I have chosen to write about the topic of immunizations. From the time babies are born, parents have the options of giving them immunization shots to protect the infant and child from harmful diseases that, in the past, killed hundreds. "Immunization protects children not only from diseases but also from serious complications, including deafness, blindness, sterility, and meningitis" (Berger, 2009). Children have to have immunizations and be-up-to date on their shots in order to start public schools. Immunizations has become a hot topic lately with parents blaming immunizations for causing autism and other problems in their children. "Many parents are concerned about potential side effects of vaccinations. For example, in recent years many parents were almared by reports that the MMR vaccine caused autism, but that hypothesis has been repeatedly disproved" (Berger, 2009). I believe the greater risk is by not vaccinating your child. In the United States we have the option and opportunity to protect our children from these harmful, deadly diseases and complications.
In other parts of the world, children are not as lucky. "More than 1 million children in developing nations die each year bcause effective vaccines against AIDS, malaria, cholera, typhoid, and shigellosis are not yet ready for widespread use (Russell, 2002). Another 2 million to 3 million die each year from diphtheria, tetanus, and measles because they have not been immunized against those diseases (Mahmoud, 2004). 100,000 children in India died in 2005 from meales alone (Dugger, 2006). I feel very lucky to live in a country where I can protect myself and my children from these diseases. I wish there was more we could do to offer help and aid to these developing countries. It breaks my heart to know that so many children die each other because they are not protected from the diseases.
References
Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Dugger, C. W. (2006). Mothers of Nepal vanquish a killer of children. New York times, pp. A1, A16.
Russell, M. (2002). South Korea: Institute helps spread use of vaccines in Asia. Science, 295, 611-612.
That is so sad that other parts of the world have to deal with such sadness. Unlike the united states, they don't have the doctors or treatments to be cured or stablize their disease. In the United States we have many opportunities and treatments for diseases are are treatable or curable, yet some parents are neglecting to get some immunizations. Great post, thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMisty, do you feel parents have the right to choose not to vaccinate their child or do you feel vaccinating should be mandatory regardless of the beliefs of the parents?
ReplyDeleteApril,
DeleteI feel that it should be the parents choice. However, I don't understand why parents would not want to protect their children. I would rather take a chance of my child crying for a few minutes from getting a shot than having them suffer and even die because I didn't protect them. I do not believe that vaccines cause austism. A lot of these behavior problems show up around the age of 2, which is when most children complete their vaccines. As our textbooks states, "Each Vaccinated child stops the spread of the disease and thus protects others, including people who cannot be safely immunized" (Berger, K., 2009, p. 150).
References
Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Hello Misty,
DeleteIn the question that April asked about Parents making the choice to rather our not their child receives immunization shots, I think parents should have the choice in making that decision and when decisions are made in society for those children not being vaccine are accepted by the parent. Thank you for sharing
Great Post! Immunizations are so important. My heart breaks when I read about other countries where immunizations are not readily available. Thank you for this informative post.
ReplyDelete