strategies aimed at infants and children. It has been estimated that for each U.S. birth cohort receiving recommended childhood immunizations, around 20 million illnesses and more than 40,000 deaths are prevented...

Explain: This displays how effective it is for children to be vaccinated. The more people who are vaccinated, the more people will be immune to diseases, and the more people in our country will be safe from these diseases returning in the future.(ANAPHORA)

In addition, many of the available vaccines were created to prevent very dangerous and even deadly diseases, diseases that can be especially harmful to infants and young children.(ANADIPLOSIS) Because of this, the CDC also states that vaccination is one of the best ways parents can protect their children from 14 diseases before the age of two. Vaccines are especially important due to their ability to imitate infections, triggering our immune systems to develop antibodies that work to fight diseases. These antibodies prepare our bodies to quickly and safely fight epidemics if we get infected.

Also, Polio, diphtheria, smallpox, measles and whooping cough are a few of the illnesses that have been exterminated in the U.S. due to immunization programs. According to Wendel, author for the Tribune News Service, The Centers for Disease control estimates that nearly 750,000 American children were saved from 1994 to 2014 because of vaccines. Clearly vaccines are very effective when it comes to protecting children. Vaccines protect and save and enhance our lives.  (POLYSYNDETON)

Reason #2 We should require vaccines because not only do they protect oneself from infectious diseases, but they also protect the community from these diseases.

EVIDENCE 

Even though many diseases may be rare in the US, they still occur in other countries around the world. They still are out there.(ANAPHORA) Because we live in a world where global travel is common, it is possible that these diseases, once eradicated in the US. An example of this occurred in 2015. A large scale, multistage outbreak of measles occurred that was thought to originate with an overseas traveler who visited Disneyland in California. The majority of those who contracted measles, which had been eliminated in the US since 2000, were unvaccinated. Stories like this emphasize the importance of maintaining high vaccination rates in the US. It is important to understand the benefits vaccines provide a community. According to Ventola, ...when a large population is immunized, unvaccinated individuals benefit from ?herd immunity', which is a reduced risk of exposure to pathogens. By requiring vaccines to be administered, those who cannot receive vaccinations due to medical or other complications such as compromised immune system, will be protected. How would you feel if a young child became seriously ill with a disease because they were too young or had a medical condition that they were not able to receive the vaccination?(RHETORICAL QUESTION) What if you and your community could have received this vaccine and prevented it from spreading to this child?(Appeal to Pathos)

Ventola also stated, ... [parents who consciously choose not to vaccinated their children] has caused a resurgence of may infectious diseases due to the loss of herd immunity Parents choosing to claim exemptions from vaccination requirements puts our communities at increased risks. Ventola asserts 1% to 3% of children are excused from immunizations for medical reasons, religious grounds, and philosophical objections. In some communities she acknowledges exemption rates can be as high as 20%! However, even low exemption rates puts our children and communities at a higher risk. Not getting vaccinated puts not only yourself at risk, but also others in your community who may be defenseless against the disease at no choice of their own(PATHOS). Would you want to be the one responsible for causing another person's illness if you knew it could have been prevented by getting a vaccination? Probably not (Hypophora).If the majority of people in the U.S. aren't vaccinated, and infectious diseases spread too quickly, thousands of people will die, and the world will suffer greatly. Therefore everyone needs to be vaccinated to protect our world. (APPEAL TO FEAR)

Counterargument: Some people say that vaccines are not safe, contain harmful ingredients, and may even cause a person to get sick.

EVIDENCE

According to Tim Wendel, Some parents are convinced that the side effects are so serious that they refuse to have their children vaccinated. They are ignoring the science and the stories of families who once prayed that a specific remedy would be available for public use. Vaccines are in fact safe and this has been proven by major medical organizations. Parents need to stop worrying about what the vaccine vial contains, and more about what they are protecting their child from.

Why do people disagree with vaccines you ask? Well, people may think that vaccines are the reason that people develop illness.(HYPOPHORA) Vaccines may cause a person to have minor symptoms such as a fever, but these symptoms are very common and should be expected. They are not nearly as bad as symptoms you would receive from the disease the vaccine prevents. And is a very common thing to occur as their body builds immunity.

In addition, it was a very popular opinion for people during the 20th century to believe that vaccines were the cause of autism in children. Autism rates in developing countries had been rising in the past few decades, there is no evidence that vaccines were the cause. According to the History of Vaccines, Beginning in the 1990s, our understanding of the spectrum of autism has expanded greatly, and now individuals who would most likely previously not have been thought of as having autism may be classified with one of a variety of ASDs. Could it be possible that autism was in fact more easily diagnosable as medical technology advanced? And that this happened during the same time period as vaccines took off? (RHETORICAL QUESTIONS)

The History of Autism again states, Vaccines have perhaps receive more scrutiny than any other speculated cause of ASD, and the great majority of scientists, physicians, and public health researchers have come to the conclusion that there is no association between vaccines and autism.

And lastly, according to the CDC, safety monitoring begins with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who ensures the safety, effectiveness, and availability of vaccines for the United States. Before the FDA approves a vaccine for use by the public, highly trained FDA scientists and doctors evaluate the results of studies on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, therefore we know that vaccines are safe and can be trusted. 

Conclusion   MEMORIZED

Restate Thesis: As you can see, parents must vaccinate their children. This will presumably eliminate the possibility of life-threatening diseases from reappearing across the country. This will help protect children and adults from various diseases, saving thousands of lives.

Summarize main ideas:

Parents should be required to vaccinate their children, as well as themselves, because vaccines protect each individual as well as the community.  

And although some people say that vaccines are not safe, contain harmful ingredients, and may even cause a person to get sick, there is no evidence to support this suspicion.

Profound statement/call to action: Don't sit back, help protect yourself and others for dangerous diseases. Give vaccines a shot! (ZEUGMA)

Works Cited

1. Ellenberg, Susan S., and Robert T. Chen. "The Complicated Task of Monitoring Vaccine Safety." Public health reports, 1997, pp. 10-21. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
2. "Global Immunization: Worldwide Disease Incidence | Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia." Chop.Edu, 2018,https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/global-immunization/diseases-and-vaccines-world-view.
3. "Parents | Making The Vaccine Decision | CDC." Cdc.Gov, 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/vaccine-decision/index.html.
4. Ventola, C Lee. Immunization in the United States: Recommendations, Barriers, and Measures to Improve Compliance: Part 1: Childhood Vaccinations P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management vol. 41,7 (2016): 426-36.
5. Wendel, Tim. "Pro: Evidence Favoring Vaccination is Overwhelming." TCA News Service, 29 Mar. 2018. SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.
6. "Do Vaccines Cause Autism? | History Of Vaccines." Historyofvaccines.Org, 2016, https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/do-vaccines-cause-autism 

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